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Stephen Aslett
Stephen Aslett was a 2016 candidate for the Texas 179th District Court in Texas.[1] He was defeated in the primary election on March 1, 2016.
Education
Aslett earned his bachelor's degree from Rice University. He later received a J.D. from Tulane University School of Law.[2]
Career
Aslett worked as a high school civics teacher between college and law school. He has worked as a federal court clerk and an assistant district attorney.[2]
Campaign themes
2016
Aslett's campaign website listed the following themes for 2016:
| “ |
1. We need to try more cases, and we need to try them faster Our criminal district courts are, on the whole, not adequately serving the people of Harris County. Our courts do not try as many jury trials as they are capable of trying, and the cases that do get tried take far too long---often years---to get to trial. It has resulted in a system in which defendants, especially those who are economically disadvantaged, languish in jail and crime victims endlessly wait for their day in court. This problem exists in part because of wide disparities among the criminal district court judges in how many cases they try. For instance, in the last three years, the 185th District Court tried the most cases of all the criminal district courts: 104. The court that tried the fewest cases, the 209th District Court, tried just 30---a difference of 74 trials! The court that I am running for---the 179th District Court---tried just 56 cases in the last three years, ranking it 15th out of the 22 district courts in total number of cases tried. What accounts for these differences is simply who the judge is. As judge, I will work to bring more cases to trial quickly and efficiently. Our Constitution's guarantee of a speedy trial needs to mean something, for both defendants and crime victims. 2. The public needs to have meaningful information about their courts We already keep statistics about how our criminal judges are performing. We know which judges try the most and fewest cases each year, which judges have the highest and lowest dockets, and which judges make their defendants and victims wait the longest pending trial. The problem is that voters can't easily access this information. And without real statistics on how each of our courts are performing, voters can only rely on campaign slogans, literature, and endorsements to decide which judges to vote for. As judge, I will show you the job I am doing by publishing data about the 179th District Court and other felony courts. You will know how many cases are pending in my court compared to others. You will know how quickly cases in my court go to trial compared to others. And you will know in which courts victims and defendants wait longest for justice. 3. We need a bond schedule for the real world The Harris County felony bond schedule needs to be revised. Our current bond schedule sets bonds too low for violent criminals and too high for nonviolent drug offenders. Our courts also make too little use of personal recognizance bonds for first-time non-violent offenders. It simply makes no sense whatsoever that a person caught with less than a gram of drugs for the third time gets a bond of $15,000 while a person who burglarizes a home gets a $10,000 bond or a person who beats an elderly woman gets a $5,000 bond. It just makes sense to have a bond schedule that reflects the seriousness of the crime. If elected, I will work with the other district judges to make sure we have a bond schedule that makes sense. And if I can, I can promise you that bonds set in my court will reflect the true seriousness of the crime. 4. I can do the job I have the experience, judgment, and temperament to be a criminal district court judge. As a prosecutor with the Harris County District Attorney’s Office for almost my entire legal career, I have tried and handled a wide variety of felony cases, from burglaries to aggravated robberies to murders---the very same types of cases I would preside over as judge. I have always been guided by my duty “not to convict but to see that justice is done.” I have dispassionately reviewed the evidence in every case I have handled, deciding whether to seek a lengthy sentence, place a defendant on probation, reduce the charge, or dismiss the case outright. I have developed a good reputation among both other prosecutors and the defense bar for being fair and reasonable to both sides, and I would do my best to keep that reputation as judge. [3] |
” |
| —Stephen Aslett (2016), [4] | ||
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.[5] Randy Roll defeated Stephen Aslett in the Texas 179th District Court Democratic primary.[1]
| Texas 179th District Court, Democratic Primary, 2016 | ||
|---|---|---|
| Candidate | Vote % | Votes |
 Randy Roll |
57.90% | 83,727 |
| Stephen Aslett | 42.10% | 60,889 |
| Total Votes | 144,616 | |
| Source: Harris County, Texas, "Democratic Party Cumulative Report-Unofficial," 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.[6]
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."[7]
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;*[8]
- 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.[6]
*While no judge older than 74 may run for office, sitting judges who turn 75 are permitted to continue serving until their term expires.[6]
Endorsements
Aslett's campaign website listed the following endorsements for 2016:[9]
- National Latino Peace Officers Association
- Houston Chronicle
See also
External links
Footnotes
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 Texas Secretary of State, "Official candidate list," accessed December 18, 2015
- ↑ 2.0 2.1 Aslett for Judge, "About," accessed February 18, 2016
- ↑ Note: This text is quoted verbatim from the original source. Any inconsistencies are attributable to the original source.
- ↑ Aslett for Judge, "Why I'm Running," accessed February 18, 2016
- ↑ Texas Secretary of State, "Important 2016 Election Dates," accessed December 18, 2015
- ↑ 6.0 6.1 6.2 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
- ↑ Aslett for Judge, "Endorsements," accessed February 18, 2016
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
