Joe Pool Jr.

This page was current at the end of the individual's last campaign covered by Ballotpedia. Please contact us with any updates.

Joe Pool Jr.

Democratic Party

Elections and appointments

Last election

March 5, 2024

Education

Bachelor's

University of Texas, 1977

Law

University of Texas at Austin, 1980

Personal

Birthplace

Dallas, Texas

Religion

Methodist Episcopal

Profession

Judge

Contact

Campaign website

Campaign Facebook

Campaign Twitter

Personal website

Personal Facebook

Joe Pool Jr. (Democratic Party) ran for election for the Place 6 judge of the Texas Supreme Court. He lost in the Democratic primary on March 5, 2024.

Pool completed Ballotpedia's Candidate Connection survey in 2024. Click here to read the survey answers.

Biography

Joe Pool Jr. was born in Dallas, Texas. Pool's career experience includes working as a judge. He earned a bachelor's degree from the University of Texas in 1977 and a law degree from the University of Texas at Austin in 1980.

Pool has been affiliated with the following organizations:

• Democratic Party
• Austin School of Film
• Media in Motion
• Voter Campaign Finance Reform

Elections

2024

See also: Texas Supreme Court elections, 2024

General election

General election for Texas Supreme Court Place 6

Incumbent Jane Bland defeated Bonnie Lee Goldstein and David Roberson in the general election for Texas Supreme Court Place 6 on November 5, 2024.

		Candidate	%	Votes
✔		Jane Bland (R)	56.2	6,145,167
		Bonnie Lee Goldstein (D)	40.5	4,425,189
		David Roberson (L)	3.3	355,485

---

	Incumbents are bolded and underlined. The results have been certified. Source	Total votes: 10,925,841
= 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 Supreme Court Place 6

Bonnie Lee Goldstein defeated Joe Pool Jr. in the Democratic primary for Texas Supreme Court Place 6 on March 5, 2024.

		Candidate	%	Votes
✔		Bonnie Lee Goldstein	73.1	646,690
		Joe Pool Jr.	26.9	237,465

---

	There were no incumbents in this race. The results have been certified. Source	Total votes: 884,155
= 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 Supreme Court Place 6

Incumbent Jane Bland advanced from the Republican primary for Texas Supreme Court Place 6 on March 5, 2024.

		Candidate	%	Votes
✔		Jane Bland	100.0	1,690,507

---

	Incumbents are bolded and underlined. The results have been certified. Source	Total votes: 1,690,507
= 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.

Libertarian convention

Libertarian convention for Texas Supreme Court Place 6

David Roberson advanced from the Libertarian convention for Texas Supreme Court Place 6 on April 14, 2024.

		Candidate
✔		David Roberson (L)

---

	There were no incumbents in this race. The results have been certified. Source
= 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

Ballotpedia did not identify endorsements for Pool in this election.

2016

See also: Texas Supreme Court elections, 2016

Pool ran against incumbent Justice Eva Guzman (R) for a seat on the Texas Supreme Court. Guzman defeated Pool in the March 1 Republican primary and will face the Democratic candidate, Savannah Robinson, in the November general election.

March 1 primary

Texas Supreme Court, Place 9, Republican Primary, 2016
Party		Candidate	Vote %	Votes
	Republican	Eva Guzman Incumbent	59.17%	1,268,415
	Republican	Joe Pool, Jr.	40.83%	875,224
Total Votes (100% Reporting)				2,143,639
Source: Texas Secretary of State Official Results

2014

Railroad Commission

See also: Texas down ballot state executive elections, 2014

Pool announced his candidacy for election to the office of Texas Railroad Commission in 2014. However, he did not file by the December 9, 2013 deadline. The general election took place on November 4, 2014.

Texas Supreme Court

See also: Texas judicial elections, 2014

Pool ran for election to the Texas Supreme Court.
Primary: He was defeated in the Republican primary on March 4, 2014, receiving 28.1 percent of the vote. He competed against Jeff Brown.

Polling

Below are the results of the 2014 judicial poll, conducted by the State Bar of Texas, which asked attorneys to cast a vote in favor of their preferred candidate in each appellate race.

