Free Speech, Due Process and Trial by Jury
Houston voters do not have an incumbent candidate to consider as they cast their ballots for the next judge in Harris County’s 80th District Court, but they have two women with varied experience to choose from.
First elected to the bench in 2009, Gomez is currently serving his third term. Archer has practiced law for three decades handling probate matters, business litigation and other civil law.
While it’s not up to the legal community alone who will prevail, a recent poll by the Houston Bar Association indicates that it’s a pretty tight race among Houston lawyers for their pick to serve in the court going forward.
Premium subscribers have access to this expanded Q&A with Dallas lawyer Lauren Medoff.
As early voting in Texas comes to a close this week, Houstonians might undergo a sense of déjà vu as they select their preferred judicial candidate for the 61st District Court: Their choices are the same as they were during the 2016 general election.
The race for the 164th district court features incumbent Michael Landrum, a mediator and arbitrator from Clark Hill Strasburger, against Cheryl Elliott Thornton, a senior assistant attorney for Harris County who is passionate about public service.
The race in Harris County pits incumbent Ursula Hall against Bruce Bain, a litigator and mediator who worked in the White House under President George H.W. Bush.
Chief Justice Nathan Hecht, the Texas Supreme Court's longest-serving justice in state history, faces Travis County District Judge Amy Clark Meachum, the first woman to run for SCOTX's top seat.
In the Place 8 race for the Supreme Court of Texas, incumbent Republican Brett Busby, the second-newest member of the court, faces Democrat Gisela Triana, a justice on the Third Court of Appeals, which is headquartered in Austin and hears of cases from 24 Central Texas counties.
Jane Bland was appointed to the court last year by Gov. Greg Abbott to succeed Justice Jeff Brown. Kathy Cheng, the first Asian American to seek a seat on the state’s highest civil court, runs her own law firm in Houston.
In the race for the Place 7 seat on the Supreme Court of Texas, incumbent Republican Jeff Boyd is paired against Staci Williams, judge of the 101st District Court in Dallas County.
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