Appeals court races feature wealth of experience, collegiality
Whenever a case is appealed from state district court, it goes to a court of appeal for justices to decide if the law was applied properly. Their decision is usually the final word, whether it’s regarding a violent felony, a real estate dispute or a child custody battle. The Texas Supreme Court hears only a fraction of further appeals for civil cases, and the Court of Criminal Appeals is as picky on the criminal ones.
We put time into researching these important but little understood appellate court races in the hope voters will go beyond party affiliation in making their picks. The good news is that many of the candidates are exemplary, and during the screenings we usually witnessed a level of mutual respect we wish voters could see.
That said, there’s plenty of partisanship in setting up the rules to the game.
The 10-county region with Houston at its center has two of these courts, and cases are randomly assigned. In 2018, this board bemoaned how this confusing setup was a form of racebased voter dilution. The courts were dominated by Republicans and not representative of the region’s diversity. Starting with a Democratic sweep that year, the tables began to turn. The intermediate courts are somewhat more diverse but do not reflect the electorate. Democrats have a 7-2 majority on the 1st Court of Appeals and a 5-4 majority on the 14th.
1st Court of Appeals, Chief Justice: Julie Countiss
The current chief justice of the 1st Court of Appeals, who is stepping down, is Sherry Radack, a Republican who has served on the court since 2002. (Former Harris County Commissioner Steve Radack is her husband.)
Voters are choosing between qualified candidates from each major party as well as a seasoned independent vying to take on the role of administering the court. We believe Justice Julie Countiss, who serves on this court now, has the edge because Radack has begun showing her the ropes of being the court’s administrator.
Elected in 2018 as part of the Democratic sweep, Countiss, 51, has two more years left in her term. If she wins this election, the Texas governor would appoint a replacement for her current place on a court that currently has seven Democrats and two Republicans. Prior to becoming a justice, Countiss was a lawyer with the Harris County Attorney’s Office and focused on ridding the county of illicit, dangerous businesses. With four years appellate experience now, Countiss praised the collegial culture of the court under Radack’s leadership and said she seeks to continue it.
Terry Adams, 63, served for six months on the 1st Court of Appeals after a justice resigned for health reasons and Gov. Greg Abbott apointed him to serve out the term. He has an extensive background practicing appellate law and says he has a good relationship with nearly all justices on the court, including Countiss. During the screening, he said that partisanship does not inform his approach to the law.
Independent candidate Ted Wood, 62, has been an assistant public defender for Harris County since 2015 and said he has filed more than 200 briefs and related documents in the Texas appellate courts. He was the county judge for Randall County from 1994 to 2002 and was a staff attorney for a court of appeals as well. Wood said he is running to provide an alternative to the partisan system of electing judges. We agree with his broad critique of our system of judicial elections, as do many of the justices we interviewed, but the power to make reforms lies with the Legislature.
Voters can’t go wrong with Countiss or Adams, but we believe Countiss’ four years on this court would allow her to provide a smooth transition and we find her commitment to an efficient and collegial culture on the court to be persuasive.
1st Court of Appeals, Place 4: April Farris
Justice April Farris, 37, was appointed to the 1st Court of Appeals by Abbott in 2021. A Republican, she graduated from Abilene Christian University and Harvard Law School and clerked on the U.S. 5th Circuit Court of Appeals, known as one of the most conservative in the country, for Judge Jennifer Walker Elrod. As an appellate lawyer for a private firm she represented large companies including Exxon Mobil and Uber. Farris then worked for the Texas Solicitor General’s Office representing the state. Her experience includes both civil and criminal cases. She is wellregarded on a court with seven Democrats, and her conservative background likely adds rigor to the court’s process.
Judge Mike Engelhart, 52, is a Democrat and has presided over the 151st Civil District Court in Harris County since 2008. He argues that the 1st Court of Appeals needs more justices with experience serving as a trial court judge. He was the civil administrative judge when Hurricane Harvey hit and helped the criminal court judges when their building was damaged by the storm, managing the compromises and accommodations to host 23 additional courts.
Both candidates have strong qualifications. While the more than two decades of experience as a civil trial judge would serve Engelhart well, we believe Farris has the more relevant experience in both civil and criminal appellate law.
14th Court of Appeals, Place 2: Cheri Thomas
The Republican incumbent, Justice Kevin Jewell, said he is the first to arrive at the courthouse in the mornings. Not only does he move through his cases with efficiency, he credits his leadership with making the court as a whole more timely. He helped implement a policy change that rewards staff attorneys with bonuses based on productivity. When the district courts are struggling with a massive backlog of cases, we like to hear about hardworking judges and efficient dockets. Appeals courts, however, are more deliberative than the trial courts.
We are concerned that the 14th Court of Appeals is known for fractiousness, not collegiality. That’s in contrast to the 1st Court of Appeals where candidates and others familiar with it told us that justices get along well across party lines. Should that be important to voters? After all, wouldn’t lively debate make for a better court? Cases are initially heard by panels of three justices who attempt to come to a consensus. There are split votes, and sometimes a case is heard by all the justices. A good process involves both debate as well as consensus building.
The Democratic challenger, Cheri Thomas, 42, said she was the first in her family to attend college. In 2020, the board recommended Thomas in a primary runoff for Place 7 of this court for her “solid reputation among other lawyers” and the experience she had as staff attorney for this court of appeals. Thomas is an honors graduate of the University of Texas School of Law and a former clerk for U.S. District Judge Jorge Solis. She worked in civil litigation for Baker Botts and the Stuart law firm, where she became a partner. Thomas worked as an appellate attorney at the Texas Workforce Commission.
Jewell, 54, was elected in 2016, and he received our endorsement then for his extensive experience as an appellate lawyer at Chamberlain Hrdlicka. He argued cases before the Texas Supreme Court and the intermediate courts.
Voters can’t go wrong. While the board generally gives extra weight to an incumbent’s experience, Thomas already knows the inner workings of this court from her time as a staff attorney. Jewell is a hardworking, even-tempered justice, but we believe Thomas could help shift the culture of the court.
14th Court of Appeals, Place 9: Randy Wilson
The challenger in this race, Democrat William Demond, 45, earned an enthusiastic endorsement from the board during the primary earlier this year. As an attorney, he has helped establish constitutional rights twice in cases before the 5th Circuit. One of them established a right to film police officers. He’s been inducted in the Texas Lawyer’s Verdicts Hall of Fame. Demond was appointed by a federal judge to represent Harris County inmates in cases concerning their conditions of confinement during the COVID pandemic.
Justice Randy Wilson, 70, was appointed a state district civil court judge in Harris County in 2003 and served as a Republican for roughly 16 years. Wilson was highly respected. Despite our urging against straight-ticket voting in 2018, he was swept out with other Republican judges. Our feelings haven’t changed. Wilson is still a straight-shooter has the respect of the lawyers who argue before him. He was appointed to the 14th Court of Appeals by Abbott in December 2020.
Voters have a decision about what to value: an accomplished constitutional law expert in Demond, with a track record of protecting rights, or an experienced jurist in Wilson, who has gained wide respect over decades. In our view, Demond’s acumen for policy and ability to argue for new precedents is a better fit for the highest courts. The board recommends Wilson.