Place 6 Justice
Candidate:	Votes:
Mark Ash	699
Jeff Brown	3907
Lawrence Meyers	3263
Joe Pool, Jr.	1672

2012

See also: Texas judicial elections, 2012

Pool was defeated in the Republican primary on May 29, receiving 28.1% of the vote.

Campaign themes

2024

Ballotpedia survey responses

See also: Ballotpedia's Candidate Connection

Joe Pool Jr. completed Ballotpedia's Candidate Connection survey in 2024. The survey questions appear in bold and are followed by Pool's responses. Candidates are asked three required questions for this survey, but they may answer additional optional questions as well.

Expand all | Collapse all

Who are you? Tell us about yourself.

I am Joe Pool a firm choice for Texas Supreme Court Place 6. I am currently serving as the 428th Texas Judicial District Judge. My father was Congressman-At-Large Joe Pool who is responsible for the Guadalupe Mountains National Park as well as the Padre Island National Seashore. I have been practicing law in Texas for more than 30 years. I served 5 years as the General Counsel for The Dripping Springs Water Supply Corporation. I coached women’s, men’s and children’s soccer teams in Austin and in Dripping Springs for 25 years. I am one of the founders of the Austin Municipal Soccer League. I have provided pro bono legal services to the Austin School of Film over the last 20 years. Every year I provide pro bono legal services to those who cannot afford an attorney. Most of these services have been provided to women or women’s organizations. In 2017 I sued President Trump to stop him from continuing to establish an Islamic Republic/theocracy in Afghanistan with our tax dollars. This 100 Billion a year in aid and security services to the Islamic Republic of Afghanistan was a violation of the Establishment Clause, an Islamic theocracy established by Congressional laws, and a violation of the Freedom of Religion Clause, President and Vice President must be Muslim. One of the reasons I filed this suit was to educate Congress and the Executive Branch that “Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof;”. 1st Amendment.

Please list below 3 key messages of your campaign. What are the main points you want voters to remember about your goals for your time in office?

• In Texas the oath of a Supreme Court Justice swears that she "will support and defend the Constitution and laws of the United States and of the State of Texas." The 67 2020 stolen election lawsuits filed by Trump have been fully and finally adjudicated resulting in 67 precedents holding the 2020 election was not stolen. The Republican Party of Texas’s Platform states, “We reject the certified results of the 2020 Presidential Election, and we hold that acting President Joseph Robinette Biden Jr. was not legitimately elected by the people of the United States.” The sitting Republican Supreme Court Justice for Place 6 denies 67 legal precedents and shows you why you should vote for me, Joe Pool, for Texas Supreme Court Pl 6.
• The right of trial by jury shall remain inviolate. Art. 1. Sec. 15. TX Const. We are the only country in the world with the right to determine private property rights and other civil rights with twelve of your neighbors. The GDP greatness of the U.S. owes much to this civil right. When you risk your paychecks to start your garage business you know, you can rely upon 12 neighbors to protect your property rights. Under unanimous Republican control for 20 years this civil right has been severely diminished with no-evidence summary judgements being granted to the party that had the burden of proof and other suppressive actions. The only way our Founders intended Judges to be elected is if the right of trail by jury remained unviolated.
• In Cox v. Texas the Texas Supreme Court ruled Kate Cox did not qualify for an abortion under the medical exception to the state’s near-total abortion ban. Kate ultimately had to travel out of state to have the procedure. The Texas Supreme Court with all republican justices for over 20 years decided Kate must carry and birth a trisonomy 18 baby. A trisonomy pregnancy involves a high risk of stillbirths and fetal loss. Only 50% of infants diagnosed with trisomy 18 live beyond 1 week of age. Only 5–10% will survive beyond 1 year. Only a handful survive to adulthood. This survival is painful requiring constant monitoring and substantial medical resources.

What areas of public policy are you personally passionate about?

