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Beth Watkins
Beth Watkins (Democratic Party) was a judge for Place 2 of the Texas Fourth District Court of Appeals. She assumed office in 2019. She left office on December 31, 2024.
Watkins (Democratic Party) ran for re-election for the Place 2 judge of the Texas Fourth District Court of Appeals. She lost in the Democratic primary on March 5, 2024.
Watkins completed Ballotpedia's Candidate Connection survey in 2024. Click here to read the survey answers.
Biography
Beth Watkins was born and lives in San Antonio, Texas. She graduated from Alamo Heights High School in 1995. She earned a B.A. from the University of Missouri - Columbia in 1999 and a J.D. from St. Mary's University School of Law in 2002. Watkins' career experience includes working as a briefing attorney with the Texas Fourth District Court of Appeals and as an attorney for Watkins Appeals PLLC.[1]
Elections
2024
See also: Texas intermediate appellate court elections, 2024
General election
General election for Texas Fourth District Court of Appeals Place 2
Velia Meza won election in the general election for Texas Fourth District Court of Appeals Place 2 on November 5, 2024.
Candidate | % | Votes | ||
| ✔ |  | Velia Meza (D)  | 100.0 | 659,396 |
| Total votes: 659,396 | |||
| = candidate completed the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection survey. | ||||
| If you are a candidate and would like to tell readers and voters more about why they should vote for you, complete the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection Survey. | ||||
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Democratic primary election
Democratic primary for Texas Fourth District Court of Appeals Place 2
Velia Meza defeated incumbent Beth Watkins in the Democratic primary for Texas Fourth District Court of Appeals Place 2 on March 5, 2024.
Candidate | % | Votes | ||
| ✔ | | Velia Meza | 52.2 | 61,117 |
 | Beth Watkins | 47.8 | 55,856 | |
| Total votes: 116,973 | |||
| = candidate completed the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection survey. | ||||
| If you are a candidate and would like to tell readers and voters more about why they should vote for you, complete the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection Survey. | ||||
Do you want a spreadsheet of this type of data? Contact our sales team. | ||||
Campaign finance
Endorsements
Ballotpedia did not identify endorsements for Watkins in this election.
2018
General election
General election for Texas Fourth District Court of Appeals Place 2
Beth Watkins defeated incumbent Marialyn Barnard in the general election for Texas Fourth District Court of Appeals Place 2 on November 6, 2018.
Candidate | % | Votes | ||
| ✔ | | Beth Watkins (D) | 52.0 | 429,521 |
 | Marialyn Barnard (R) | 48.0 | 396,458 | |
| Total votes: 825,979 | |||
| = candidate completed the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection survey. | ||||
| If you are a candidate and would like to tell readers and voters more about why they should vote for you, complete the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection Survey. | ||||
Do you want a spreadsheet of this type of data? Contact our sales team. | ||||
Democratic primary election
Democratic primary for Texas Fourth District Court of Appeals Place 2
Beth Watkins advanced from the Democratic primary for Texas Fourth District Court of Appeals Place 2 on March 6, 2018.
Candidate | ||
| ✔ | | Beth Watkins |
| ||||
| = candidate completed the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection survey. | ||||
| If you are a candidate and would like to tell readers and voters more about why they should vote for you, complete the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection Survey. | ||||
Do you want a spreadsheet of this type of data? Contact our sales team. | ||||
Republican primary election
Republican primary for Texas Fourth District Court of Appeals Place 2
Incumbent Marialyn Barnard advanced from the Republican primary for Texas Fourth District Court of Appeals Place 2 on March 6, 2018.
Candidate | ||
| ✔ | | Marialyn Barnard |
| ||||
| = candidate completed the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection survey. | ||||
| If you are a candidate and would like to tell readers and voters more about why they should vote for you, complete the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection Survey. | ||||
Do you want a spreadsheet of this type of data? Contact our sales team. | ||||
Campaign themes
2024
Ballotpedia survey responses
See also: Ballotpedia's Candidate Connection
Beth Watkins completed Ballotpedia's Candidate Connection survey in 2024. The survey questions appear in bold and are followed by Watkins' responses. Candidates are asked three required questions for this survey, but they may answer additional optional questions as well.
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- I work hard. According to the Texas Office of Court Administration, only 1 justice in the state decided more cases than I did in 2023, and he took the bench in 1995–the year I graduated from high school.
- I’m good at my job. When the parties appeal cases I have decided are appealed to the Texas Supreme Court or the Texas Court of Criminal Appeals, my decisions are reversed less than 1% of the time.
- I’m a board-certified expert in civil appellate law. I’m the only Justice on our court of appeals—and the only candidate in this race—who is board certified in appellate law. I was lead counsel in more than 200 appeals to state and federal courts before I took the bench. I took cases to the Texas Supreme Court and won; I took cases to the US Supreme Court and won. My experience and board-certified expertise bring an added element of predictability to the decisions of the Fourth Court of Appeals.
