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Lisa Millard
Lisa Millard (Republican Party) was a judge of the Texas 310th District Court. She left office in 2018.
Millard (Republican Party) ran for re-election for judge of the Texas 310th District Court. She lost in the general election on November 6, 2018.
Biography
Millard received her J.D. from the South Texas College of Law.[1]
Elections
2018
General election
General election for Texas 310th District Court
Sonya Heath defeated incumbent Lisa Millard in the general election for Texas 310th District Court on November 6, 2018.
Candidate | % | Votes | ||
| ✔ |  | Sonya Heath (D) | 56.2 | 663,582 |
| Lisa Millard (R) | 43.8 | 517,767 | ||
| Total votes: 1,181,349 | |||
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Democratic primary election
Democratic primary for Texas 310th District Court
Sonya Heath advanced from the Democratic primary for Texas 310th District Court on March 6, 2018.
Candidate | % | Votes | ||
| ✔ | | Sonya Heath | 100.0 | 131,622 |
| Total votes: 131,622 | |||
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Republican primary election
Republican primary for Texas 310th District Court
Incumbent Lisa Millard advanced from the Republican primary for Texas 310th District Court on March 6, 2018.
Candidate | % | Votes | ||
| ✔ | Lisa Millard | 100.0 | 112,981 | |
| Total votes: 112,981 | |||
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2014
See also: Texas judicial elections, 2014
Millard ran for re-election to the 310th District Court.
Primary: She ran unopposed in the Republican primary on March 4, 2014.
General: She won without opposition in the general election on November 4, 2014.
[2][3]
2010
Millard defeated Judy Dougherty in the general election, winning 55.2% of the vote.[4]
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.[5]
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."[6]
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;*[7]
- 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.[5]
*While no judge older than 74 may run for office, sitting judges who turn 75 are permitted to continue serving until their term expires.[5]
Noteworthy cases
Clifford Hall sentenced to jail, despite payment of child support
Judge Millard made headlines in early January 2014 for sentencing Clifford Hall to 180 days in jail. Millard found Hall in contempt of court for missing child support payments. Hall had paid the amount owed prior to the November 2013 hearing but was still given jail time.
Hall and his attorney, Tyesha Elam, argued that the child support amount had been changed without notice. Hall had been jailed before for missing payments, so his wages were being garnished. His attorney stated, "I discovered for some reason his employer was withholding a large amount some weeks a small amount some weeks a zero amount some weeks."[8] Hall then paid the extra $3,000 dollars he owed, explaining that he did so in order to avoid jail.
Quanell X, community activist and spokesman for Hall, stated, "The court failed the child. The court failed Mr. Hall the system broke down."[8]
According to Judge Millard, Hall also walked out of her courtroom during the proceedings.
An article by RawStory.com pointed to a legislative move that allowed the sentence, even though Hall was paid up. In June of 2013, the Texas Legislature repealed a 1995 law which prohibited judges from finding someone in contempt for owing child support if that person paid what was owed before the court hearing. The vote to repeal this law was unanimous in both chambers. According to the article, some had used the 1995 provision to work the system--holding off on payments until the last minute.[9]
Hall appealed to the 14th District Court of Appeals but was unsuccessful. He began his six-month sentence in late June 2014.[10]
See also
| Harris County, Texas | Texas | Municipal government | Other local coverage |
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External links
Footnotes
- ↑ LinkedIn, "Judge Lisa A. Millard," accessed December 23, 2014
- ↑ Cite error: Invalid
<ref>tag; no text was provided for refs namedcandidates - ↑ Texas Secretary of State, "2014 March Primary Election Candidate Filings by County (M-Z)"
- ↑ Harris County Clerk, "Cumulative report for the November 2, 2010 general election," 2010 See page 24
- ↑ 5.0 5.1 5.2 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
- ↑ 8.0 8.1 My Fox Houston, "Father pays outstanding child support, still gets jail time," January 3, 2014
- ↑ The Raw Story, "New law in Texas sends dad to jail despite up-to-date child support payments," January 13, 2014
- ↑ Click 2 Houston, "Dad begins jail sentence in complicated child support case," June 24, 2014
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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