Something I originated, am passionate about and I named is Voter Campaign Finance Reform. Only those who may vote in an election may give campaign contributions to a candidate in the same election. If you can't vote in my congressional district then I don't want your money determining who my Congressman is. Anyone can speak about the candidates, but only those who may vote in an election can do paid speech. VCFR would stop the paid speech from multi-million dollar organizations. No organization or corporation may vote in an election and therefore, they may not contribute money to any candidate. The systems and processes to enforce Voter Campaign Finance Reform are already in place for state and federal elections.

What characteristics or principles are most important for an elected official?

Most important for an elected official in Texas is to follow the oath of office: "will to the best of my ability preserve, protect, and defend the Constitution and laws of the United States and of this State, so help me God. Today we have conflict in the Texas Judiciary. Can a justice continue to serve when they deny 67 precedents concerning the 2020 election? I think not.

What do you believe are the core responsibilities for someone elected to this office?

Follow the rules and do not be cavalier about your compliance or lack thereof. My Democratic Primary opponent did not comply with Texas Ethics Commission rules which require candidates to file an Amended Judicial Candidate's Treasurer Appointment before they start collecting signatures on their candidate petitions. I complied. My primary opponent did not.

What is the first historical event that happened in your lifetime that you remember? How old were you at the time?

The assassination of President Kennedy in 1963. I was 8 years old.

What was your very first job? How long did you have it?

I was a manager trainee/cook at Kip's Big Boy on Marsh Lane in Dallas. I had this job for less than a year.

If you could be any fictional character, who would you want to be?

Bruce Wayne

What was the last song that got stuck in your head?

Ebony Ivory living in perfect harmony.

Are there any little-known powers or responsibilities held by this office that you believe more people should be aware of?

Absolute power corrupts absolutely, 20 years of Republican unanimous control has led the Texas Supreme Court to do things it is not authorized to do. Section 22.225 - Effect of Judgment in Civil Cases
(a) A judgment of a court of appeals is conclusive on the facts of the case in all civil cases. Many times the Texas Supreme Court has redetermined facts in a civil case. This is improper because the facts are conclusive at the Courts of Appeal. See above.

How would you describe your legal philosophy?

I am always going to be fair, impartial and apply the law and precedents to the facts in a case. I bring a little more to my judgements because of my business background. I am able to see or suspect BS that other judges won't or can't see

Is there a particular judge, past or present, whom you admire?

I most admire Texas Supreme Court Chief Justice Hortense Ward (1872–1944) for all of her accomplishments on the way to the Supreme Court bench. Hortense Ward was a schoolteacher, mother to 3 daughters, champion of women's rights, suffrage leader, the first woman admitted to the Texas bar and a very effective political activist. In her early career as an attorney she had to overcome an extreme male bias in the Texas Judiciary. Hortense feared her appearance as an attorney might prejudice all-male juries. So, she limited her work to writing briefs and consultations.

Hortense’s political accomplishments in the state of Texas are legendary. She worked to get the
Married Woman's Property Law of 1913 passed by the Texas Legislature. She campaigned for a
fifty-four-hour workweek for women in industry, a women's division in the Texas department of
labor, the first domestic relations court, and the right of women to serve as officers of corporations. She helped lead an intense lobbying campaign in 1917 on behalf of the federal woman suffrage amendment, which narrowly passed the United States House in January 1918. Hortense convinced six of the eighteen Texas congressmen to vote for the amendment. In 1918
Hortense successfully lobbied to allow women to vote in state primary elections. In 1918 Hortense’s pamphlet, Instructions for Women Voters, distributed statewide, with her public appearances started a grassroots campaign that registered 386,000 women voters in just

seventeen days. In January 1925 Hortense Ward’s great works for the state of Texas were acknowledged as she was appointed by Governor Pat Neff to be chief justice of the Supreme Court to replace a recused Justice.

Do you believe that empathy is an important quality for a judge?

No

Have you ever been rated by a Bar Association? If so, what was the rating?

No, never was I part of a big firm.

What is your primary concern about today's legal system in your state?

Tort Reform judicial activism that is trying to punish legitimate plaintiffs just because they asked for a jury to determine their property rights.

How does your state’s supreme court serve as part of the state government’s checks and balances?

Under unanimous Republican control for 20 years it does not.

