In some of those counties -- especially the larger ones, unfortunately -- the District Judges spend more time raising money for re-election than they do on the bench.
In election years, I spent more time going to $100-a-plate barbecues than I did trying cases. Some judges you knew were above favoritism; some were known practitioners of it; some of them, you just didn't know. Most of us went to all the barbecues, and made sure the judge saw us there; we wanted to support the first group, we wanted the second group to treat us "fairly," and we couldn't take a chance on the third group.
Thanks for posting this; I'll be contacting my legislators and asking them to support a "Missouri Plan" law for Texas!
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