Lowering the Bar: Lawyers Keep Texas Appeals Judges on Retainer ©Texans for Public Justice May 2003 Pamela Fridrich, the main researcher of this report, was assisted by Matthew Connolly, Bill Medaille and Andrew Wheat. Illustration and layout by Jason Stout. Copies of this report are available from: Texans for Public Justice 609 W. 18th St., Ste. E Austin, TX 78701 (512) 472-9770
[email protected] www.tpj.org Lowering the Bar: Lawyers Keep Texas Appeals Judges on Retainer I. Summary 1 II. Introduction: Appeals Courts Go Republican 2 III. Appeals Court Contributions At A Glance 4 A. Contributions By Election Cycle 4 B. Contributions By District 5 C. Contributions By Party 6 D. Candidates With More Money Usually Win 7 E. Competition Drives Contributions 9 F. Biggest War Chests 11 IV. Who Bankrolls the Justices? 12 A. Contributions By Donor Size 12 B. Lawyer Money Dominates 12 1. Dependency on Lawyer Money Is Increasing 13 2. Lawyer Dependency By District 13 3. Lawyer Dependency By Party 14 4. Lawyer-Dependency Rankings of Justices 15 5. Top Law Firm Donors 17 C. Contributions By Other Economic Interests 18 D. Top Non-Lawyer Donors 19 V. Appendix: Profiles of the 14 Districts 21 I. Summary The Elected Justices • Republicans—who had 44 of Texas’ 80 intermediate appeals court judges in 1997—held 61 of these posts by January 2003. Republicans benefited from: a conservative swing among Texas voters; having GOP governors appointing justices to fill uncompleted electoral terms; and having a Texas home boy lead the Republican presidential ticket in 2000.