Do you believe that Bar Association ratings are an accurate reflection of a judge’s ability?

No

Tell us your favorite joke.

What do you get when you cross an elephant with a rhinoceros? ElifIknow

What organizations or individuals have endorsed your campaign?

Republishing Endorsements have the appearance of impropriety.

What are your views on financial transparency and government accountability?

A Dallas Office of Police Oversight among others released a report showing 69% of arrests for under 2oz of pot were black, 22% were Latino and 4% were White. This racial profiling is unconstitutional and results in a racial disparity in unnecessary searches, seizures and civil asset forfeitures. I will not allow this racial profiling to stand resulting in unnecessary searches, seizures and civil asset forfeitures. This allowed racial profiling is happening in my primary opponent's district.

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.

---

Joe Pool Jr. campaign contribution history

Year	Office	Status	Contributions	Expenditures
2024*	Texas Supreme Court Place 6	Lost primary	$17,746	$14,444
Grand total			$17,746	$14,444
Sources: OpenSecrets,  Federal Elections Commission ***This product uses the openFEC API but is not endorsed or certified by the Federal Election Commission (FEC).
* Data from this year may not be complete

See also

2024 Elections

What's on the ballot? U.S. President U.S. Congress U.S. Congress special elections State executives State legislatures State courts Ballot measures Municipal government School boards Election analysis hub

Government

Who represents me? U.S. Congress State executives State legislators State courts Ballot measures Municipal government School boards

Newsletters

The Daily Brew The Weekly Brew The Ballot Bulletin Checks and Balances Economy and Society Hall Pass Number of the Day Robe & Gavel

External links

Search Google News for this topic

Candidate

Texas Supreme Court Place 6

Website

Facebook

Twitter

Personal

Website

Facebook

Footnotes

Ballotpedia

About

Overview • What people are saying • Support Ballotpedia • Contact • Contribute • Job opportunities

---

Executive: Leslie Graves, Founder and CEO • Gwen Beattie, Chief Operating Officer

Communications: Alison Graves, Director of Communications • Carley Allensworth • Abigail Campbell • Frank Festa • Sarah Groat • Nathaniel Harwood • Dillon Redmond • Erica Shumaker
External Relations: Geoff Pallay, Director of External Relations • Ken Carbullido, Vice President of Election Product and Technology Strategy • Ashley Fleming • Thomas Mardik • Hannah Nelson
Operations: Meghann Olshefski, Director of Operations • Amanda Herbert • Mandy Morris • Caroline Presnell • Kelly Rindfleisch
Tech: Matt Latourelle, Director of Technology Operations • Ryan Burch • Kirsten Corrao • Beth Dellea • Travis Eden • Tate Kamish • Margaret Kearney • Eric Lotto • Joseph Sanchez • Mary Susmitha

Contributors: Scott Rasmussen

---

Editorial Content

Josh Altic, Director of Content • Daniel Anderson, Associate Director of Elections & Data • Cory Eucalitto, Associate Director of Features • Ryan Byrne, Managing Editor of Ballot Measures • Mandy McConnell, Managing Editor of News • Doug Kronaizl, Managing Editor of Local Expansion • Abbey Smith, Managing Editor of Elections • Janie Valentine, Managing Editor of Law • Joel Williams. Managing Editor of Events • Andrew Bahl • Jaclyn Beran • Marielle Bricker • Joseph Brusgard • Emma Burlingame • Kelly Coyle • Jon Dunn • Thomas Ellis • Nicole Fisher • Joseph Greaney • Thomas Grobben • Brianna Hosea • Molly Kehoe • Tyler King • Glorie Martinez • Norm Leahy, Senior Editor • Nathan Maxwell • Jimmy McAllister • Brandon McCauley • Ellie Mikus • Ellen Morrissey • Mackenzie Murphy • Kaley Platek • Samantha Post • Adam Powell • Annelise Reinwald • Ethan Rice • Spencer Richardson • Victoria Rose • Briana Ryan • Myj Saintyl • Maddy Salucka • Emma Soukup • Alexis Thacker • Mina Vogel • Samuel Wonacott • Trenton Woodcox