Michael Ritter

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

Michael Ritter

Republican Party

Elections and appointments

Last election

March 5, 2024

Education

Bachelor's

Trinity University, 2007

Law

University of Texas Law, 2010

Personal

Profession

Attorney

Contact

Campaign website

Campaign Facebook

Personal Facebook

Personal LinkedIn

Michael Ritter (Republican Party) ran for election for the Place 3 judge of the Texas Fourth District Court of Appeals. He lost in the Republican primary on March 5, 2024.

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

Biography

Michael Ritter earned a bachelor's degree from Trinity University in 2007 and a law degree from the University of Texas Law in 2010. His career experience includes working as an attorney.

Elections

2024

See also: Texas intermediate appellate court elections, 2024

General election

General election for Texas Fourth District Court of Appeals Place 3

Todd McCray defeated Cynthia Marie Chapa in the general election for Texas Fourth District Court of Appeals Place 3 on November 5, 2024.

		Candidate	%	Votes
✔		Todd McCray (R)	51.3	561,713
	Submit photo	Cynthia Marie Chapa (D)	48.7	532,364

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	There were no incumbents in this race. The results have been certified. Source	Total votes: 1,094,077
= 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 Fourth District Court of Appeals Place 3

Cynthia Marie Chapa advanced from the Democratic primary for Texas Fourth District Court of Appeals Place 3 on March 5, 2024.

		Candidate	%	Votes
✔	Submit photo	Cynthia Marie Chapa	100.0	104,384

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	There were no incumbents in this race. The results have been certified. Source	Total votes: 104,384
= 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 Fourth District Court of Appeals Place 3

Todd McCray defeated Michael Ritter in the Republican primary for Texas Fourth District Court of Appeals Place 3 on March 5, 2024.

		Candidate	%	Votes
✔		Todd McCray	55.0	83,019
		Michael Ritter	45.0	68,037

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	There were no incumbents in this race. The results have been certified. Source	Total votes: 151,056
= 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 Ritter in this election.

Campaign themes

2024

Ballotpedia survey responses

See also: Ballotpedia's Candidate Connection

Michael Ritter completed Ballotpedia's Candidate Connection survey in 2024. The survey questions appear in bold and are followed by Ritter'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'm a board-certified appellate lawyer and an elected public official in an administrative agency in the Texas judiciary. I have 10+ years of judicial experience and 12+ years of appeals experience, and I've drafted over 450 judicial opinions. The court of appeals hears civil and criminal appeals, and I've been board certified in both areas of appeals.

My years of judicial and appellate experience have helped form and solidify my conservative philosophy, with the following priorities: (1) the Rule of Law is paramount; (2) there must be no legislation from the bench; (3) the court's budget should be governed by fiscally conservative principles; and (4) there should be no needless delays in deciding cases.

Judges must act as public servants, and respect all who come before the court with fairness, dignity, and respect, regardless of political/religious beliefs. Texas judges should earn their taxpayer-funded salaries and should always be accountable to the public who elected them to serve.

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?

• The primary job of an appellte court judge is to decide appeals by publishing opinions. I've personally drafted over 450 appellate court opinions; the other candidates have drafted a (combined) total of 0 such opinions.
• A court of appeals hears both civil and criminal appeals. I've been board certified in both areas of appeals. Neither of the other candidates has been board certified in either area of appeals.
• The court of appeals has a multi-million-dollar budget each year. I believe that courts should adopt fiscally conservative principles to govern their budgets. I've served on the board of a judicial agency with an annual budget of over $40 million and helped ensure fiscally sound budgeting principles were applied.

What areas of public policy are you personally passionate about?

Border Security, Economic Inflation, the Rule of Law, and Fiscally Conservative Budgeting.

[*This statement is made in compliance with the Code of Judicial Conduct, including Canons 3 & 5, which expressly permit a judicial candidate to "express his or her views on political matters," that don't amount to pledges or promises of conduct regarding pending or impending cases or classes thereof, or statements on specific propositions of law that suggests a predisposition toward legal matters likely to come before the 4th Court of Appeals.]

