Paul Womack
Paul Womack was a judge of the Texas Court of Criminal Appeals. He was elected to this position on November 5, 1996.[1] He was retained by voters in 2002 and 2008.[2]Cite error: Invalid <ref> tag; name cannot be a simple integer. Use a descriptive title[3] Womack did not run for re-election in 2014 and retired at the end of his term.[4]
Education
Womack received his undergraduate degree from Louisiana State University in 1970 and his J.D. from the University of Texas School of Law in 1975.[3]
Career
After graduating from law school, Womack taught at the Thurgood Marshall School of Law. Next, he spent two years in private practice. In 1978, he became a research assistant for Judge Truman Roberts of the Texas Court of Criminal Appeals. In 1982, Womack became as assistant district attorney in Travis County. Five years later, he became first assistant district attorney in Williamson County, where he stayed until joining the court in 1997.[3]
Awards and associations
- Adjunct professor, University of Texas, School of Law[3]
Elections
2008
Womack was re-elected to the court Texas Court of Criminal Appeals in 2008.Cite error: Invalid <ref> tag; name cannot be a simple integer. Use a descriptive title
| Candidate | Incumbent | Seat | Party | Election % |  |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Paul Womack  |
Yes | Place 4 | Republican | 52.9% | |
| J.R. Molina | No | Place 4 | Democratic | 43.7% | |
| Dave Howard | No | Place 4 | Libertarian | 3.2% |
Political ideology
In October 2012, political science professors Adam Bonica and Michael Woodruff of Stanford University attempted to determine the partisan ideology of state supreme court justices. They created a scoring system in which a score above 0 indicated a more conservative-leaning ideology, while scores below 0 were more liberal.
Womack received a campaign finance score of 1.09, indicating a conservative ideological leaning. This was more conservative than the average score of 0.91 that justices received in Texas.
The study was based on data from campaign contributions by the judges themselves, the partisan leaning of those who contributed to the judges' campaigns, or, in the absence of elections, the ideology of the appointing body (governor or legislature). This study was not a definitive label of a justice, but an academic summary of various relevant factors.[5]
See also
External links
Footnotes
- ↑ Texas Secretary of State, "1996 election results," accessed January 19, 2015 see 1996 General Election results
- ↑ Texas Secretary of State, "Election results," 2002 see 2002 General Election results
- ↑ 3.0 3.1 3.2 3.3 Texas Courts, "Judge Paul Womack biography," accessed April 14, 2014
- ↑ Big Country Homepage.com, "One-third of Criminal Appeals Court ready to leave," September 17, 2013
- ↑ Stanford University, "State Supreme Court Ideology and 'New Style' Judicial Campaigns," October 31, 2012
