Clinton for appeals court
With three seats on the Court of Criminal Appeals expiring this November, Texans have a chance to add new voices to a bench long-dominated by Republicans. That will require candidates who are equipped with both the breadth of experience and the demeanor to sit on the state’s highest criminal court.
In the Democratic primary for Place 4, voters must choose between two candidates with impressive resumes and similar desires to bring transparency and fresh ideas to the court. They also both agree that Texas must move forward on bail reform.
Tina Clinton, 49, a state felony district judge in the Criminal District Court in Dallas County brings 25 years’ experience as a prosecutor, defense attorney, municipal judge, county criminal court judge and state district court judge.
Her opponent, Steve Miears, 60, a former prosecutor with the Lubbock County District Attorney’s office, has built a private practice specializing in representing indigent clients. He is board-certificated in criminal appellate law and has argued hundreds of cases in front of the appellate court, including death penalty and exoneration cases.
Miears’ appellate experience is extensive, but we questioned his method of working with colleagues with whom he may not agree. Even if Democrats win all three open seats win in November, the court will still have a Republican majority.
Miears said he would use the “force of intellectual knowledge” to pick up votes on decisions and, if that fails, he would write “a blistering dissenting opinion that calls into question their judicial knowledge and their integrity and their ability to be honest about the facts and the law as it’s developing in that particular area.”
While Clinton said she believes in the importance of writing “robust dissents” that educate the public about the court’s ruling, she told the Editorial Board that the way to garner a majority is by “doing your work and holding the line to your principles, but doing in a manner that is still respectful.“
That approach could make a pivotal difference on the matters of life and death that come before the Court of Criminal Appeals, which hears appeals on all death penalty cases.
Clinton also calls for more transparency and educational efforts to better inform the public about the decisions and workings of the courts. She would make a worthy addition to the Court of Criminal Appeals.