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Chris Oldner
Chris Oldner was a judge of Texas District 416.[1] Oldner was appointed by Gov. Rick Perry in 2003 and was re-elected on November 6, 2012, for a term that expired in 2016.[2]
Oldner announced on November 18, 2015, that he would run for the Texas Court of Criminal Appeals in 2016. He ran for the seat held by Lawrence E. Meyers (D) and was defeated in the Republican primary by Mary Lou Keel and Ray Wheless.[3]
Career
Prior to joining the bench, Oldner served as a chief prosecutor for the Collin County District Attorney.[2]
Education
Oldner received his undergraduate degree from Baylor University and his J.D. from Texas Tech University School of Law.[2]
Awards
- 2010: Outstanding Judicial Faculty Award from the Texas Center for the Judiciary (TCJ)[2]
Associations
- Collin County Bar Association
- Fellow of the Collin County Bench/Bar Foundation
- Texas Bar Foundation
- College of the State Bar of Texas[2]
Elections
2016
- Main article: Texas Court of Criminal Appeals elections, 2016
Oldner ran for the Texas Court of Criminal Appeals in 2016 against primary opponents Mary Lou Keel and Ray Wheless.[4] He was defeated.
March 1 primary
| Texas Court of Criminal Appeals, Place 2, Republican Primary, 2016 | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Party | Candidate | Vote % | Votes | |
| Republican |  Mary Lou Keel |
39.42% | 785,448 | |
| Republican | Ray Wheless |
35.43% | 705,909 | |
| Republican | Chris Oldner | 25.15% | 501,063 | |
| Total Votes (100% Reporting) | 1,992,420 | |||
| Source: Texas Secretary of State Official Results | ||||
2012
- See also: Texas judicial elections, 2012
Oldner was re-elected without opposition to the 416th District Court.[5]
Noteworthy events
Misconduct allegation (2016)
Judge Chris Oldner oversaw the grand jury indictment of Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton in 2015. Paxton was charged with securities fraud charges. After the grand jury indicted Paxton, Oldner recused himself from the case without explanation. On November 2, 2015, Paxton's attorneys accused Oldner of compromising the integrity of the indictment process and violating grand jury secrecy rules. Subsequently, they argued, the indictments should be thrown out.[6]
Prosecutors filed a response to the motions filed by Paxton's attorneys. They argued that Oldner had indeed conducted the indictment process appropriately, and that the accusation against him "recklessly and unnecessarily tars both a respected jurist and his spouse without a legal or factual basis."[7] Judge George Gallagher, who took over the case, denied the motions to dismiss Paxton's indictments on December 11.[8]
In January 2016, Aaron Harris filed a misconduct complaint against Oldner with the Texas Commission on Judicial Conduct. Harris accused Oldner of "disparaging" Paxton during an interview and on his Facebook, failing to recuse himself earlier, and acting with impropriety during the indictment process. Oldner's 2016 election campaign stated, "It’s just another example of how dark-money special interest groups seek to bully and intimidate ethical, conservative judges who strictly follow the law." Harris dismissed the idea of dark money and said, "I’m not sure how a concerned citizen is a special interest group."[9]
- Read the complaint against Oldner in full here.
Recent news
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See also
Footnotes
- ↑ Collin County District Courts (dead link)
- ↑ 2.0 2.1 2.2 2.3 2.4 Collin County Republicans Website Bio
- ↑ Jeffrey Weiss, The Dallas Morning News, "Collin clerk to run for seat of district judge, who’ll vie for state appeals court," November 18, 2015
- ↑ Texas Secretary of State, "2016 March Primary Election Candidate Filings by County," accessed December 17, 2015
- ↑ Texas Secretary of State, "2012 General Election Results," November 6, 2012
- ↑ WFAA 8, "Paxton lawyers move to dismiss securities fraud charges," November 3, 2015
- ↑ Houston Chronicle, "Prosecutors blast Paxton's attempts to quash indictments," November 5, 2015
- ↑ The Dallas Morning News, "Judge denies motions to throw out indictments against AG Ken Paxton," December 11, 2015
- ↑ The Dallas Morning News, "Collin County judge involved in Paxton case faces misconduct complaint," January 20, 2016
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
