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Democratic challengers collectively raised a total of $722,167 by the end of June 2008 to unseat the three Republican justices who raised almost $1.6 million in the same period. The Democrats took 69 percent of their money from lawyers and litigants who had recent business before the Supreme Court, surpassing the incumbents (who got 65 percent of their funds from courtroom contributors). The challengers’ reliance on courtroom contributions ranged from a low of 64 percent for Chief Justice candidate Jim Jordan to a high of 74 percent for Sam Houston. A comparison of the top courtroom contributors to the Republican incumbents versus their Democratic challengers reveals that corporate defense firms favor the incumbents while plaintiff firms favor the challengers.
Three Challengers Took
69 Percent
of Their Campaign Funds From Courtroom Contributors
Challenger
Seeking Election
In Nov. 2008 |
Total
Raised
Jan. ‘07 To July ’08 |
Total
Courtroom
Contributions |
Courtroom Funds
As Share
of Total |
Incumbent
He/She Is
Challenging |
| Linda Yañez (D) |
$306,571 |
$207,421 |
68% |
Johnson |
| Sam Houston (D) |
$254,116
|
$187,902
|
74%
|
Wainwright |
| Jim Jordan* (D) |
$161,480 |
$103,134 |
64% |
Jefferson |
TOTALS: |
$722,167 |
$498,457 |
69% |
|
*Chief Justice candidate.
Exacerbating the challengers’ uphill financial fight is the fact that the three incumbent justices ran unopposed in the Republican Primary while two of the Democratic challengers had to spend money to defeat serious primary opposition. Recalling the Battle of San Jacinto, Sam Houston took his licks in the Democratic Primary but prevailed with 56 percent of the vote. Linda Yañez won her primary squeaker with just 51 percent.
Supreme Court Candidates’ Cash On Hand
Court
Seat |
Candidate |
March 2008
Primary
Vote |
Campaign
Cash On Hand
June 30, 2008
|
Chief |
Wallace Jefferson |
100% |
$742,011 |
|
Jim Jordan |
100% |
$96,713 |
7 |
Dale Wainwright |
100% |
$260,067 |
|
Sam Houston |
56% |
$39,427 |
8 |
Phil Johnson |
100% |
$605,582 |
| |
Linda Yañez |
51% |
$111,089 |
 |
|
Then-Governor Ann Richards appointed Linda Yañez to the 13th Court of Appeals in Corpus Christi in 1993. Justice Yañez previously served as a clinical instructor at Harvard Law School and as a regional counsel to the Mexican American Legal Defense Fund. An earlier Texans For Public Justice study found that lawyers and law firms accounted for 95 percent of the money that Justice Yañez raised for her 13th Court of Appeals reelection campaign in 1998.13
|
Linda Yañez’s
Top Courtroom Contributors
Total
Amount |
Courtroom Contributor |
Interest |
$25,000 |
Feazell Rosenthal & Watson |
Law Firm |
$20,000 |
Barker Leon Fancher & Matthys |
Law Firm |
$10,000 |
Frank L. Branson PC |
Law Firm |
$7,500 |
Atlas & Hall Law Firm |
Law Firm |
$6,000 |
Roerig Oliveira & Fisher LLP |
Law Firm |
$5,500 |
Jones Galligan Key & Lozano LLP |
Law Firm |
$5,500 |
Law Office of Douglas Allison |
Law Firm |
$5,000 |
Dehay & Elliston LLP |
Law Firm |
$5,000 |
International Bank of Commerce |
Bank |
$5,000 |
Jamail & Kolius |
Law Firm |
$5,000 |
Kittleman Thomas Ramirez… |
Law Firm |
$5,000 |
L&F Distributors |
Alcohol/Gambling |
$5,000 |
Mithoff & Jacks LLP |
Law Firm |
$5,000 |
Provost & Umphrey Law Firm |
Law Firm |
$5,000 |
Sutton & Jacobs LLP |
Law Firm |
$4,500 |
Rhodes & Vela LLP |
Law Firm |
$4,175 |
Fleming & Associates LLP |
Law Firm |
$4,000 |
Fibich Hampton Leebron & Garth |
Law Firm |
$4,000 |
Hockema Tippit & Escobedo LLP |
Law Firm |
$3,750 |
Law Office of Susan Hays PC |
