Help us improve in just 2 minutes—share your thoughts in our reader survey.
Chari Kelly
2019 - Present
2030
6
Chari Kelly (Democratic Party) is a judge for Place 3 of the Texas Third District Court of Appeals. She assumed office on January 1, 2019. Her current term ends on December 31, 2030.
Kelly (Democratic Party) ran for re-election for the Place 3 judge of the Texas Third District Court of Appeals. She won in the general election on November 5, 2024.
Biography
Chari Kelly lives in Austin, Texas. Kelly served in the United States Army from 2003 to 2007. She reached the rank of captain in the Judge Advocate General’s Corps at Fort Hood. She earned a B.A. in political science and criminology from the University of Florida in 1999 and a J.D. from the University of Texas at Austin in 2002. Kelly’s career experience includes working as an assistant district attorney for both Comal and Travis Counties, an adjunct professor with the University of Texas School of Law, and a research attorney and law clerk at the Texas Court of Criminal Appeals. In 2018, Kelly was named the prosecutor of the year in Travis County by Mothers Against Drunk Driving.[1][2][3]
Elections
2024
See also: Texas intermediate appellate court elections, 2024
General election
General election for Texas Third District Court of Appeals Place 3
Incumbent Chari Kelly won election in the general election for Texas Third District Court of Appeals Place 3 on November 5, 2024.
Candidate | % | Votes | ||
| ✔ |  | Chari Kelly (D) | 100.0 | 861,015 |
| Total votes: 861,015 | |||
 = 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 Third District Court of Appeals Place 3
Incumbent Chari Kelly advanced from the Democratic primary for Texas Third District Court of Appeals Place 3 on March 5, 2024.
Candidate | % | Votes | ||
| ✔ | | Chari Kelly | 100.0 | 125,562 |
| Total votes: 125,562 | |||
| = 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 Kelly in this election.
2018
General election
General election for Texas Third District Court of Appeals Place 3
Chari Kelly defeated incumbent Scott Field in the general election for Texas Third District Court of Appeals Place 3 on November 6, 2018.
Candidate | % | Votes | ||
| ✔ | | Chari Kelly (D) | 54.4 | 566,246 |
 | Scott Field (R) | 45.6 | 475,074 | |
| Total votes: 1,041,320 | |||
| = 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 Third District Court of Appeals Place 3
Chari Kelly advanced from the Democratic primary for Texas Third District Court of Appeals Place 3 on March 6, 2018.
Candidate | ||
| ✔ | | Chari Kelly |
| ||||
| = 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 Third District Court of Appeals Place 3
Incumbent Scott Field advanced from the Republican primary for Texas Third District Court of Appeals Place 3 on March 6, 2018.
Candidate | ||
| ✔ | | Scott Field |
| ||||
| = 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. | ||||
Endorsements
Kelly was endorsed by the Travis County Sheriff's Law Enforcement Association (TCSLEA).[3]
Campaign themes
2024
Ballotpedia survey responses
See also: Ballotpedia's Candidate Connection
Chari Kelly did not complete Ballotpedia's 2024 Candidate Connection survey.
2018
Ballotpedia survey responses
See also: Ballotpedia's Candidate Connection
Chari Kelly completed Ballotpedia's Candidate Connection survey. The survey questions appear in bold and are followed by Kelly's responses.
What would be your top three priorities, if elected?
My highest priority as a justice will be the fair and impartial consideration of cases without regard to color, creed, sexual orientation, or religion. I will use my diverse background as a prosecutor, former criminal defense attorney, and veteran to make sure the unique perspectives of each litigant is considered. I will handle every appeal fully, fairly, and timely based on the law and not political pressures. I will work to improve pro bono programs, as everyone should have access to justice.
What areas of public policy are you personally passionate about?
I am especially passionate about mental health care and criminal justice. Currently, Texas is ranked in the bottom half of states as in mental health care. In my job as an Assistant District Attorney, I see the intersection between mental health and criminal justice every single day. To better our criminal justice system, we need to better our mental health system in Texas.
Is there a particular judge, past or present, whom you admire?
Ruth Bader Ginsburg
Have you ever been rated by a Bar Association? If so, what was the rating?
In the statewide Texas Bar Judicial Poll, I was selected as the preferred candidate for the Third Court, Place 3 by nearly 60% of attorneys.
Why are you running for this particular court seat?
I have experience in civil and criminal law including appellate law. I am now an Assistant District Attorney for Travis County and have argued my own appeals before the 3rd and 13th Courts. The Third Court handles appeals of both civil and criminal matters-roughly a 50-50 split-yet the justices have little background in criminal law. I am board-certified in criminal law in Texas, as well as with the National Board of Trial Advocacy (and serve on its board of directors), and I am running to add much needed depth to the court.
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.
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
|
Candidate Texas Third District Court of Appeals Place 3 |
Officeholder Texas Third District Court of Appeals Place 3 |
Personal |
Footnotes
- ↑ The University of Texas at Austin, "Chari L. Kelly," accessed January 10, 2018
- ↑ LinkedIn, "Chari Kelly," accessed February 7, 2018
- ↑ 3.0 3.1 Information submitted to Ballotpedia via email on October 22, 2018
| Political offices | ||
|---|---|---|
| Preceded by - |
Texas Third District Court of Appeals Place 3 2019-Present |
Succeeded by - |
Federal courts:
Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals • U.S. District Court: Eastern District of Texas, Western District of Texas, Northern District of Texas, Southern District of Texas • U.S. Bankruptcy Court: Eastern District of Texas, Western District of Texas, Northern District of Texas, Southern District of Texas
State courts:
Texas Supreme Court • Texas Court of Appeals • Texas Court of Criminal Appeals • Texas District Courts • Texas County Courts • Texas County Courts at Law • Texas Statutory Probate Courts • Texas Justice of the Peace Courts
State resources:
Courts in Texas • Texas judicial elections • Judicial selection in Texas
| ||||||||||
