Dallas County now has two Republican district court judges, following last month’s appointment of attorney Mike Lee to the 95th Judicial District Court.
Gov. Greg Abbott appointed Lee to fill the remaining term of now-Justice David Evans, which expires at the end of this year, after Evans was appointed to the 5th Court of Appeals.
“I am excited and humbled,” Lee said following his appointment. “I promise to serve honorably and tirelessly and with distinction, and to be the very best trial judge I can be.”
Judge Lee worked over 30 years as a trial lawyer and says his courtroom experience plus his passion for public policy, the legal system, and education led him to seek public service on the bench. In addition to his legal practice, Lee has served his local parish and its parochial school for more than 20 years.
Lee was sworn in on August 1, joining Judge Ashley Wysocki as the second Republican now presiding over one of the 32 state civil, criminal, and family district courts in the Democrat-dominated county.
Wysocki, a family law specialist, was appointed in 2019 to the 254th District Court, becoming the lone GOP district court judge in Dallas County until Lee’s appointment.
Both judges are on the November ballot and face Democrat challengers.
A couple (literally) of other Republican district court candidates are also on the November ballot: Jessica and Jordan Lewis. Like Lee and Wysocki, the husband-and-wife attorneys share a respect for constitutional liberties and the inherent value of every individual.
Jessica Lewis is challenging 14th District Court incumbent Eric Moyé, the judge who sent salon owner Shelley Luther to jail for contempt of court after she refused to apologize for opening her business in defiance of Abbott’s coronavirus shutdown order.
Jordan Lewis is running for the 162nd District Court against one-term incumbent Maricela Moore, whose campaign has raised almost half a million dollars this election cycle.
In Dallas, Democrat judges regularly run with no Republican opposition, and the consequences are dire for Texas families.
Second-term Democrat Judge Mary Brown ruled last week to allow a mother to chemically castrate her 8-year-old son over the objections of the boy’s father.
This judge ran unopposed in 2018.
Judicial races matter. Worldview matters.
A jury verdict is only as good as the information the jury is permitted to see and hear. And who determines that?
The judge.https://t.co/UgZHhZPvGj
— Jessica Voyce Lewis for Dallas (@JLewisforDallas) August 15, 2020
With Lee, Wysocki, and the Lewises on the November ballot, Dallas County voters will have a choice of worldviews and judicial philosophies in four key races.
Early voting, which the governor extended due to coronavirus concerns, starts on October 13. Election Day is November 3.
