It’s time voters heard the TRUTH about the race for Chief Justice, Fifth District Court of Appeals, and why change is needed on this important appellate court.
First, let’s talk about what’s happening with the court right now. According to statistics from the Office of Court Administration (OCA), the Fifth District Court of Appeals has a backlog, particularly in criminal cases, that it is not addressing. New leadership is needed to ensure the effective administration of justice.
+ The Fifth District Court of Appeals has the highest number of backlogged pending criminal cases over a 24-month period of ANY intermediate appellate court in Texas as of the end of the 2023 Fiscal Year. WHY? Is it because all of the justices aren’t carrying their weight on the court? Perhaps. Consider the below.
+ Denise Garcia, who claims to be the most qualified candidate in this race, is actually the poorest performing of all of the justices on the Fifth District Court of Appeals. For example, for the same time period, she wrote the lowest number of Original Opinions on Merit of any justice. She further was the worst performer when it came to total opinions. Garcia’s total opinions rendered were well under the average for the entire court.
Second, consider who you really want in the role of chief justice. Do you want someone who is literally handing Gregg Abbott the opportunity to appoint a REPUBLICAN justice to this court? Because that’s what will happen if Garcia wins this race.
Finally, look at who is attacking Judge Staci Williams and WHY.
All of the candidates put up for this court, and who have ever won a seat on this court as Democrats are clients of ONE POLITICAL CONSULTANT, who believes he owns the Fifth District Court of Appeals and uses the same as his personal political playground. He doesn’t care WHO is elected to this court as long as he is getting paid by that candidate. He has NO INCENTIVE to run the best candidates. He doesn’t care about the litigants, or the issues at stake. To him, it’s about combining the greatest number of candidates as clients into one group so he can make as much money as possible off of all of those clients–period.
Every attack that has come against Judge Staci, including from sitting justices, is because they don’t want the consultant-led cabal that has given them almost total control of this court disrupted. They are happy with the status quo and the fact that the Fifth District COA is the worst-performing appeals court in Texas when it comes to criminal appeals–where real people’s lives are on the line.
We are fortunate, as Democrats, that this race will essentially be won and lost in the primary thanks to tremendous Democratic turnout from Dallas County in general elections. However, as Democrats, we CANNOT become complacent and simply elect candidates in the primary because they are on a single consultant’s slate. This is machine politics at its worst.
Look at the FACTS in this race, and consider that the only people who benefit if Denise Garcia is elected Chief Justice are her political consultants and Governor Abbott because he gets to appoint someone to her position if she wins.
Staci Williams is the most qualified candidate for this position. Denise Garcia can’t even handle the job she has, according to the statistics from the Office of Court Administration.
The choice is clear: Staci Williams.
WILLIAMS ANNOUNCES RUN FOR CHIEF JUSTICE, FIFTH DISTRICT COURT OF APPEALS
Judge Staci Williams today announced her decision to run for the open Chief Justice seat on the 5th District Court of Appeals in the March 2024 Democratic Primary. In making her announcement, Judge Williams noted she made her decision after a groundswell of support from grassroots activists and the legal community around the District.
“After months of calls from supporters asking me to run, I’ve made the decision to move to a court where I can make a larger, more positive impact on the lives of the people of North Texas. This bench is essential to protect the people of Texas from increasingly radical policies advanced by a very wealthy few. I pledge that the decisions I make will always reflect the law and that I will improve the court by making it more transparent. My focus will always be on the people of the District,” Judge Williams said.
“I am deeply humbled by the outpouring of support from the people across the district. I pledge to continue earning that support by working hard for the people of the Fifth District every single day.”
Sam Jones, Celtics Hall of Famer dies at 88
If you read Sam Jones’s Wikipedia page, you will learn that his nickname during his 12-year career with the Boston Celtics was “The Shooter.”
There’s no question the Hall of Famer was one of the best jump shooters in NBA history. But among those who knew him — his teammates, his coach, Boston media, and fans — his nickname was “Banksie.”
That’s because no one — before or since — made the bank shot into an art form the way Jones did. Of course, almost no one ever called him “Jones” because he wasn’t the only Jones in a backcourt that won 10 NBA titles in 12 seasons. K.C. Jones was his running mate for nine of those 12 seasons. Red Auerbach, their coach, called them “The Jones Boys.”
Sam Jones died Thursday night in Boca Raton, Fla., at age 88. He’d been in poor health this year, finally being forced to give up golf, a game he loved playing — and playing well — into his mid-80s.
A wiry 6-foot-4, Jones scored 15,411 regular-season points in his career — 17.7 per game. Given his ability as a shooter, one wonders how many points he would have scored had the three-point shot existed while he was playing. He was even better in the playoffs, averaging 18.9 points in 154 playoff games.
