Republicans claimed all the seats up for grabs in Tuesday's race for the Dallas-based Fifth District Court of Appeals, according to unofficial results — flipping what was a nearly all-Democratic court.
Eight of the 13 places were up for reelection this year, including a few seats left vacant by incumbents who didn't run for reelection and one who was defeated in primary elections.
Republicans won each race, according to unofficial results from the Texas Secretary of State's Office. Some won by less than a percentage point, a major shift in the political makeup of the court.
This court is one of 15 intermediate appellate courts across the state, which includes a new court for statewide civil appeals. The Fifth Court of Appeals hears appeals in civil and criminal cases from Dallas, Collin, Rockwall, Kaufman, Hunt and Grayson counties. Judges serve six-year terms.
This time, all the Republican candidates were endorsed by the Judicial Fairness PAC, a group that looked to unseat Democratic judges across the state. The PAC formally endorsed GOP appellate court justices and candidates in Dallas, Houston, San Antonio and Corpus Christi.
Billionaire CEO of Tesla and SpaceX Elon Musk was one of the PAC’s top donors with a $2 million gift reported last week, along with notable North Texas business owners such as Ken Fisher of Fisher Investments and the Huffines brothers.
While the Judicial Fairness PAC targeted Democratic judges over their pretrial detention practices, appellate courts don’t play a direct role in presiding over criminal trials or bail. But Texas A&M School of Law professor Jenny Carroll told KERA News the political group and its donors may not have endorsed more conservative judges just to change pretrial detention policy.
“I think they're endorsing these appellate judges because they want to see a particular vision applied, whether in criminal or civil court, to the lower court, to that trial level court,” Carroll said.
That vision, other experts say, could also include creating a more business-friendly judiciary. The Republican candidates are also backed by the Texans for Lawsuit Reform PAC, which has been a leader in the effort to make it harder to sue businesses under Texas law.
The court flipped to being blue when a slew of Democrats won elections as part of a “blue wave” in Texas in 2018. Some of the Democratic candidates this year were backed by Democrats for Judge, which has put out political advertising funded by the individual candidates.
All results are unofficial until certified by the Texas Secretary of State.
Chief Justice
Republican Justin Jay "J.J." Koch narrowly defeated Democrat Staci Williams with 51% of the vote.
Gov. Greg Abbott appointed Koch in 2023 as judge of Dallas County Criminal District Court 2, a felony court. Koch lost his reelection bid for commissioners court the year prior, making him the county's last Republican commissioner.
Koch will replace Robert Burns III, who did not run for reelection, as the court’s top justice.
Williams was elected as judge of the 101st Civil District Court in 2014 and won reelection in 2018 and 2022.
Place 2
Republican Jessica Lewis defeated Democratic incumbent Robbie Partida-Kipness with 52% of the vote.
Lewis is a Dallas attorney at a boutique bankruptcy and mediation law firm. She specializes in representing debtors, creditors and purchasers in bankruptcy matters. She started out in bankruptcy and litigation at Baker Botts, an international law firm.
Lewis ran to be judge of the 14th District Court in 2020 and Dallas County Court at Law 4 in 2022, losing to Democrats both times.
“I’m no politician but have chosen to run because I believe that we must actively protect our judicial system by selecting judges who consistently exhibit and pursue excellence and integrity,” Lewis’ campaign website reads.
Partida-Kipness became the court's first Hispanic justice when she was elected to the court in 2018, according to the court's website.
Place 5
Republican Cynthia Barbare defeated Democratic incumbent Erin Nowell with 51% of the vote.
Barbare is the founder and lead attorney at the Law Offices of Barbare and Associates, which counts criminal defense, immigration law, family law and estate planning among its specialties. She has state and federal criminal and family law experience.
“Notably, she has successfully managed high-profile cases, including one where she overturned multiple cases and vindicated innocent Dallas residents who were wrongly jailed for a substance that turned out to be fake drugs, solidifying her reputation as a formidable force in the legal arena,” her campaign website reads.
Nowell was elected to the court in 2018 and was the court’s only Black judge.
Place 9
Republican Matthew Kolodoski defeated Democrat Tina Clinton by less than a percentage point, with 50.13% of the vote.
Kolodoski has been an attorney since 2017 with the national law firm Thompson, Coe, Cousins and Irons. He has trial and appellate experience in state and federal courts. Most recently, his practice focused on representing insurance carriers, according to his firm’s website.
“If given the privilege to serve on the Fifth Court of Appeals, I will work to be a fair and unbiased judge who applies the plain words of the law and does not legislate from the bench,” Kolodoski’s campaign website reads. “I am committed to providing a fair judicial system to everyone who comes before the Fifth Court of Appeals.”
He will replace former Justice Bill Pedersen III, who did not run for reelection.
Clinton is the judge of Dallas County Criminal Court 1.
Place 10
Republican Earl Jackson defeated Democratic incumbent Amanda Reichek in another close race, with 50.3% of the vote.
Jackson specializes in family law and is the founder of a family law practice in Farmers Branch. He unsuccessfully ran as a write-in candidate in 2022 for the 301st District Court, a family court.
Reichek was elected to the court in 2018. Most of her legal experience before she joined the court was spent “advocating for the rights of employees and labor unions,” according to her campaign website.
Place 11
Republican Gino Rossini defeated Democrat Kim Cooks with 51% of the vote.
Rossini, another Thompson Coe attorney, specializes in civil appeals in state and federal court and is the firm’s Appellate Litigation Vice Chair.
Rossini will replace former Justice Cory Carlyle, whom Cooks defeated with nearly 60% of the vote in the Democratic primary election in March.
Cooks is a former judge for the 255th District Court, a family court. She has been a licensed Texas attorney for 22 years, according to her campaign website.
The State Commission on Judicial Conduct issued a public warning and order of additional education against Cooks for conducting joint campaign efforts for reelection with current juvenile judge Andrea Martin in 2018 — a violation of the Texas Code of Judicial Conduct.
Place 12
Republican Mike Lee defeated Democratic incumbent Ken Molberg with 51% of the vote.
Lee is the senior counsel at the Willis Law Group, which has a principal office in Garland. He has more than 30 years of experience in complex civil litigation at the trial and appellate level.
Gov. Greg Abbott appointed Lee as judge of the 256th District Court in Dallas in 2022 and also as judge of the 95th District Court in 2020.
Lee has previously run for judicial office in Dallas and lost to Democrats several times, including his run against Judge Tonya Parker for her current position and against Judge Staci Williams for her current position.
Molberg was elected to the Fifth Court of Appeals in 2018. For nearly 10 years before that, he was judge of the 95th District Court in Dallas.
Place 13
Incumbent Emily Miskel, the court’s lone Republican, defeated Democrat Tonya Parker with 50.32% of the vote.
Gov. Greg Abbott appointed Miskel to the appeals court in 2022 to replace Leslie Osborne, who resigned from the bench. Before that, she served as judge of the 470th District Court of Collin County, a family court, for more than seven years.
Miskel “fought to keep our courts open during the pandemic” with virtual hearings, according to her campaign website, and emphasized not legislating from the bench as one of her judicial values.
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