Corpus Christi Caller Times Editorials - GOP judicial races will put party voters to test

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Thursday, April 4, 2002
GOP judicial races will put party voters to test
If they will, Republicans can restore stature and balance to the state's two highest and most powerful appeals courts.
Texas' two highest judicial bodies - the Supreme Court, which deals with civil matters, and the Court of Criminal Appeals, which addresses criminal proceedings - are currently 100 percent Republican.
   Democrats naturally hope to change that in November. For its part, the GOP has some unfinished business in Tuesday's runoff regarding four court seats: one on the Supreme Court, three on the Court of Criminal Appeals.
   The Caller-Times Editorial Board endorses the following candidates:
   Texas Supreme Court, Place 2 - Dale Wainwright.
   Court of Criminal Appeals, Place 1- Tim Taft.
   Court of Criminal Appeals, Place 2 - Paul Womack.
   Court of Criminal Appeals, Place 3 - Guy Williams.
   Already, Republicans have done themselves some damage: In the race for Supreme Court, Place 4, they spurned one of Gov. Rick Perry's most impressive court appointees, Xavier Rodriguez, opting instead for Austin attorney Steven Wayne Smith.
   On Tuesday, Republicans can step up and vote for candidates who will serve with distinction. In the process, they can also address worries that both courts have turned too sharply to the right.
   In the Supreme Court race, Dale Wainwright is a clear standout. Appointed to the district court bench in Houston by then-Gov. George W. Bush and later named to fill a Supreme Court vacancy by Gov. Rick Perry, Wainwright would be a solid choice for the GOP - and for Texas.
   For Court of Criminal Appeals, Place 1, Tim Taft, currently a judge on the 1st Court of Appeals in Houston, is a conservative, but rejects the kind of judicial activism that twists the law in knots to serve a political agenda.
   Seeking re-election to Court of Criminal Appeals, Place 2, Paul Womack is the pick. This endorsement, however, is qualified, since Womack wrote the deeply flawed opinion in the Saldano case. That opinion denied an appeal of a death sentence given the defendant after a prosecution "expert" had tarred him as a member of a minority group with a supposed propensity to violence. That was a blot on Womack's record, but does not negate his otherwise solid record on the court.
   Court of Criminal Appeals, Place 3 - A Corpus Christi attorney, Guy Williams, surprised many observers by making it into the runoff. Well-versed in criminal investigations and criminal law, he deserves the support of GOP voters for a trip to Austin.

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