Law Firm |
$3,000 |
Sico White & Braugh LLP |
Law Firm |
 |
|
Like his opponent, Justice Dale Wainwright, Sam Houston previously worked for Andrews & Kurth in the city named after Houston’s presumptive namesake. Houston and other members of that firm left in 1992 to start Cruse Scott Henderson & Allen, which represents both plaintiffs and defendants in civil lawsuits. This firm, which has had nine matters before the Supreme Court since 2005, is Sam Houston’s top courtroom contributor. One of Houston’s partners, Stephen R. Bailey, also gave Wainwright $500 several months before Houston established his campaign committee in October 2007. Andrews & Kurth’s political committee exclusively supported the incumbent justices this round, though two of its attorneys gave Houston a total of $750. |
Sam Houston's
Top Courtroom Contributors
Total
Amount |
Courtroom Contributor |
Interest |
$37,500 |
Cruse Scott Henderson & Allen LLP |
Law Firm |
$30,000 |
Fibich Hampton Leebron & Garth LLP |
Law Firm |
$15,000 |
Jamail & Kolius |
Law Firm |
$15,000 |
O'Quinn Laminack & Pirtle |
Law Firm |
$7,500 |
Ware Snow Fogel & Jackson LLP |
Law Firm |
$5,000 |
Beck Redden & Sechrest LLP |
Law Firm |
$5,000 |
Berg & Androphy |
Law Firm |
$5,000 |
Frank L. Branson PC |
Law Firm |
$5,000 |
Jones & Granger |
Law Firm |
$5,000 |
Kirkpatrick & Lockhart Preston Gates |
Law Firm |
$5,000 |
Mithoff & Jacks LLP |
Law Firm |
$5,000 |
Tracey Law Firm |
Law Firm |
$3,000 |
Ammons Law Firm LLP |
Law Firm |
$2,500 |
Fisher Boyd Brown Boudreaux… |
Law Firm |
$2,500 |
John W. Stevenson Jr. & Associates |
Law Firm |
$2,500 |
Matthews & Associates |
Law Firm |
$2,000 |
Freeman Law Firm |
Law Firm |
$2,000 |
Jackson Walker LLP |
Law Firm |
$2,000 |
Matthiesen & Associates |
Law Firm |
$1,752 |
Griffith Nixon Davison PC |
Law Firm |
 |
|
Then-Governor Mark White appointed Jim Jordan to a Dallas County state district court vacancy in 1986 but Jordan lost that post to a Republican challenger in his first election. Jordan then practiced law with Riddle & Brown and joined Shannon Gracey Ratliff & Miller in 2000. That firm, which has had 35 matters before the Supreme Court since 2005, gave $1,200 to Jordan and a total of $1,500 to Justices Wainwright and Johnson. Dallas voters elected Jordan to his current post as judge of the 160th District Court in 2006. |
Jim Jordan’s
Top Courtroom Contributors
Total
Amount |
Courtroom Contributor |
Interest |
$10,000 |
Williams Bailey Law Firm LLP |
Law Firm |
$6,916 |
Baron & Budd PC |
Law Firm |
$5,968 |
Michael E. Schmidt PC |
Law Firm |
$5,000 |
Frank L. Branson PC |
Law Firm |
$5,000 |
Friedman & Feiger LLP |
Law Firm |
$5,000 |
Kirkpatrick & Lockhart Preston Gates |
Law Firm |
$5,000 |
Law Office of Stephen F. Malouf |
Law Firm |
$5,000 |
Mithoff & Jacks LLP |
Law Firm |
$3,500 |
Waters & Kraus LLP |
Law Firm |
$3,000 |
Redwine Law Offices |
Law Firm |
$2,500 |
McKool & Smith LLP |
Law Firm |
$2,500 |
Provost & Umphrey Law Firm |
Law Firm |
$2,500 |
Strasburger & Price |
Law Firm |
$2,000 |
Eberstein & Witherite LLP |
Law Firm |
$2,000 |
Stanley Mandel & Iola LLP |
Law Firm |
$2,000 |
Vinson & Elkins LLP |
Law Firm |
$1,500 |
Freeman Law Firm |
Law Firm |
$1,500 |
Sayles Lidji & Werbner |
Law Firm |
$1,450 |
Fulbright & Jaworski LLP |
Law Firm |
$1,300 |
Stradley & Wright |
Law Firm |
$1,200 |
Shannon Gracey Ratliff & Miller |
Law Firm |
13 “Lowering the Bar: Lawyers Keep Texas Appeals Judges on Retainer,” Texans For Public Justice, May 2003. http://www.tpj.org/docs/2002/05/reports/apcourt/ |
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