Craig Estlinbaum
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Craig Estlinbaum is the presiding judge of the 130th District Court in Texas.[1] He was first elected to the bench in November 2000.[2] Estlinbaum won re-election in the general election on November 8, 2016.
Biography
Estlinbaum earned B.A. and M.Agr. degrees from Texas A&M University. He received his J.D. from the South Texas College of Law in 1994.[3][4][5] Estlinbaum was admitted to the bar in June 1994. He was elected to the district court in 2000. Since 2004, he has taught damages at South Texas College of Law.[4]
Elections
2016
Texas held general elections for local judicial offices on November 8, 2016. A primary election took place on March 1, 2016. A primary runoff election was held on May 24, 2016, for any seat where the top vote recipient did not receive a majority of the primary vote.[6] Incumbent Craig Estlinbaum ran unopposed in the Texas 130th District Court Democratic primary.[7]
| Texas 130th District Court, Democratic Primary, 2016 | ||
|---|---|---|
| Candidate | ||
 Craig Estlinbaum Incumbent | ||
Incumbent Craig Estlinbaum defeated Ken Leatherman in the Texas 130th District Court general election.
| Texas 130th District Court, General Election, 2016 | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Party | Candidate | Vote % | Votes | |
| Democratic | Craig Estlinbaum Incumbent |
50.21% | 6,032 | |
| Republican | Ken Leatherman | 49.79% | 5,982 | |
| Total Votes | 12,014 | |||
| Source: Matagorda County, Texas, "Cumulative Report - Unofficial," November 15, 2016 | ||||
Selection method
- See also: Partisan election of judges
The judges of the Texas District Courts are chosen in partisan elections. They serve four-year terms, after which they must run for re-election if they wish to continue serving.[8]
Though Texas is home to more than 400 district courts, the courts are grouped into nine administrative judicial regions. Each region is overseen by a presiding judge who is appointed by the governor to a four-year term. According to the state courts website, the presiding judge may be a "regular elected or retired district judge, a former judge with at least 12 years of service as a district judge, or a retired appellate judge with judicial experience on a district court."[9]
Qualifications
To serve on the district courts, a judge must be:
- a U.S. citizen;
- a resident of Texas;
- licensed to practice law in the state;
- between the ages of 25 and 75;*[10]
- a practicing lawyer and/or state judge for at least four years; and
- a resident of his or her respective judicial district for at least two years.[8]
*While no judge older than 74 may run for office, sitting judges who turn 75 are permitted to continue serving until their term expires.[8]
2012
Estlinbaum was re-elected without opposition to the 130th District Court.[11]
- See also: Texas judicial elections, 2012
Notable cases
Imprisoned man without conviction missed his chance, judge rules
Judge Estinbaum, in April of 2014, denied a motion by Jerry Hartfield's attorney, Jeffrey Newberry, to have his client released on the grounds that he could no longer receive a fair trial because his case had been lost in the court system for over 30 years.
Jerry Hartfield was convicted of a 1976 murder and sentenced to death in 1977. However, he was granted a new trial by the Texas Court of Criminal Appeals in 1980 and the sentence was overturned. Hartfield, maintaining his innocence, remained incarcerated for years. In 1983, then-Governor Mark White commuted his sentence from death to life in prison, though the fact that his conviction had been overturned meant, according to Newberry, that there was no sentence to commute. It wasn't until 2006 that Hartfield, who is reported to be intellectually disabled based on a 1977 evaluation, was told by a fellow inmate that he should have received a new trial. He was appointed an attorney after he filed a writ of habeas corpus, but the case remained unresolved for eight years.
Newberry, a lawyer with the Texas Innocence Network at the University of Houston, attempted to get Hartfield released in 2014, arguing that his right to a fair trial was made impossible by the passage of time. The murder weapon had gone missing and some of the witnesses had died. Prosecutors continued to push for a new trial, arguing that the state had not acted in bad faith by failing to retry Hartfield, but that they were simply unaware that the case was still pending. They also argued that Hartfield had not shown that he even wanted a new trial for most of his time in prison.
Judge Estinbaum ruled that Hartfield shouldn't have waited until 2006 to complain about the errors. He rejected the motion to dismiss Hartfield's charges on those grounds, explaining:
| “ | The responsibility placed upon the defendant or his counsel to assert the right is not a burdensome one - a motion for speedy trial or motion for trial setting need do little more than demand that a trial should be set and conducted.[12] | ” |
| —Judge Craig Estlinbaum[13] | ||
See also
External links
- The Week, "Texas has been holding this man hostage for 12,600 days," April 17, 2014
- Abilene Reporter-News, "Matagorda County Firestone lawsuit packed up, about to head to Houston," January 10, 2003
- Abilene Reporter-News, "Judge declares mistrial in Firestone case," April 6, 2002
- Campaign Facebook page
Footnotes
- ↑ Matagorda County Texas, "130th District Court," accessed April 22, 2014
- ↑ Texas State Directory, "Craig Estlinbaum," accessed April 22, 2014
- ↑ Martindale, "Judge Profile: Craig Estlinbaum," accessed April 22, 2014
- ↑ 4.0 4.1 State Bar of Texas, "Judge John Craig Estlinbaum," accessed April 22, 2014
- ↑ St. Mary's Law Journal, "Social Networking and Judicial Ethics," June 26, 2012
- ↑ Texas Secretary of State, "Important 2016 Election Dates," accessed December 18, 2015
- ↑ Texas Secretary of State, "Official candidate list," accessed December 18, 2015
- ↑ 8.0 8.1 8.2 American Judicature Society, "Methods of Judicial Selection: Texas," archived October 3, 2014
- ↑ Texas Courts Online, "Administrative Judicial Regions," accessed September 12, 2014
- ↑ Texas State Historical Association, "Judiciary," accessed September 12, 2014
- ↑ Texas Secretary of State, "2012 General Election Summary," accessed April 22, 2014 Select "2012 General Election"
- ↑ Note: This text is quoted verbatim from the original source. Any inconsistencies are attributable to the original source.
- ↑ Houston Chronicle, "Inmate stuck in legal limbo for more than three decades," April 20, 2014
- ↑ ''New York Daily News, "Texas inmate must stay in prison, despite conviction being overturned in 1980," April 18, 2014
- ↑ The Week, "Texas has been holding this man hostage for 12,600 days," April 17, 2014
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
