Michael Munoz

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

Michael Munoz

Democratic Party

Elections and appointments

Last election

November 3, 2020

Education

Bachelor's

Texas State University, 1999

Law

Texas Wesleyan University School of Law, 2002

Personal

Birthplace

El Paso, Texas

Religion

Catholic/Methodist

Profession

Senior Litigation Attorney

Contact

Campaign website

Campaign Facebook

Campaign Twitter

Personal LinkedIn

Michael Munoz (Democratic Party) ran for election for judge of the Texas 360th District Court. He lost in the general election on November 3, 2020.

Munoz completed Ballotpedia's Candidate Connection survey in 2020. Click here to read the survey answers.

Biography

Munoz was born on May 25, 1973, in El Paso, Texas. He graduated from Texas State University with a bachelor's degree in 1999. He went on to obtain his J.D. from the Texas Wesleyan School of Law in 2002. Munoz's professional experience includes working as a senior litigation attorney.

Elections

2020

See also: Municipal elections in Tarrant County, Texas (2020)

General election

General election for Texas 360th District Court

Incumbent Patricia Baca Bennett defeated Michael Munoz in the general election for Texas 360th District Court on November 3, 2020.

		Candidate	%	Votes
✔		Patricia Baca Bennett (R)	53.1	423,771
		Michael Munoz (D)	46.9	374,877

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	Incumbents are bolded and underlined. The results have been certified. Source	Total votes: 798,648
= 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 360th District Court

Michael Munoz advanced from the Democratic primary for Texas 360th District Court on March 3, 2020.

		Candidate	%	Votes
✔		Michael Munoz	100.0	110,288

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	There were no incumbents in this race. The results have been certified. Source	Total votes: 110,288
= 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 360th District Court

Incumbent Patricia Baca Bennett advanced from the Republican primary for Texas 360th District Court on March 3, 2020.

		Candidate	%	Votes
✔		Patricia Baca Bennett	100.0	99,886

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	Incumbents are bolded and underlined. The results have been certified. Source	Total votes: 99,886
= 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

To view Munoz's endorsements in the 2020 election, please click here.

Campaign themes

2020

Ballotpedia survey responses

See also: Ballotpedia's Candidate Connection

Michael Munoz completed Ballotpedia's Candidate Connection survey in 2020. The survey questions appear in bold and are followed by Munoz'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 a native Texan. I grew up in Arlington and attended Texas State University and received a Bachelor of Arts in Philosophy. I attended Texas Wesleyan School of Law now known as Texas A&M School of Law. I have been a practicing attorney for over 17 years. I have worked in the DFW metroplex representing residents in Family, Criminal, Personal Injury, and some Immigration and Bankruptcy. I was a Managing Assistant Attorney General for the Child Support division of the Texas Attorney General. I was responsible for 33 employees including 5 Assistant Attorneys General and 45,000 cases. I would take a group of staff to the courthouse with a docket of over 100 cases in a day. I managed remote dockets as well as all the Administrative tasks of the OAG. I was recognized as a Rising Star in Management in 2013 and as Assistant Attorney General of the year in 2014. I have been voted as a Top Attorney in Fort Worth Magazine in Family Law in 2020, 2019, 2018, and 2017 by a vote of my peers. I have a heart for public service and will keep my oath to uphold the Constitution of the Great State of Texas and the United States of America. I will ensure equal protection under the law and follow the law and the precedent to bring dignity and civility back to the bench.

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?

• Integrity matters and Judges should not be beholden to special interests and legislate from the bench or abuse their power to further a extreme political agenda.
• The Courts should be available to all and have free and open access to the court system. The judiciary should represent the makeup of the community and the people should have more than one choice on the ballot to choose from.
• The appointment of Judges after their resignation and the deadline for calling a special election is the abuse of power that takes away the will of the people. The people should elect a replacement and this policy is just collusion and subverting the will of the people.

What areas of public policy are you personally passionate about?

