The Austin Chronicle Endorses Sam Houston and Justice Linda Yanez for Texas Supreme Court!

[Yanez Houston Jordan]

The Austin Chronicle endorses Sam Houston and Linda Yanez:

Texas Supreme Court, Place 7: Sam Houston

In the quest to unseat incumbent Justice Dale Wainwright on the all-Republican Texas Supreme Court and to begin the process of rebalancing the scales of justice, we support the candidacy of Democrat Sam Houston. Houston has more than 20 years of experience as a civil attorney in Space City and is board-certified in personal-injury trial law. We believe he has the knowledge and experience necessary to step into the job on Texas' highest civil bench. Houston's assessment that the Supremes have become "results-oriented" in their handling of cases, heavily favoring big-business defendants, is spot-on. His opponent, Dallas attorney Baltasar D. Cruz, is running on a platform of judicial reform – including a plan to change ethics rules to forbid justices from accepting campaign contributions from attorneys with cases pending before the court. We agree that such reforms must be considered but also that turning this court around will take some time and is best begun by electing a more reserved and even-tempered candidate.

Texas Supreme Court, Place 8: Linda Yañez

To face Republican incumbent Phil Johnson in November, Democratic voters have two well-qualified jurists to choose from: Galveston Co. District Judge Susan Criss and 13th Court of Appeals Justice Linda Yañez. Criss is full of energy and ready to run a higher profile campaign than usual for the decidedly sedate civil court, and her enthusiasm is admirable. However, Yañez's experience as an appellate jurist makes her the candidate best qualified for the job of civil high-court justice. Gov. Ann Richards first appointed Yañez to the bench in 1993, making her the first Latina appointed to the court and the first woman to sit on a Texas appeals bench. She has served well, developing a reputation as a reasonable jurist. Yañez's experience earns our support.