Two Democratic former criminal judges are running to return to the bench. Randy Roll is running for the 179th Criminal District Court. Herb Ritchie is running for the 337th Criminal District Court.
Both were elected in 2008 but lost to Republicans in 2012. These courts are trial courts for felony cases.
For this campaign season I am a volunteer. I am not a lawyer.
Randy Roll has a law degree from the South Texas College of Law. He has 28 years experience in criminal law practice, some 8000 cases. In his term beginning in 2009 he relieved a backlog of cases left by his predecessor. He tried some 110 cases. He made sure grand juries reflected Harris County's diversity. None of his cases were reversed on appeal.
He is married to attorney Damon Crenshaw, who has previously run for a judgeship. Yes, on June 26, 2015, after 31 ½ years together. Let’s vote to get marriage equality entrenched!
Roll knows Russian and was a volunteer translator in 1980 for the Russian Olympic Track Team in Houston. "Da zdravstvuyet Tsar Boris Feodorovich! Slava, slava, slava!"
Here is an interview from 2014 with Randy Roll by Houston Chronicle columnist Charles Kuffner.
Herb Ritchie has his law degree from The University of Texas Law School. He also has a BA and MA from that same university, and was a Phi Beta Kappa. He taught classics at Texas and at Baylor. He passed the Texas Bar Examination with the third highest grade.
He has 42 years experience in civil and criminal law as well as appellate procedure. He has been the counsel for the Texas Real Estate Commission and counsel for Southwestern Bell Telephone Co. He has been managing partner for his law firm Ritchie & Glass. In Federal practice he is licensed in 3 of the Federal District Courts of Texas, in the Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals, and before the U.S. Supreme Court.
Here is an interview with Herb Ritchie by Charles Kuffner, also from 2014.
In judicial elections in Harris County there is much element of chance as well as influence from the top of the ballot. After all, these are among the longest ballots in the whole country. In 2008 and 2012 Democrats benefitted from Presidential coattails. Obama narrowly won the county both times. Most judicial candidates got between 46 % and 54 %. The years 2010 and 2014 were bad ones for Democrats.
Campaigns cost money and your donations would be appreciated. The candidates’ websites have donation pages.
The final election date is Tuesday, Nov. 8. To vote you must be registered in Harris County at least 30 days prior to Nov. 8. Early voting starts Monday Oct. 24. Voting early gives one time to rectify problems, avoid long lines at the polls. You may vote early at any of the locations in Harris County, but on Nov. 8 you must vote at your precinct location.