Public policy considerations are those that further the goals of our community and society for the betterment of all and should be in everyone's best interest.
Facilitating public policy is an area that I am passionate about. Often the courts are the first to reveal that there exist a social issue that is in the public interest to address and we have many state agencies, and private partners to help litigants address their personal issues that fall under a public policy consideration and help coordinate services and programs that can help litigants address the root causes of the present problems so that as a matter of Public Policy we can be a conduit for getting litigants in front of the right people to address the issues that can cause an impact in their lives, or to prevent future impacts from present circumstances.

Who do you look up to? Whose example would you like to follow, and why?

I look up to my parents. My parents led by example and supported me and help me become the person I am today. I follow their example of hard work and to treat everybody with respect. I was shown that if you do what is best for others you will also do what is best for yourself. My parents examples of what it means to be family and to support each other through good and bad and to never ever give up.

What qualities do you possess that you believe would make you a successful officeholder?

I have a history of public service and experience managing a large program. I am a natural leader and able to build teams and consensus. I have an even temperament and do not have a political agenda nor am I beholden to any faction or group.

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

The core responsibilities of this office are to be able to work with diverse groups and build consensus. To be fair and impartial, to not allow special interests to sway your opinion, or be beholden to donors or factions.

What legacy would you like to leave?

I would like to be remembered for being consistent and fair in the application of the law to the facts.

What is your favorite book? Why?

Aristotle Nicomachean Ethics

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

Batman

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

Baby Shark

What is something that has been a struggle in your life?

To fight for equal protection under the law and to be treated fairly without prejudice or impartiality by those in power beholden to political factions.

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

This position handles a budget and has attorneys and litigants dependent upon it to administer payment for court appointed attorneys and as of todays date there is a six month delay in payment on those vouchers for work already performed by those attorneys. The power that the office holds in it administrative capacity is crucial to the fair administration of the law. Presently this is not the case.

How would you describe your legal philosophy?

My legal philosophy is consistent with Normative Jurisprudence. Freedom and limits of the law, the obligation to follow the law, and the justification for the result.
This is a direct application of the law to the facts and circumstances before the court. These are not courts of equity but of jurisprudence. The equity is the implication of injunctive relief or procedures to either party and the law is the what dictates the result or outcome of the matter itself.

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

I admire Judge Holmes. He was a marine and a veteran and had the most even temperament. One would know when they were in or out of order and he would educate the litigants on the law and the result was his rendition and an understanding of why that he litigants accepted as truth and understood that his decision was reasoned and impassioned. He applied the law.

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

Empathy is an important quality in any human being. To be empathetic to those that appear before you, emotionally invested and impassioned spirits, seeking redress for that only the Court can mandate. A judge must have empathy for then they are not public servants. The lawyers for each party are advocating ferociously for their clients and the judge must filter through the facts and sentiment to get to the heart of the matter and apply the law to that and that begins with empathy.

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

I have been part of a judicial poll by members of the bar that stated I was more qualified than my opponent.

Why are you running for this particular court seat?

I grew tired of sitting on the sidelines and not having a choice at the ballot box. There were no Democratic Candidates and not enough representation on the bench of minorities or of the community as a whole.

Do you believe that it's beneficial for a judge to have previous experience in government or politics?

I believe that prior experience in government is essential to being a public servant. I have been a Managing Assistant Attorney General and handled massive caseloads, a budget, staff, and had to meet goals, targets, and make and amend plans and procedure according to need. To be able to handle the multifaceted aspects of being a judge and administrator and leader to the community is a task that is not learned easily, training and experience make the difference. I have already proven my abilities and have run a large political governmental agency. Experience matters.

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

The appointment of Judges by the Governor with little to no experience, for the sole reason of maintaining power and allowing that appointment to run as an incumbent.

What do you consider the greatest opportunity for the legal system in your state?

The greatest opportunity for our legal system is to reform the bar to have more representative members governing the state bar.
The ability to shape the way court is conducted so that we can safely resume the normal dockets and serve the public more safely and efficiently.

Would you be interested in serving on a higher court in the future? If so, which court appeals to you?

I would be interested in a higher bench. I could see a Federal Circuit Court as a potential future goal.

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

In my instance the Bar Poll is an accurate reflection of how the Judge treats the litigators and litigants as well as ability.

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.

See also

2020 Elections

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Footnotes

Texas courts

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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