Tammy Kemp
Tammy Kemp (Democratic Party) is a judge of the Texas 204th District Court. She assumed office in 2014. Her current term ends on December 31, 2026.
Kemp (Democratic Party) is running for re-election for judge of the Texas 204th District Court. She is on the ballot in the Democratic primary on March 3, 2026.[source]
Education
Kemp received a bachelor's degree in finance from the University of Oklahoma in 1984. She graduated from the same school with her J.D. in 1988.[1]
Career
- 2015-Present: Judge, 204th District Court
- 2006-2014: Assistant district attorney - criminal law, Dallas County
- 1999-2000: Criminal law attorney in private practice
- 1994-1999: Assistant district attorney - business organization and administrative law, Dallas County
- 1990-1993: Retirement and administrative law assistant, Oklahoma Secretary of State
- 1988-1990: Assistant attorney general, Oklahoma[1]
Elections
2026
See also: Municipal elections in Dallas County, Texas (2026)
General election
The primary will occur on March 3, 2026. The general election will occur on November 3, 2026. General election candidates will be added here following the primary.
Democratic primary
Democratic primary for Texas 204th District Court
Incumbent Tammy Kemp (D) is running in the Democratic primary for Texas 204th District Court on March 3, 2026.
Candidate | ||
 | Tammy Kemp | |
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Endorsements
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2022
See also: Municipal elections in Dallas County, Texas (2022)
General election
The general election was canceled. Incumbent Tammy Kemp won election in the general election for Texas 204th District Court.
Democratic primary election
Democratic primary for Texas 204th District Court
Incumbent Tammy Kemp defeated Bree West in the Democratic primary for Texas 204th District Court on March 1, 2022.
Candidate | % | Votes | ||
| ✔ | | Tammy Kemp | 52.9 | 62,763 |
| Bree West | 47.1 | 55,981 | ||
| Total votes: 118,744 | |||
| = candidate completed the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection survey. | ||||
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2018
General election
General election for Texas 204th District Court
Incumbent Tammy Kemp won election in the general election for Texas 204th District Court on November 6, 2018.
Candidate | % | Votes | ||
| ✔ | | Tammy Kemp (D) | 100.0 | 473,219 |
| Total votes: 473,219 | |||
| = candidate completed the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection survey. | ||||
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Democratic primary election
Democratic primary for Texas 204th District Court
Incumbent Tammy Kemp defeated Stephen Duplantis in the Democratic primary for Texas 204th District Court on March 6, 2018.
Candidate | % | Votes | ||
| ✔ | | Tammy Kemp | 77.7 | 84,178 |
| Stephen Duplantis | 22.3 | 24,121 | ||
| Total votes: 108,299 | |||
| = candidate completed the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection survey. | ||||
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2014
See also: Texas judicial elections, 2014
Kemp ran for election to the 204th District Court.
Primary: She was successful in the Democratic primary on March 4, 2014, receiving 60.7 percent of the vote. She competed against Lena Levario.
General: She won without opposition in the general election on November 4, 2014.
[2][3][4]
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.[5]
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."[6]
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;*[7]
- 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.[5]
*While no judge older than 74 may run for office, sitting judges who turn 75 are permitted to continue serving until their term expires.[5]
Campaign themes
2026
Ballotpedia survey responses
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2022
Tammy Kemp did not complete Ballotpedia's 2022 Candidate Connection survey.
Noteworthy cases
The State of Texas v. Amber Guyger
Judge Kemp presided over the trial of former Dallas police officer Amber Guyger on a charge of murder. Guyger was returning from work on September 6, 2018, when she entered the apartment of her upstairs neighbor, Botham Jean. Believing that she had entered her own apartment and that Jean was an intruder, Guyger fatally shot him. She was arrested on September 9, 2018 and fired from the police force on September 24, 2018.[8] According to The Texas Tribune, the case "sparked a passionate conversation in Dallas about race, policing and gun violence."[9] On October 1, 2019, Guyger was found guilty of murder.[10]
Judge Kemp instructed jurors that they could consider Senate Bill 378, often referred to as the castle doctrine, in reaching their verdict. The law states that deadly force used while in one's own home, car, or business is presumed to be reasonable unless proven otherwise by the prosecution. The prosecution would need to show that the defendant did not believe that the victim was on their property illegally, that they did not have a reasonable belief that deadly force was necessary, that they provoked the victim, or that they were engaged in other criminal activity in order to obtain a conviction. It would have applied to the Guyger case if the jury had concluded that she had a reasonable belief that she was in her own apartment at the time of the shooting. Attorney Pete Schulte said that no precedent existed at the time of the trial for applying the castle doctrine (which had been passed in 2007) to cases where the defendant mistakenly believed they were in their own home.[11]
Judge Kemp also instructed jurors that they had the option of finding Guyger guilty of the lesser charge of manslaughter. In Texas, a conviction of manslaughter requires that the defendant recklessly caused someone's death, while murder requires that the defendant intentionally or knowingly caused the victim's death.[12]
See also
2026 Elections
External links
Footnotes
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 North Dallas Texas Democratic Women, "204th Judicial District, Criminal," accessed May 8, 2015
- ↑ Texas Secretary of State, "2014 March Primary Election Candidate Filings by County (A-L)"
- ↑ Texas Secretary of State, "2014 March Primary Election Candidate Filings by County (M-Z)" (Search "Dallas")
- ↑ Dallas County Board of Elections, "Democratic Party Primary Election March 4, 2014," March 11, 2014
- ↑ 5.0 5.1 5.2 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
- ↑ National Public Radio, "Dallas Police Department Fires Amber Guyger, Officer Who Shot Man In His Own Home," September 24, 2019
- ↑ The Texas Tribune, "Former Dallas police officer Amber Guyger found guilty of murder in shooting of Botham Jean," October 1, 2019
- ↑ WFAA, "Jury finds Amber Guyger guilty of murder in shooting death of Botham Jean," October 1, 2019
- ↑ The Texas Tribune, "What is Texas' Castle Doctrine and what does it mean in the Amber Guyger case?" September 30, 2019
- ↑ NBC News, "Amber Guyger's murder trial heads to jury after closing statements," September 30, 2019
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