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

Appellate experience, and experience in both civil and criminal cases.

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

The core responsibilities for someone elected to the Court of Appeals are: (1) publishing clear, correct, and concise appellate court opinions to clear their dockets; and (2) deciding how the courts budgeted funds are used.

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

9/11

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

I co-founded an online publishing company, The Forensics Files, that creates materials for high school teachers who coach students in interscholastic speech and debate. I started this business with my business partner in 2004, so we've been going for nearly 20 years. Our company has focused on publishing traditional debate cases, and case files that respond to pro-communist / pro-socialist positions that are being promoted among high school students.

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

Yes, nearly all of the powers and responsibilities of an appellate court justice are unknown. More people should be aware that the court of appeals justices decide nearly ALL cases that eventually end up in the Texas Supreme Court. Cases generally don't go directly to the Supreme Court, they have to go through the trial court and court of appeals first. So if there have been any Supreme Court decisions that have been important to you, you should know that a panel of court of appeals justices were asked to decide that issue first. In short, court of appeals decisions matter, and so the qualifications of appellate court justices also matter.

How would you describe your legal philosophy?

My judicial philosophy is very conservative. To protect the rule of law, judges must not be activists who legislate from the bench. When judges impose their own personal views of what the law should be (not what it is), it's wholly unfair to those who have already followed the law, destroys confidence that judges are unbiased, and ends up in reversals from higher courts, just wasting everyone's time and money.

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

I've worked for both Republican and Democrat judges. I admire all of the judges I've worked with who have shown a passion for deciding cases fairly regardless of political beliefs.

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

When dealing directly and in-person with parties and their attorneys, absolutely. When writing judicial opinions to apply the law to the facts of the case, empathy is important, but not so much that it causes personal or political feelings to change the law to reach a desired, empathic outcome in the case.

Why are you running for this particular court seat?

The judge who currently holds this seat is retiring. In my law practice as an appellate lawyer, I'm a businessman who has developed strong professional relationships with other judges on the court of appeals who trust that, regardless of the ultimate merits, my appellate advocacy is ethical and well-supported. I've also worked closely with each of the current judges and know their working styles and preferences. As a businessman with a strong professional reputation, I decided to run in a truly open race and not challenge an incumbent in this election cycle.

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

Only if the previous experience is relevant to the position sought. For example, many lawyers run for judge and highlight their past experience generally. But that experience often has very little to do with the position they're running for. To illustrate, many trial lawyers emphasize their trial experience, but they're not running for a trial court, they're running for a court of appeals, and have never worked on appeal in their life.. Voters should pay close attention to whether the candidate's previous experience is actually relevant to the position that the candidate seeks.

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

Texas courts are overwork and underfunded. Many of the best lawyers who are successful in their businesses wonder, "Why give up my hard-earned thriving legal practice to embroil myself in the political system, simply to make a fraction of the salary?" As a result of the inability or unwillingness to offer judges and staff attorneys a competitive pay, open judicial positions simply won't always attract the best lawyers to run to become judge or serve at a court. In turn, the Legislature will need to continue creating a bigger government with more courts and more judges, as a bandaid solution to the underlying problems of our current system of judicial selection and compensation.

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

The greatest opportunity for our legal system is to find ways to operate more efficiently. Judicial inefficiency raises barriers to access to justice. Inefficient courts run by inexperienced judges only increase the expense of hiring a lawyer to go through wasteful proceedings. Judges also sometimes take too long to rule, and many don't show up to work because they know voters often don't find out. With experienced judges, you get better courts and more affordable justice for all.

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

I'm undecided at this point, but I'm open to opportunities as they arise, so long as I believe my past experience would make me a good fit for the position.

What organizations or individuals have endorsed your campaign?

Texans for Lawsuit Reform

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

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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.

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Michael Ritter campaign contribution history

Year	Office	Status	Contributions	Expenditures
2024*	Texas Fourth District Court of Appeals Place 3	Lost primary	$49,458	$36,867
Grand total			$49,458	$36,867
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

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Candidate

Texas Fourth District Court of Appeals Place 3

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