U.S. District Chief Judge Barbara Lynn and Texas District Judge Tonya Parker are the two best civil court judges in Dallas, according to a new poll of lawyers who practice before them.
The survey gave three other judges – state District Judge Staci Williams and County Court at Law judges D’Metria Benson and Sally Montgomery – failing grades. State District Judge Eric Moyé needs to improve his judicial temperament and state District Judge Emily Tobolowsky needs to issue her opinions and orders more quickly, the report states.
The Dallas Bar Association polls its members every other year regarding the characteristics of the trial and appellate court judges, including knowledge of the law, impartiality, preparedness for hearings and swiftness in issuing decisions. This year, 929 of the 9,749 lawyers who are members of the DBA participated in the poll.
Lawyers in the survey, which was released Friday, heaped praise on federal Chief Judge Lynn and Judge Parker.
Ninety-seven percent of lawyers in the poll gave Judge Lynn positive reviews, including 85% who said her overall performance is excellent. Judge Parker received favorable ratings from 94% of lawyers, including 81% who listed her as excellent.
U.S. Bankruptcy Judge Harlin Hale received the most “excellent” ratings (87%) and a 91% rating overall.
Ninety-three percent of Dallas attorneys approve of the work County Court at Law Judge Mark Greenberg is doing.
The lowest rating by far went to County Court at Law Judge D’Metria Benson. Only 20% of the Dallas attorneys said she is doing an acceptable job, while 77% think she needs overall improvement.
Fellow County Court at Law Judge Sally Montgomery received an approval rating of 41%, but 56% said she needs to improve.
The lowest rating for a state district judge went to Judge Staci Williams. Forty-one percent of the lawyers approved of her overall work, while 55% said she needs to improve.
To review the full results of the Dallas Bar judicial poll, please visit https://www.dallasbar.org/index.cfm?pg=judicial-evaluation-poll.