S.A. Professional Firefighters Association
Communication Workers of America Local 6143
Northeast Bexar County Democrats
Bexar County Tejano Democrats
SD19 Tejano Democrats
Stonewall Democrats of San Antonio
Chief Justice Phil Hardberger
Chief Justice Catherine Stone
Retired Bexar County Judge Nelson Wolff
Bexar County Commissioner Tommy Calvert
Note: Ballotpedia reserves the right to edit Candidate Connection survey responses. Any edits made by Ballotpedia will be clearly marked with [brackets] for the public. If the candidate disagrees with an edit, he or she may request the full removal of the survey response from Ballotpedia.org. Ballotpedia does not edit or correct typographical errors unless the candidate's campaign requests it.
2018
Ballotpedia survey responses
- See also: Ballotpedia's candidate surveys
Beth Watkins participated in Ballotpedia's candidate survey on October 3, 2018. The survey questions appear in bold, and Beth Watkins's responses follow below.[2]
What would be your top three priorities, if elected?
| “ | 1. Ensuring that everyone receives fair and equal treatment under the law; 2. Reducing the time an appeal takes to be decided; and |
” |
What areas of public policy are you personally passionate about? Why?
| “ | It is my life’s work to ensure that everyone is treated fairly in Texas appellate courts. I am passionate about making appellate courts more responsive and efficient, so that justice is never delayed or denied.Cite error: Invalid <ref> tag; invalid names, e.g. too many[4]
|
” |
Ballotpedia also asked the candidate a series of optional questions. Beth Watkins answered the following:
Is there a book, essay, film, or something else that best describes your political philosophy?
| “ | I try to start every day with a short prayer—“Please let me be useful.”[4] | ” |
| “ | The most important characteristic for an elected official to have is a true servant’s heart. We need to be represented by people who are in it to serve us, and not to serve themselves.[4] | ” |
| “ | I am board certified in civil appellate law. None of the justices currently sitting on the Fourth Court of Appeals are board certified in civil appellate law. I hope that my expertise might bring an added element of stability and predictability to the opinions of the Fourth Court of Appeals I genuinely understand how appellate court opinions affect lives, and would dedicate myself to ensuring that justice is done.[4] | ” |
| “ | 1. To work hard; 2. To apply the law fairly and without bias; and |
” |
| “ | I respect and admire Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg.[4] | ” |
| “ | The Fourth Court of Appeals, along with the San Antonio Bar Association, holds memorial services to celebrate the lives of local lawyers who have passed away. I had the privilege of participating in those services as President of the San Antonio Bar Association. These services are a lovely way of remembering someone who served our community, and showing that person’s family that our legal community lost a family member we loved very much too.[4] | ” |
| “ | No[4] | ” |
| “ | I have spent my career representing Texas families, consumers, and workers as they seek justice in Texas appellate courts. My experience representing those people whose lives have been changed through no fault of their own has shaped my view of how the justice system works, and makes me want to work to ensure that everyone who comes before the Fourth Court of Appeals has the same opportunity for a full and fair treatment.[4] | ” |
| “ | I do not have previous judicial experience, although I did work at the Fourth Court of Appeals as a Briefing Attorney for one year after graduating from law school. While judicial experience is useful, it is no substitute for expertise.[4] | ” |
| “ | Texas has a ‘justice gap.’ While every Texan has a right to their day in court, civil litigants are not usually entitled to lawyers unless they can pay them. This creates a substantial barrier that leaves the courthouse doors closed to many in our community. As President of the San Antonio Bar Association, I had the privilege to volunteer with and oversee the Community Justice Program. The CJP works to help overcome the justice gap by providing free legal counsel to those that would otherwise not be able to be represented in our courts. At the appellate level, other courts in the state have adopted programs that match civil litigants with volunteer attorneys, but the Fourth Court has not done so yet. I will continue to do my part to close the justice gap by making it a priority to launch that program in the Fourth Court of Appeals.[4] | ” |
Campaign finance summary
Note: The finance data shown here comes from the disclosures required of candidates and parties. Depending on the election or state, this may represent only a portion of all the funds spent on their behalf. Satellite spending groups may or may not have expended funds related to the candidate or politician on whose page you are reading this disclaimer. Campaign finance data from elections may be incomplete. For elections to federal offices, complete data can be found at the FEC website. Click here for more on federal campaign finance law and here for more on state campaign finance law.
See also
2024 Elections
External links
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Candidate Texas Fourth District Court of Appeals Place 2 |
Personal |
Footnotes
- ↑ Beth Watkins for Justice, "About Beth Watkins," accessed February 8, 2018
- ↑ Note: The candidate's answers have been reproduced here verbatim without edits or corrections by Ballotpedia.
- ↑ Ballotpedia's candidate survey, "Beth Watkins's responses," October 3, 2018
- ↑ 4.00 4.01 4.02 4.03 4.04 4.05 4.06 4.07 4.08 4.09 4.10 4.11 Note: This text is quoted verbatim from the original source. Any inconsistencies are attributable to the original source.
| Political offices | ||
|---|---|---|
| Preceded by - |
Texas Fourth District Court of Appeals Place 2 2019-2024 |
Succeeded by Velia Meza (D) |
| ||||||||||
