Phyllis Lister Brown
Phyllis Lister Brown was a judge of Texas District 162.[1] She was elected in November 2012 to a four-year term.[2][3]
Brown ran for re-election in 2016.[4] Brown died on May 25, 2016.[5]
Biography
Lister Brown received her undergraduate degree from North Texas State University and her J.D. from the Texas Southern University Thurgood Marshall School of Law.[2] At the time of her election to the Texas District 162 bench, Lister Brown was the presiding judge of the Dallas Municipal Court division 4. She began serving on that court in 1994. Prior to that, Lister Brown practiced law, first with the city of Dallas, then the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation, the Zale Corporation, and the law firms Brown, Robinson & West, LLP and Lorenzo Brown & Associates. P.C. She then founded and maintained her own firm, The Lister Law Firm.[2]
Elections
2016
Texas held general elections for local judicial offices on November 8, 2016. A primary election took place on March 1, 2016. A primary runoff election was held on May 24, 2016, for any seat where the top vote recipient did not receive a majority of the primary vote.[6] Incumbent Phyllis Lister Brown ran unopposed in the Texas 162nd District Court Democratic primary.[4]
| Texas 162nd District Court, Democratic Primary, 2016 | ||
|---|---|---|
| Candidate | Vote % | Votes |
 Phyllis Lister Brown Incumbent (unopposed) |
100.00% | 109,622 |
| Total Votes | 109,622 | |
| Source: Dallas County Elections, "Democratic Party Primary Election," accessed March 2, 2016 | ||
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.[7]
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."[8]
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;*[9]
- 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.[7]
*While no judge older than 74 may run for office, sitting judges who turn 75 are permitted to continue serving until their term expires.[7]
See also
External links
Footnotes
- ↑ Dallas County, "162nd District Court"
- ↑ 2.0 2.1 2.2 Judge Phyllis Lister Brown, "Biography," accessed December 31, 2014
- ↑ Judicial selection in Texas
- ↑ 4.0 4.1 Texas Secretary of State, "Official candidate list," accessed December 18, 2015
- ↑ The Dallas Morning News, "Phyllis Lister Brown, Dallas County civil district court judge, dies," May 25, 2016
- ↑ Texas Secretary of State, "Important 2016 Election Dates," accessed December 18, 2015
- ↑ 7.0 7.1 7.2 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
