Mike Engelhart is judge of the 151st Civil District Court in Harris County (Houston area) and is up for re-election this year by all voters of the county. He is the Democratic nominee.
A state district court is a trial court for major cases. Many Texas counties have several district courts and in large counties like Harris County they may be divided into civil, criminal, and family district courts. District judges are elected to 4-year terms; the elections may be staggered among alternate even-numbered years. Some 30 district judges are on the ballot this year in Harris County. This county has one of the longest ballots in the country. It is difficult to make informed decisions about judgeships, perhaps even for many lawyers. This diary is the first of a series to throw some light into the darkness but I do not expect to cover all the judicial races.
In my conversing with him he has impressed me as quite intelligent, with a good attitude. This is mainly what I can hope to learn from talking with a judicial candidate. I am not a lawyer, after all.
I remember that at a fundraising party I attended in 2012 Judge Engelhart promised he would be generous in granting jury trials. Corporations' lawyers often ask a judge for a summary judgment, bypassing a jury trial which could work to the plaintiff's advantage. After 2012 there was a case tried by this judge involving a party you or I would not like. Dave Wilson, a well-known crusading homophobe, was elected to the board of Houston Community College but Harris County sued not to let him be seated because of a question of his residency in the district. This judge granted Wilson a jury trial, which Wilson won. That tells me this is a fair judge.
Mike Engelhart got his law degree at The University of Houston Law Center in 1995. As an undergraduate he had earned a BA in political science at the University of Michigan in Ann Arbor. He is Board Certified in Personal Injury Trial law.
He was elected to his present court in 2008, when Obama won Harris County. He was re-elected in 2012, when he received the second highest number of votes of any district judge in the county.
Just this last month he received the Trial Judge of the Year Award from the Texas Association of Civil Trial and Appellate Specialists.
He has gladly performed same-gender marriages and that is a big issue for me personally. He performed perhaps 5 on June 26, 2015, the day the U. S. Supreme Court delivered the Obergefell decision.
It costs money to run for any office. Your donations would be most appreciated. From the donation page you can plant a link on Facebook to ask others to donate their shares.
You can vote for him if you are registered to vote in Harris County. Early voting will start in the middle of October. Always wise to vote early so you have time to rectify problems. You must be registered, however, at least 30 days prior to Nov. 8.