Former President Donald Trump and Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton are aiming to unseat three incumbent judges on the Texas Court of Criminal Appeals, the highest criminal court in the state. Texas voters elect judges in usually sleepy elections.
The cause of the friction stems from a 2021 ruling. The Texas Court of Criminal Appeals ruled 8 to 1 that the state constitution did not give the Texas Attorney General the power to initiate voter fraud investigations. His office must be invited on to a case by a local prosecutor. Paxton wants new people on the court to overturn its decision.
The future of this court may hold direct sway over Paxton himself. The attorney general has a criminal trial in Harris County beginning in April over nearly decade-old securities fraud allegations. Paxton has pleaded not guilty. The outcome of the case could be appealed - to the Texas Court of Criminal Appeals for the final decision.
Most death penalty and other high-profile criminal cases end up before the judges on the court. Judges Sharon Keller, Barbara Hervey, and Michelle Slaughter ruled in the majority on the voter fraud case from Jefferson County. They are running for reelection.
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The organization Judicial Fairness PAC is supporting them with campaign ads.
Paxton has endorsed David Schenk, Gina Parker, and Lee Finley. Paxton's allies are key fundraisers in the group supporting them, Texans for Responsible Judges. Monday night, former President Trump endorsed the trio because the incumbents "stripped" power from "Texas’ Great Attorney General Ken Paxton."
In a rare television interview from KLBK, Paxton criticized the ruling limiting his power to look into voter fraud.
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"Out of the blue, the court of criminal appeals, that no one ever follows, suddenly decides that it’s unconstitutional," said Paxton, “It’s ludicrous."
The incumbent judges argue the state constitution, which governs the many powers of state officials, simply doesn't give Paxton the power he wants.
“Since 1836, the attorney general has never had the duty to initiate criminal prosecutions," Judge Michelle Slaughter told KXAN, "It seems that our attorney general is angry at us because we were not partisan political activist judges on his behalf.”
"I’ve always been criticized, if anything, for being too conservative. I think that this is more misinformation. Of course, we didn’t strip the AG of his authority anyway, the constitution did it," said the presiding judge on the court Sharon Keller.
NBC 5 asked Senator John Cornyn about the election at a local event.
“Judges have a very difficult time because they have to make decisions independent of politics and when somebody doesn’t like the outcome in a case because the judge correctly applied the law to the facts and rendered a judgment," said Sen. Cornyn.
Cornyn has served as a Texas Supreme Court Justice and is a former Texas Attorney General.
"It seems a little unfair to make them an object of political attacks but we do have an elected system of judges in our state and it seems to work pretty well. I think the voters can sort this out and I trust they will," said Cornyn.
This is the second time in recent months former President Trump has pressured the Texas judicial system on Paxton's behalf. In late January, the Texas Supreme Court put depositions on a whistleblower lawsuit on hold after Trump criticized the court. The Court will have a hearing on the issue later this Spring.
Early voting ends March 1st. The primary election day is March 5th.
