Joey Contreras
Joey Contreras (Republican Party) was a judge of the Texas 187th District Court. He left office in 2018.
Contreras (Republican Party) ran for re-election for judge of the Texas 187th District Court. He lost in the Republican primary runoff on May 22, 2018.
Biography
Contreras earned his bachelor's degree from Cornell University. He later received his J.D. from the University of Texas at Austin. Contreras was an assistant U.S. attorney focused on white collar crimes at the time of his court appointment.[1]
Elections
2018
General election
General election for Texas 187th District Court
Stephanie R. Boyd defeated Karl Alexander in the general election for Texas 187th District Court on November 6, 2018.
Candidate | % | Votes | ||
| ✔ |  | Stephanie R. Boyd (D) | 58.7 | 313,388 |
 | Karl Alexander (R) | 41.3 | 220,475 | |
| Total votes: 533,863 | |||
 = candidate completed the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection survey. | ||||
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Republican primary runoff election
Republican primary runoff for Texas 187th District Court
Karl Alexander defeated incumbent Joey Contreras in the Republican primary runoff for Texas 187th District Court on May 22, 2018.
Candidate | % | Votes | ||
| ✔ | | Karl Alexander | 55.6 | 13,759 |
 | Joey Contreras | 44.4 | 11,002 | |
| Total votes: 24,761 | |||
| = 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. | ||||
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Democratic primary election
Democratic primary for Texas 187th District Court
Stephanie R. Boyd advanced from the Democratic primary for Texas 187th District Court on March 6, 2018.
Candidate | % | Votes | ||
| ✔ | | Stephanie R. Boyd | 100.0 | 68,885 |
| Total votes: 68,885 | |||
| = candidate completed the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection survey. | ||||
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Republican primary election
Republican primary for Texas 187th District Court
Karl Alexander and incumbent Joey Contreras advanced to a runoff. They defeated Virginia Maurer, Veronica Legarreta, and Jan Ischy-Prins in the Republican primary for Texas 187th District Court on March 6, 2018.
Candidate | % | Votes | ||
| ✔ | | Karl Alexander | 32.0 | 18,092 |
| ✔ | | Joey Contreras | 24.0 | 13,575 |
| Virginia Maurer | 19.4 | 10,977 | ||
| Veronica Legarreta | 13.4 | 7,568 | ||
 | Jan Ischy-Prins | 11.1 | 6,268 | |
| Total votes: 56,480 | |||
| = 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. | ||||
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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.[2]
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."[3]
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;*[4]
- 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.[2]
*While no judge older than 74 may run for office, sitting judges who turn 75 are permitted to continue serving until their term expires.[2]
Campaign themes
2018
Ballotpedia survey responses
- See also: Ballotpedia's candidate surveys
Joey Contreras participated in Ballotpedia's candidate survey on March 27, 2018. The survey questions appear in bold, and Joey Contreras's responses follow below.[5]
What would be your top three priorities, if elected?
| “ | 1) Reduce caseload |
” |
What areas of public policy are you personally passionate about? Why?
| “ | Criminal justice reform. It can have a profound effect on community safety and well-being.Cite error: Invalid <ref> tag; invalid names, e.g. too many[7]
|
” |
Ballotpedia also asked the candidate a series of optional questions. Joey Contreras answered the following:
Who do you look up to? Whose example would you like to follow, and why?
| “ | Judge Sid Harle is the embodiment of a fair, gifted judge.[7] | ” |
| “ | The Verdict.[7] | ” |
| “ | Intelligence, willingness to work hard, and patience.[7] | ” |
| “ | Intelligence, a love of legal theory, and a strong work ethic.[7] | ” |
| “ | The well-being of the community and a commitment to the law.[7] | ” |
| “ | I tried my hardest to do justice.[7] | ” |
| “ | The lunar landing. 6 years old.[7] | ” |
| “ | Fry cook. Three years.[7] | ” |
| “ | The Grapes of Wrath. Perfectly written story that illustrates the harm of class division.[7] | ” |
| “ | Atticus Finch.[7] | ” |
| “ | My back porch is my oasis.[7] | ” |
| “ | That punishment for crime should rightlfully include community retribution.[7] | ” |
| “ | Oliver Wendell Holmes.[7] | ” |
| “ | Absolutely[7] | ” |
| “ | That compassion is an integral part of justice.[7] | ” |
| “ | No[7] | ” |
| “ | No[7] | ” |
| “ | I'm perfectly suited to be a trial judge.[7] | ” |
| “ | No[7] | ” |
| “ | The present method of selecting judges is flawed.[7] | ” |
| “ | Jury participation.[7] | ” |
| “ | No[7] | ” |
See also
| Bexar County, Texas | Texas | Municipal government | Other local coverage |
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External links
Footnotes
- ↑ Cite error: Invalid
<ref>tag; no text was provided for refs namedbio - ↑ 2.0 2.1 2.2 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
- ↑ Note: The candidate's answers have been reproduced here verbatim without edits or corrections by Ballotpedia.
- ↑ Ballotpedia's candidate survey, "Joey Contreras's responses," March 27, 2018
- ↑ 7.00 7.01 7.02 7.03 7.04 7.05 7.06 7.07 7.08 7.09 7.10 7.11 7.12 7.13 7.14 7.15 7.16 7.17 7.18 7.19 7.20 7.21 7.22 7.23 Note: This text is quoted verbatim from the original source. Any inconsistencies are attributable to the original source.
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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
