Harris County Judges Make Case For Truth-There Is More They & Houston Lawyers Can Do

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​As part of my Houston Democracy Project work, I went to the May meeting of the Texas Democratic Women-Harris Metro. This  is a strong Democratic club in Harris County. The meeting was Monday evening, May 19. 

There was a panel of judges as featured guests. Above you see the panel. From left to right--Melissa Morris, Veronica Nelson, Natalia Cornelio, Hillary Unger & Te'iva Bell.

The judges said they act in a lawful fashion that enhances public safety. They said the attacks on the judges, almost entirely focused on Criminal Court judges, are in good part about capturing the Civil Courts. 

I believe all of that. I appreciate that many Harris County Judges are becoming more open to making public appearances to explain--within the constraints of ethics rules they are bound by--why they make some of the rulings that make the news.

The judges on the panel said that they would like to speak to your group of any kind, no matter how small the group, to help people understand. They said that they are counting on informed Democratic voters to help make the case with the wider electorate. 

There is more the judges could be doing & more local Democratic Party-supporting lawyers and pro-democracy attorneys who believe in the Constitution could be doing. 

Here are some things the judges could be doing in addition to efforts they are already making: 

1. Have a specific handout, or a website, for voters with clear steps on what to say and how to help.

For example: Will you commit to telling 10 friends that the bond decisions we make are mandated by the Texas Constitution & that Republican Harris County judges make the very same decisions?" 

2. Refine the presentations they make to just hammer out specific bullet points for people to easily repeat to others. The meeting I went to had all sorts of discussion of policy. It's not your role or my role to distill all that down to an effective pitch. They need to do that. 

3. One judge said how people keep getting misdemeanor bond reform confused with felony bond reform. Okay--But this confusion has gone on for years now & Democratic judges are losing seats at election time. Black women judges have so far been taking the hardest ballot-box hit.

What is the path to resolving the issue? One path is to directly ask Commissioner Rodney Ellis to spend some of his $ 6.4 million in campaign cash on hand on a turnout effort. The judges should call him and ask that he spend some of that money to boost Democratic turnout across Harris County in 2026. 

4. Mayor Whitmire keeps attacking the Democratic judges. Mayor Whitmire is sustained within the Democratic Party by the strong support of U.S. Rep. Sylvia Garcia, State Senator Carol Alvarado, State Rep. Armando Walle & by the Texas Gulf Coast Area Labor Federation-AFL-CIO.

Labor will spend money to help elect the judges in 2026. That's good. Because of Whitmire, they'll have to use more resources to support the judges. It is one thing for Republicans to be going after the judges. It is another thing for it to be coming from a Democrat. 

There needs to be a political cost for support of Mayor Whitmire so long as he goes on attacking fellow Democrats. This is a discussion we need to continue and develop. We've seen with Kim Ogg that local Democratic officials can be held accountable by the rank & file. 

What can lawyers do? 

1. Take their oath to the Constitution seriously. It was suggested in the meeting that lawyers who practice in civil courts are not concerned with what goes on in criminal courts. How on Earth can they think the Constitution itself will survive the current onslaught?  Here is the Texas Bar oath all lawyers take.

2. They can raise money on their own to inform voters about what is really going on in the courts and to support the judges. They can offer volunteer time to help elect the judges in 2026. They can do these things because they took an oath to do so & because it is the right thing to do. What do they imagine the practice of law will be in an authoritarian society? 

Active rank & file Democrats in Harris County are at the limits of what they can do. Many of them are older. Door-to-door canvassing involves really hot days and many stray dogs. Many of these people are in multiple organizing groups. Often they spend their own money for stamps and post cards to contact voters. 

There are millions of dollars in these political ecosystems. The people doing at the work at the grassroots level don't see much of that money. It's an exploitive labor model & it is not working to protect democracy. 

Business-as-usual has run its course. We must do better. The leadership to do better will come from each of us. 

Here is the Houston Democracy Project list of things each of us can do to fight Trump/Musk. Here is a fundraising pitch for the Houston Democracy Project. I'm doing the work and showing up in many different ways.  Please help the effort. ​​

I'm on the Egberto Willies Politics Done Right Show every Thursday from 6 AM to 7 AM for the Houston Democracy Project segment. You can hear the show on the radio, stream it on KPFT or watch later Egberto's YouTube channel.

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