The Dallas-area appeals court is likely to turn red after a Republican victory

According to unofficial results, Republicans claimed all the seats up for grabs in Tuesday's race for the Dallas-based Fifth District Court of Appeals — flipping the almost entirely Democratic court.

Eight of the thirteen seats were up for re-election this year, including a pair of seats left vacant by incumbents who did not run for re-election, and one that was defeated in the primary.

According to unofficial results from the Texas Department of State, Republicans won every race. Some won by less than a percentage point, a major shift in the court's political makeup.

This court is one of fifteen intermediate courts of appeals in the state, including a new statewide court of 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 a six-year term.

This time all Republican candidates were supported by the Judicial Fairness PACa group that wanted to dethrone Democratic judges across the state. The PAC has formally endorsed GOP appeals court judges 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 weekalong with notable North Texas entrepreneurs such as Ken Fisher of Fisher Investments and the Huffines brothers.

While the Judicial Fairness PAC targeted Democratic judges for their pretrial detention practices, appellate courts do not play a direct role in presiding over criminal trials or bail. But Texas A&M School of Law professor Jenny Carroll told KERA News that the political group and its donors may not have favored more conservative judges just to change pretrial detention policies.

“I think they support these appellate judges because they want a certain view to be applied, whether in criminal court, in civil court, in the lower court, in that appellate court,” Carroll said.

That vision could also include creating a more business-friendly legal system, according to other experts. The Republican candidates are also backed by the Texans for Lawsuit Reform PAC, which has been a leader in efforts to make it harder to sue companies under Texas law.

The court flipped to blue when a slew of Democrats won the 2018 election as part of a “blue wave” in Texas. Some Democratic candidates were endorsed by this year Democrats as judgethat has distributed political advertisements funded by the individual candidates.

All results are unofficial until certified by the Texas Secretary of State.

Chief Justice

Republican Justin Jay “JJ” 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 misdemeanor court. Koch loses his re-election bid in court the year before, making him the county's last Republican commissioner.

Koch will replace Robert Burns III, who did not run for re-election, as the court's chief justice.

Williams was elected judge of the 101st Civil District Court in 2014 and was re-elected in 2018 and 2022.

Place 2

Republican Jessica Lewis defeated Democratic incumbent Robbie Partida-Kipness with 52% of the vote.

Lewis is a Dallas-based attorney at a boutique bankruptcy and mediation law firm. She specializes in assisting debtors, creditors and buyers in bankruptcy cases. She started in bankruptcy and litigation at Baker Botts, an international law firm.

Lewis became a judge on the 14th District Court in 2020 and the Dallas County Court on Act 4 in 2022, losing to Democrats both times.

“I am not a politician, but have chosen to run for office because I believe we must actively protect our justice system by selecting judges who consistently exhibit and pursue excellence and integrity,” Lewis' campaign website reads.

Partida-Kipness became the court's first Spanish judge 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 principal attorney of the Law Offices of Barbare and Associates, which counts criminal law, immigration law, family law and estate planning among its specialties. She has experience in state and federal criminal and family law.

“Remarkably, she has successfully handled high-profile cases, including one in which she overturned multiple cases and vindicated innocent Dallas residents wrongly imprisoned for a substance that turned out to be fake drugs, cementing her reputation as a formidable force in the legal arena was strengthened. ,” her campaign website reads.

Nowell was elected to the court in 2018 and served 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 at the national law firm Thompson, Coe, Cousins ​​and Irons since 2017. He has trial and appellate experience in state and federal courts. Recently his practice focused on representing insurers, according to his company's website.

“If I am given the privilege to serve on the Fifth Court of Appeals, I will do my best to be a fair and impartial judge, applying the plain words of the law and not making laws from the bench,” said Kolodoski. campaign website reads. “I am committed to providing a fair justice system to all who come before the Fifth Court of Appeals.”

He will replace former Judge Bill Pedersen III, who did not run for re-election.

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. In 2022, he ran unsuccessfully as a write-in candidate in the 301st District Court, a family court.

Reichek was elected to the court in 2018. Most of her legal experience before joining the court was spent “advocating for the rights of employees and 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 courts and is vice chairman of the firm.

Rossini will replace former judge Cory Carlyle, who defeated Cooks with nearly 60% of the vote in the Democratic primary in March.

Cooks is a former judge of the 255th District Court, a family court. She has been a licensed attorney in Texas for 22 years. according to her campaign website.

The State Commission for Judicial Conduct issued a public warning and order for additional education v. Cooks for engaging in joint campaign efforts for re-election 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 senior counsel at the Willis Law Group, which is headquartered in Garland. He has more than 30 years of experience in complex civil cases at trial and appellate level.

Gov. Greg Abbott appointed Lee as judge of the 256th District Court in Dallas in 2022 and also as a judge of the 95th District Court in 2020.

Lee has previously run for judicial office in Dallas and lost several times to Democrats, including running 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. Previously, he served as a judge on the 95th District Court in Dallas for nearly a decade.

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. Previously, she served as a judge at Collin County's 470th District Court, 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 websiteand emphasized that not legislating from the court is one of its legal values.

Do you have a tip? Email Toluwani Osibamowo at tosibamowo@kera.org. You can follow Toluwani on X @tosibamowo.

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