Phil Johnson

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Phil Johnson
Image of Phil Johnson
Prior offices
Texas Supreme Court Place 8

Education

Law

Texas Tech University School of Law, 1975


Phil Johnson was a justice of the Texas Supreme Court. Governor Rick Perry (R) appointed Johnson on March 15, 2005. He was re-elected on November 4, 2014.[1][2] Johnson retired December 31, 2018.[3] To learn more about this vacancy, click here.

Education

Johnson received his J.D. from Texas Tech University School of Law in 1975.[4]

Career

Military service

Johnson served in the U.S. Air Force from 1965 to 1972. He was a pilot and served in the Vietnam War.[4]

Awards and associations

  • Member, College of the State Bar
  • Life fellow, Texas Bar Foundation
  • Life fellow, American Bar Foundation
  • Past president, Lubbock County Bar Association[4]

Elections

2014

See also: Texas judicial elections, 2014

Johnson ran for re-election to the Texas Supreme Court.
Primary: Johnson was successful in the Republican primary on March 4, 2014, receiving 64.0 percent of the vote. He competed against Sharon McCally.
General: Johnson defeated RS Roberto Koelsch (Libertarian) and Jim Chisholm (Green Party) in the general election on November 4, 2014, receiving 78.8 percent of the vote.[2][6][7] 

Judicial poll

Below are the results of a 2014 judicial poll, conducted by the State Bar of Texas, which asked attorneys to cast a vote in favor of their preferred candidate in each appellate race.[8]

Place 8 Justice
Candidate: Votes:
Jim Chisholm 973
Phil Johnson 4244
RS Roberto Koelsch 835
Sharon McCally 2828

Endorsements

  • Texans for Lawsuit Reform PAC
  • Texas Civil Justice League PAC
  • Texas Home School Coalition PAC
  • Texas Alliance for Life PAC
  • Texas Right to Life PAC
  • Texans for Fiscal Responsibility
  • Grassroots America – We the People
  • Young Conservatives of Texas PAC
  • Texas Farm Bureau PAC – AGFUND
  • Houston Realty Business Coalition PAC
  • Houston “C” Club PAC
  • Combined Law Enforcement Associations of Texas (CLEAT)
  • Houston Police Officers’ Union PAC
  • Cattle Raisers Association PAC
  • Texas Apartment Association PAC
  • Texas Association of Realtors
  • Spring Branch Republicans
  • Texas Conservative View
  • United Republicans of Harris County
  • Texas Medical Association PAC
  • Manufacturers PAC of Texas
  • Texas Oil and Gas Association PAC
  • Conservative Republicans of Texas PAC
  • Conservative Republicans of Harris County PAC
  • Governor Rick Perry
  • Senator John Cornyn
  • Senator Ted Cruz
  • Former Chief Justice Wallace B. Jefferson
  • Former Chief Justice Tom Phillips
  • Former Justice Harriet O'Neill
  • Rebecca Bradford, former president of the Texas Federation of Republican Women
  • Texas Comptroller Susan Combs
  • Bill Crocker, former Republican National committeeman[9]

2008

Johnson was re-elected to the court in 2008.[10]

For a summary of the campaign contributions for Judge Phil Johnson, visit Follow the Money, Phil Johnson.

Candidate IncumbentSeatPartyElection %
Supreme-Court-Elections-badge.png
Phil Johnson ApprovedA YesPlace 8Republican52.3%
Linda Yanez NoPlace 8Democratic44.6%
Drew Shirley NoPlace 8Libertarian3%


2006

Johnson ran for election to the supreme court in 2006. He defeated Libertarian candidate Jay H. Cookingham, winning 76.3 percent of the vote.[11]

In his 2006 campaign, Phil Johnson raised $496,868.

For a detailed list of contributions, visit: Follow the Money: Phil Johnson

Political ideology

See also: Political ideology of State Supreme Court Justices

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.

Johnson received a campaign finance score of 1.05, 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.[12]

See also

External links

Footnotes