More Texas Supreme Court endorsements for Jordan, Houston, Yanez

The Nacogdoches Daily Sentinel endorses Sam Houston and Linda Yanez for Texas Supreme Court:

Texas Supreme Court: ... Houston and Yañez get nods

It's time for change on all-Republican court

Three of the nine seats on the Texas Supreme Court are up for election this year, and all three have Republican incumbents facing competent Democratic challengers. Most voters probably have little idea about just who the court's justices are, and that's not only because of the usual obscurity of the court. It's also because these nine, all Republicans, think pretty much alike. It's time for a change.

The principal criticism of the court, which handles only civil cases, has been its uniformity in ruling for business in cases where it is pitted against consumers or workers.

By one measure, a study by University of Texas law professor David Anderson of the court's 2004 and 2005 tort cases in which the court issued an opinion, the defendant — usually a business — won 87 percent of the time. While the court should not be expected to rule 50-50 in such cases, 87 percent suggests that justice isn't blind at the Texas Supreme Court.

A good example of the court's tilt toward business was its 9-0 ruling in the Entergy case, which for the first time protected plant owners from negligence lawsuits when contracts workers were injured on the job. To reach that ruling the court had to ignore years of settled practice on that very point in Texas, as well as legislative intent. Facing a storm of criticism, the court has agreed to reconsider the ruling.

In another case, the court ruled 6-3 in a case that a Colleyville church could not be held liable for harm to a young woman held down for two hours against her will to free her of a demon. Constitutional protection for religious liberty, the majority said, protected the church.

There have been other embarrassments as well, with questions raised about some justices using their political accounts for personal travel expenses, one justice and his wife caught up in a suspicious fire that destroyed their home and yet another who tried to get the Legislature to pay his legal bills for defending himself in an ethics case...

Place 7 – Texans are so used to candidates of dubious qualification but well-known name running for public office that they might automatically dismiss someone named Sam Houston, 45, a Democrat who is challenging the Republican incumbent for this seat, Dale Wainwright, 47.

But voters should take this Houston — no relation to the original — seriously enough to vote for him. From Houston, Houston is a trial lawyer with broad litigation experience and a critic of the Supreme Court, which he says needs more balance.

Wainwright has a terrific résumé and is personally impressive, but his output has been light compared to the other justices.

...

Place 8 — Linda Yañez, 60, a Democrat on the state's 13th Court of Appeals, based in Corpus Christi, is challenging the incumbent, Phil Johnson, 63, a former chief justice of the 7th Court of Appeals at Amarillo.

Yañez, too, says the court needs to go more to the middle, and her up-from-the-bootstraps personal story would bring a useful perspective to a court dominated by the products of big law firms.

The Daily Texan endorses Jim Jordan and Linda Yanez for Texas Supreme Court (and Susan Strawn for the Court of Crininal Appeals):

Supreme Court Chief Justice: Jim Jordan

Democratic candidate Jim Jordan, who is running for chief justice against incumbent Wallace Jefferson, is a highly experienced, competent candidate that would provide the court the diversity of perspective it currently lacks. Jordan, a practicing attorney with more than 20 years of experience, has actively served the community as a member of the American Board of Trial Advocates and the Texas Association of Defense Counsel. Though Jordan is running as a Democrat, he believes that partisan politics should not interfere with the stance justices take on court cases. In a court that has been criticized for exceeding its Constitutional authority and ignoring the role of juries, we believe Jordan will use his legal knowledge and experience to bring the court back on track.

Supreme Court Justice, Place 8: Linda Yanez

While her opponent Phil Johnson is a respectable candidate, Linda Yanez is well-qualified to be part of the dissenting voice the court lacks. Yanez is a former Harvard Law School instructor and has been serving on the 13th Court of Appeals in Texas since Gov. Ann Richards appointed her in 1993. In her time on the court, she has authored more than 800 opinions and served on panel for more than 3,500. Yanez has the potential to bring a new perspective to the Supreme Court while moving quickly to help the court work through its backlog of cases.

Here's the Daily Texan endorsement in the race for Court of Criminal Appeals, Place 3: Susan Strawn

The experience of working with the United States Department of Justice for 14 years, as well as two additional years’ service with the United States Department of Treasury, has given Susan Strawn a modern, well-rounded knowledge of the inner workings of the nation’s court systems. A native Texan, Strawn has spent much of her public service career traveling to places like the Balkans and West Africa on behalf of the federal government. Her work in West Africa focused on the enforcement of anti-money laundering, anti-corruption and counter-terrorist financing laws. Strawn’s impressive resume leads us to conclude that she will work to provide necessary improvements to Texas’ Court of Criminal Appeals. Recently, the court has been criticized by others in the legal community for a history of absent and irresponsible judges. Thankfully, Strawn seeks to offer fresh and innovative solutions for the court’s future.

Here's a running tally of Texas Supreme Court newspaper endorsements for Sam Houston and Linda Yanez so far:

Sam Houston endorsements -

The Dallas Morning News
The Austin American Statesman
The Corpus Christi Caller Times
The Waco Tribune
The Nacogdoches Daily Sentinel

Linda Yanez endorsements -

The Houston Chronicle
The San Antonio Express News
The Austin American Statesman
The Corpus Christi Caller Times
The Waco Tribune
The Nacogdoches Daily Sentinel
The Bryan-College Station Eagle
The Daily Texan