Candidates in the TX Republican primary for Presiding Judge, Court of Criminal Appeals
David J. Schenck
Age: 56
Campaign website: schenckfortexas.com
Best way for voters to reach you. Please include contact info or link: schenckfortexas.com or schenckfortexas@mail.com
Occupation: Attorney, for Justice
Education: B.A. - Criminal Justice (1988) (magna cum laude)J.D.-Baylor (1992) (first in class)
Have you run for elected office before? (Please list previous offices sought, with years): Justice, 5th court of appeals -- Dallas (1996) prevailed in primary and general, Texas Supreme Court 2022 (Republican primary; lost with just over 45%)
Please list the highlights of your civic involvement/activism: Chairman, Texas State Commission on Judicial Conduct, Texas, Deputy Attorney General for Legal, Commissioner, Law Clerk to the Chief Judge of the federal Fifth Circuit, Delegate to Texas and National Conventions, Chairman Republican Lawyers of Dallas, Commissioner, Texas Lottery Commission, Statewide co-chair for Lawyers for Republican Presidential Candidates (2008-12); State Bar’s Highest Award for pro bono service, Lead Counsel to TSRA and 42 other state associations before U.S. Supreme Court in Heller case, Master, Higginbotham Inn of Court, Elected Member American Law Institute, frequent author and speaker on judicial ethics and other legal issues, Board certified expert in civil appellate law
Have you ever been arrested, charged with a crime or otherwise been part of a criminal proceeding? If yes, please explain: No
Have you been involved in a civil lawsuit or bankruptcy proceeding? If yes, please explain: No
Who are your top three campaign contributors?: My father, Jim Keller and Ken Fisher
Why are you seeking this office?: I have been committed to judicial reforms to promote public confidence in the competence and fairness in the judiciary since I filed a brief for the Fortune 50 in the U.S. Supreme Court in the Dimick case 15 years ago. The Supreme Court eventually agreed that states can regulate the way judges behave (10 years ago) and Texas needs to act. The Court of Criminal Appeals has been rocked with numerous, highly public controversies often centered on its current presiding judge, has been seen by many as unfair, unproductive and result oriented. As the current presiding judge has been unable to address or rectify these basic structural problems and is constitutionally barred from completing the term currently on the ballot, I believe I will be able to lead the court in a more positive direction.
What are the biggest challenges facing a Court of Criminal Appeals Presiding Judge?: Public confidence in its operations. The court is producing very little work product, and issuing opinions that often undermine public confidence in the fairness and competence of the judiciary and elections alike. A simple Google search will explain the fairness and confusion concerns. The court, absent the one judge turning out substantial work product, averaged 29 opinions per judge in 2022--compare that 150/judge of the Fifth Circuit, which carries a similar docket and decides cases in about half the time. It released opinions last month that had been pending since 2019 and 2020 on simple, basic legal issues like what does “evading arrest” mean. The author of the latter opinion produced 11! opinions in 2022! The presiding judge is not functionally “presiding” and the court is not working in ways that inspire confidence.
If elected, what would your top 3 policy priorities be?: (1) Show up to work and urge (forcefully if necessary) other judges to do the same and do the work that’s piled up; (2) Improve the quality of the court’s work to anchor it better in the written constitution and statutes so people reading the opinions can better understand the rationales; (3) direct the court’s efforts into the judiciary and oversight of it.
How will you measure your success as a Court of Criminal Appeals Presiding Judge?: Productivity in terms of opinion work product output and average time to decide a case, improving the perception of the court among those who work before it (defense lawyers and prosecutors alike) and the public who is too often perplexed by its decision, and mentoring a new generation of attorneys to come to the bench as capable and honest public servants.
Why should voters choose you over your opponent(s)?: We’ve both served as appellate judges for years, but have very different records of service and ethics compliance, I am constitutionally eligible to serve the full term, and committed to bring change to the court that it needs
Sharon Keller
Age: 70
Campaign website: sharonkeller.com
Best way for voters to reach you. Please include contact info or link: judgesharonkeller@gmail.com
Occupation: Presiding Judge, Texas Court of Criminal Appeals
Education: J.D. SMU Law School 1978; B.A. Rice U. 1975
Have you run for elected office before? (Please list previous offices sought, with years): Yes. For Judge on the CCA in 1994; for Presiding Judge of the CCA in 2000, 2006, 2012, 2018
Please list the highlights of your civic involvement/activism: Chair, Texas Indigent Defense Commission 2002-current Chair, Board of State Law Library - current Member, Judicial Advisory Council, Community Justice Assistance Division, Tx Dep’t Criminal Justice
Have you ever been arrested, charged with a crime or otherwise been part of a criminal proceeding? If yes, please explain: No
Have you been involved in a civil lawsuit or bankruptcy proceeding? If yes, please explain: I’ve been sued as a member of the Court a number of times. I think I’ve been a party to civil suits in the past but I don’t remember specifically. I’ve never been involved in bankruptcy proceedings.
Who are your top three campaign contributors?: Texans for Lawsuit Reform PAC
Why are you seeking this office?: To help ensure that the CCA follows the Constitution.
What are the biggest challenges facing a Court of Criminal Appeals Presiding Judge: Heavy caseload; misinformation about opinions we issue.
If elected, what would your top 3 policy priorities be?: Follow the Constitution; improve criminal justice system by committee involvement; make sure Court runs efficiently
How will you measure your success as a Court of Criminal Appeals Presiding Judge?: Consistency in Court opinions; consistency in following the Constitution; an efficiently run Court
Why should voters choose you over your opponent(s)?: Experience. I’m the longest-serving Presiding Judge in the history of the Court. I’ve written or voted for virtually every opinion for the last 29 years so I know criminal appellate law. As P.J., I know how to run the Court. My opponent in the primary has no experience with death penalty cases or with the biggest part of our docket, which is post-conviction article 11.07 habeas corpus cases. Presiding Judge is a job that should not go to someone who has never worked at this Court.
