When discussing the Texas Judiciary, we talk about the consequences of the fact that they are elected to their positions: the need for campaign donations, the possibility of justice being "for sale," etc....
I usually only superficially point out that this process is often bypassed when judges resign before an election in order to allow the governor to appoint a replacement who then has the advantage of running as an incumbent. This way the governor can ensure that a judge that shares his or her ideology holds the position.
This might help explain the recent resignations of three Harris county judges: David Bernal, former judge of the civil Harris County 281st District Court; John Wooldridge, ex-judge of the civil Harris County 269th District Court; and Wanda Fowler, who sat on the Houston-based 14th Court of Appeals, which serves 10 counties including Harris.
There is suspicion that they did so in order to avoid losing to a Democrat, if the surge in Democratic voters in Harris County has the impact some predict, but the judges and Harris County Republican Party deny this.
It's interesting to note what these judges have decided to do next in their careers.
All three ex-judges have gone into private law practice at higher salaries.
- Bernal left for Apache Corp
- Fowler joined the law firm Wright, Brown & Close.
- Wooldridge joined Baker Hughes
I imagine that it's nice to be able to hire an ex-judge.