His story was one that could have been made into a Disney movie. He grew up in the Jim Crow South, playing high school ball in a tiny gym that was heated by stoves at each end of the court. He was recruited almost exclusively by Historically Black Colleges and Universities because the so-called big-time schools in the South weren’t recruiting Black athletes when he graduated from high school in 1951. He went to play for John McLendon at what was then the North Carolina College at Durham — it is now North Carolina Central University. Midway through college, Jones enlisted in the Army; he spent two years there and returned to complete his degree.
When he graduated in 1957, the Celtics had just won their first championship under Auerbach, led by a rookie center named Bill Russell. There were no scouts or even assistant coaches back then, so Auerbach relied on friends to advise him on college players.
Wake Forest Coach Bones McKinney, who had played for Auerbach when Auerbach coached the Washington Caps of the Basketball Association of America, told Auerbach about Jones, whom he’d seen play during his college career.
The Celtics had the last pick of the first round. Sight unseen — as had been the case a year earlier with Russell — Auerbach drafted Jones.
“I’d been drafted by the Lakers while I was in the Army, and I figured that’s where I was going,” he told me last year. “When I heard the Celtics had taken me, I wasn’t that happy about it. They were the world champions and had everybody back from that team. No one left as a free agent back then.”
Jones was the only rookie on that team, beating out three-year veteran Dickie Hemric for the last spot on the roster. Hemric had played at Wake Forest — for McKinney.
Reaed full article here: https://www.washingtonpost.com/sports/2022/01/01/feinstein-sam-jones-red-auerbach/
Statement of Judge Williams Regrading Texas Bar President McDougal’s Comments on BLM
DALLAS–Judge Staci Williams (D-Dallas), candidate for Texas Supreme Court, Place 7, on Monday called out her opponent for continuing to spread false and misleading information concerning alleged endorsements by the Dallas based Committee for a Qualified Judiciary.
Williams, a sitting state district judge in her second term on the civil district court bench in Dallas County, said the accusation from her opponent that she was found not qualified by the Committee for a Qualified Judiciary is simply false.
Williams Says Opponent’s Mailer Misleading – Accuses Voss of Desperate, Deceptive Tactics
DALLAS—Judge Staci Williams, candidate for Texas Supreme Court on Wednesday, said a mail piece distributed by her opponent, Brandi Voss, was misleading, while Williams’ campaign officials said the mailer further shows Voss is unready for Texas’ highest civil court.
NAACP Tyler chapter hosts Citizen Civil Academy
District Court Judge Staci Williams teaches the CCA in the hopes of improving the public’s knowledge of the civil legal system.
TYLER, Texas — The Tyler NAACP hosted 101st District Court Judge Staci Williams for her Citizen Civil Academy Thursday evening.
“It’s a program that I created to educate citizens about the civil court process and civil issues I found when talking to individuals,” Williams said. “All they think of the legal system is the criminal justice system.”
The goal of Williams’ free event was to give people a greater understanding of the civil justice system.
“I want them to understand that the government works for them and there are resources that are available for them that they don’t know anything about,” Williams said. “So we have a big packet of information over 30 some pages, take that back, share it with your community. The more enlightened people become, then they’re more likely to want to participate in the government, as in jury service.”
This is the first time Williams has brought her course out of Dallas County.
She plans on taking the CCA to El Paso next, and funds it entirely with her campaign funds.
https://www.cbs19.tv/article/news/local/naacp-tyler-chapter-hosts-citizen-civil-academy/501-c6b26348-6d4b-4a54-82c6-88d0272db784
Texas Supreme Court candidate Staci Williams visits Big Spring
DALLAS–Judge Staci Williams (D-Dallas), candidate for Texas Supreme Court, Place 7, on Monday called out her opponent for continuing to spread false and misleading information concerning alleged endorsements by the Dallas based Committee for a Qualified Judiciary.
Williams, a sitting state district judge in her second term on the civil district court bench in Dallas County, said the accusation from her opponent that she was found not qualified by the Committee for a Qualified Judiciary is simply false.
Dallas Morning News Recommends Staci WIlliams in the Democratic Primary for Texas Supreme Court Place 7
DALLAS–Judge Staci Williams (D-Dallas), candidate for Texas Supreme Court, Place 7, on Monday called out her opponent for continuing to spread false and misleading information concerning alleged endorsements by the Dallas based Committee for a Qualified Judiciary.
Williams, a sitting state district judge in her second term on the civil district court bench in Dallas County, said the accusation from her opponent that she was found not qualified by the Committee for a Qualified Judiciary is simply false.
Williams Calls on Opponent to Stop Distributing False Information
DALLAS–Judge Staci Williams (D-Dallas), candidate for Texas Supreme Court, Place 7, on Monday called out her opponent for continuing to spread false and misleading information concerning alleged endorsements by the Dallas based Committee for a Qualified Judiciary.
Williams, a sitting state district judge in her second term on the civil district court bench in Dallas County, said the accusation from her opponent that she was found not qualified by the Committee for a Qualified Judiciary is simply false.
Judge Staci Williams for Justice, Supreme Court, Place 7
Judge Staci Williams for Justice, Supreme Court, Place 7