Most Texans don't realize we have three tiers in the state's judicial system.
At the local level, some cases are heard in municipal or justice courts, but more serious cases are tried in district, county and county courts-at-law.
From there, with the exception of death-penalty cases, cases can be appealed to one of 14 courts of appeals throughout the state which have to accept every case appealed to them. Appeals from Brazos County go to the three-member 10th Court of Appeals in Waco. Almost all cases are finalized at this intermediate level.
Some cases are appealed from there to either the Supreme Court of Texas, which decides which cases it will accept in civil and juvenile matters, or to the Texas Court of Criminal Appeals, which must accept all capital cases from the district-court level and de-cides what other criminal cases to consider.
The two high courts have nine members each. Currently, all 18 places are filled by Republicans.
Brazos County voters face three contested Supreme Court races with major-party candidates, two contested Court of Criminal Appeals races, and a contested race for the 10th Court of Appeals to replace former Brazos County Judge Bill Vance, who is retiring.
With the exception of the Place 4 race on the Court of Criminal Appeals, the candidates all met with the Editorial Board. Because we did not meet with incumbent Judge Paul Womack or his Democratic challenger, J.R. Molina, we make no recommendation in that race.
Here are The Eagle's recommendations in the other judicial races contested by major-party candidates:
Court of Criminal Appeals
Place 3
Judge Tom Price, Republican, vs. Susan Strawn, Democrat -- After 22 years as a county and district court judge, Price has spent the past 12 years on the Court of Criminal Appeals. He has joined most often with four fellow judges on the court as the "moderate" wing of a court that too often skews dangerously to the far right. Two years ago, Price ran against Chief Judge Sharon Keller and lost.
While he says judges must follow the law, he also says they must apply common sense. He points as an example to a recent case in which a man was executed because Keller ordered the court closed at its normal 5 p.m. time despite knowing that an appeal would be filed less than 30 minutes late.
Strawn has no judicial experience, but has spent 14 years in the U.S. Depar-tment of Justice and the past two years as a resident legal adviser for the U.S. Treasury Department in Kosovo. That experience gives her "a complete other perspective," she said, adding that every current member of the court grew up in the state's legal system with no federal experience.
That's a nice argument, but, while all judges in Texas must deal with federal laws, the members of the Court of Criminal Appeals are, first, judges of Texas law.
Judge Tom Price is a badly needed moderating force on the court.
The Eagle recommends re-electing Judge Tom Price to Place 3 on the Court of Criminal Appeals.
Supreme Court of Texas
Chief Justice
Wallace B. Jefferson, Republican, vs. Judge Jim Jordan, Democrat -- A distinguished district judge in Dallas, Jordan rightly notes that the nine members of the high court have similar backgrounds and philosophies. Too often, he said, their opinions are results-oriented, in which the outcome is decided before the law is applied.
Jefferson was the first African-American justice on the court when he was appointed by Gov. Perry in 2001. He ran for election in 2002, easily winning, and was promoted by Perry to chief justice when Tom Phillips stepped down. Jefferson ran for the seat in 2006, earning more votes than any other candidate for statewide office.
Jordan would make a fine chief justice, but Jefferson is a proven jurist with experience in the job. We see no reason to change.
The Eagle recommends a vote for Wallace Jefferson for re-election as chief justice of the Supreme Court.
Supreme Court of Texas
Place 7
Justice Dale Wainwright, Republican, vs. Sam Houston, Democrat -- No, he isn't related to that Sam Houston. Instead, the candidate for the Supreme Court is a Houston lawyer. He makes the same observation about the court, noting that it frequently rules as a block, most often against plaintiffs. He says Wainwright is among the least productive of the justices on the court.
Wainwright is completing his first six-year term on the court. He says his role is to interpret the Texas Consti-tution. He says consistency is the court's rulings is essential to the judicial system.
Houston would, indeed, bring a change to the Supreme Court, one that many Texans might welcome. He doesn't make a strong case that he would do a better job, though.
The Eagle recommends a vote for Justice Dale Wainwright for re-election to Place 7 on the Supreme Court of Texas.
Supreme Court of Texas
Place 8
Justice Phil Johnson, Republican, vs. Justice Linda Yañez, Democrat -- Johnson spent six years as a justice and chief justice of the 7th Court of Appeals in Amarillo before being appointed to the Supreme Court in 2005.
Yañez was the first woman on the 13th Court of Appeals in Corpus Christi when she was appointed by Gov. Ann Richards in 1993. She has been elected several times since.
She says the Supreme Court has been too eager to overturn jury verdicts, which, she said, Johnson has done six times.
She also criticizes his productivity, noting he has authored only 13 opinions in his three years on the court.
Yañez notes that 50 percent of the civil cases filed in Texas involve family law, but the high court takes no such cases on appeal. She said the court has a hostility to plaintiffs and is result-oriented.
Justice Johnson has done a good job, but we are convinced that Justice Yañez would add a vibrant, intelligent voice to the court, one that it badly needs. Candi-dates don't come much better.
The Eagle recommends a vote for justice Linda Yañez to Place 8 on the Supreme Court of Texas.
10th Court of Appeals
Former Justice Rex Davis, Republican, vs. Richard Ferguson, Democrat -- The three-member 10th Court has been terribly divided in recent years as Chief Justice Tom Gray frequently disagrees with the other two justices -- and writes bizarre, personal dissenting opinions that do not promote the cause of justice.
Both candidates have ex-perience with the court. Davis served on the court in the 1990s. From 2001 to 2003, Ferguson was Vance's law clerk, writing many of the first drafts of court opinions.
The new justice will have to deal with Justice Gray. Davis, who worked amicably with Gray during his term on the court, is better qualified to do that.
The Eagle recommends a vote for Justice Rex Davis for the 10th Court of Appeals.
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