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Holly Taylor (Texas)
Holly Taylor (Democratic Party) ran for election as Presiding Judge of the Texas Court of Criminal Appeals. She lost in the general election on November 5, 2024.
Taylor completed Ballotpedia's Candidate Connection survey in 2024. Click here to read the survey answers.
Biography
Holly Taylor was born in Houston, Texas. She earned a bachelor's degree from Rice University in 1989, a law degree from the University of Texas School of Law in 1995, and graduated from the University of Texas at Austin, LBJ School Of Public Affairs in 1995. Her career experience includes working as an assistant district attorney and adjunct professor.[1]
Elections
2024
See also: Texas Supreme Court elections, 2024
General election
General election for Texas Court of Criminal Appeals Presiding Judge
David Schenck defeated Holly Taylor in the general election for Texas Court of Criminal Appeals Presiding Judge on November 5, 2024.
Candidate | % | Votes | ||
| ✔ |  | David Schenck (R)  | 58.1 | 6,330,389 |
 | Holly Taylor (D) | 41.9 | 4,558,856 | |
| Total votes: 10,889,245 | |||
| = 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 Court of Criminal Appeals Presiding Judge
Holly Taylor advanced from the Democratic primary for Texas Court of Criminal Appeals Presiding Judge on March 5, 2024.
Candidate | % | Votes | ||
| ✔ | | Holly Taylor | 100.0 | 829,500 |
| Total votes: 829,500 | |||
| = 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 Court of Criminal Appeals Presiding Judge
David Schenck defeated incumbent Sharon Keller in the Republican primary for Texas Court of Criminal Appeals Presiding Judge on March 5, 2024.
Candidate | % | Votes | ||
| ✔ | | David Schenck | 62.6 | 1,174,795 |
 | Sharon Keller | 37.4 | 702,464 | |
| Total votes: 1,877,259 | |||
| = 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
Taylor received the following endorsements.
Campaign themes
2024
Ballotpedia survey responses
See also: Ballotpedia's Candidate Connection
Holly Taylor completed Ballotpedia's Candidate Connection survey in 2024. The survey questions appear in bold and are followed by Taylor's responses. Candidates are asked three required questions for this survey, but they may answer additional optional questions as well.
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Previously, Holly served as a Staff Attorney and as the Rules Attorney for the Texas Court of Criminal Appeals and was a member of the Court’s Rules Advisory Committee. From 2018-2020, Holly taught an advanced legal writing class at the University of Texas School of Law. She received her B.A. from Rice University and earned her two graduate degrees from the University of Texas at Austin: a J.D. and a Master of Public Affairs from the LBJ School of Public Affairs. Holly is Board Certified in Criminal Appellate Law by the Texas Board of Legal Specialization and a member of the Society of Legal Scholars. She is admitted to practice in the U.S. Supreme Court. She has co-chaired the Austin Bar Association’s CLE Committee. Holly has authored articles on diverse criminal justice topics including domestic violence and the juvenile justice system, and recent legislation. She has presented at numerous conferences and training events.
Holly and her husband have raised four children and hosted three foreign exchange students. Holly served on the PTA and band booster club and coached her kids' soccer teams.- The Texas Court of Criminal Appeals is a court that many people know little to nothing about. Yet as the highest appellate court in Texas for criminal cases—and the court that decides the appeal of every Texas death penalty case—this court has a significant impact on the criminal justice system. With thousands of post-conviction writs filed each year, the Court typically disposes of more matters each year than any other appellate court in the nation. It is critical that we have someone leading this important Court who understands the realities of practicing criminal law as an advocate in the trial and appellate courts of Texas today. I bring a unique combination of experience and values to fill this critical position.
- Throughout my career, I’ve worked to ensure that our laws are enforced fairly and justly, without regard to the status of the accused. I’ve prosecuted public officials who have abused their authority in my roles with the Travis County District Attorney’s Public Integrity and Civil Rights Units. And I am proud of my work with the Conviction Integrity Unit, which investigates claims of wrongful conviction and seeks to exonerate the innocent.
- I have the scholarly expertise needed to lead the Court. I am board certified in Criminal Appellate Law by the Texas Board of Legal Specialization. I taught advanced legal writing at the University of Texas School of Law. I’ve published legal papers and made many presentations over the years—I teach law to other lawyers. Further, I am ready to take on the big administrative and policy issues that the Presiding Judge encounters in her organizational role serving on entities like the Texas Indigent Defense Commission. I have a public policy background with a master’s degree from the LBJ School of Public Affairs. And I gained a unique perspective serving as the Court’s Rules Attorney and as a member of the Court’s Rules Advisory Committee.
Additionally, I have a strong sense of compassion and I am deeply motivated to seek just results that recognize the dignity and humanity of all persons, and I am tenacious in pursuing those results despite the challenges that stand in the way. Throughout my career, I’ve worked to ensure that our laws are enforced fairly and justly and that powerful actors are held accountable. For example, I’ve prosecuted public officials who abused their authority in my position with the Travis County District Attorney’s Public Integrity Unit and Civil Rights Unit. I am especially proud of my recent work with TCDA’s Conviction Integrity Unit seeking to remedy wrongful convictions and exonerate innocent people convicted of crimes.
Hispanic Bar Association
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 website
Taylor’s campaign website stated the following:
| “ |
As a lifelong Democrat, my values align with the values of the Texas Democratic Party and I share the party's ideals. As a future Presiding Judge, my goal is to respect constitutional rights, create a supportive environment, and enhance court procedures for fair and efficient case resolution. My judicial philosophy revolves around principles of impartiality, equitable treatment, and the rule of law, underscoring my commitment to ensuring justice for all.[2] |
” |
| —Holly Taylor’s campaign website (2024)[3] | ||
Campaign finance summary
Ballotpedia currently provides campaign finance data for all federal- and state-level candidates from 2020 and later. We are continuously working to expand our data to include prior elections. That information will be published here as we acquire it. If you would like to help us provide this data, please consider donating to Ballotpedia.
See also
2024 Elections
External links
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Candidate Texas Court of Criminal Appeals Presiding Judge |
Footnotes
- ↑ Information submitted to Ballotpedia through the Candidate Connection survey on February 8, 2024
- ↑ Note: This text is quoted verbatim from the original source. Any inconsistencies are attributable to the original source.
- ↑ Holly for Judge, "Values,” accessed February 19, 2024
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