Veronica Nelson

This page was last updated during the official's most recent election or appointment. Please contact us with any updates.

Veronica Nelson

Democratic Party

Texas 482nd District Court

Tenure

2023 - Present

Term ends

2027

Years in position

2

Report an officeholder change

Elections and appointments

Last elected

November 8, 2022

Education

Bachelor's

University of California, Berkeley, 2003

Law

University of Alabama School of Law, 2007

Contact

Campaign website

Campaign Facebook

Campaign Instagram

Personal LinkedIn

Veronica Nelson (Democratic Party) is a judge of the Texas 482nd District Court. She assumed office on January 1, 2023. Her current term ends on January 1, 2027.

Nelson (Democratic Party) ran for election for judge of the Texas 482nd District Court. She won in the general election on November 8, 2022.

Nelson completed Ballotpedia's Candidate Connection survey in 2022. Click here to read the survey answers.

Biography

Veronica Nelson earned a bachelor's degree from the University of California, Berkeley in 2003 and a law degree from the University of Alabama School of Law in 2007.

Elections

2022

See also: Municipal elections in Harris County, Texas (2022)

General election

General election for Texas 482nd District Court

Veronica Nelson defeated incumbent Maritza Antu in the general election for Texas 482nd District Court on November 8, 2022.

		Candidate	%	Votes
✔		Veronica Nelson (D)	51.0	540,103
		Maritza Antu (R)	49.0	518,523

---

	Incumbents are bolded and underlined. The results have been certified. Source	Total votes: 1,058,626
= candidate completed the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection survey.
If you are a candidate and would like to tell readers and voters more about why they should vote for you, complete the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection Survey.
Do you want a spreadsheet of this type of data? Contact our sales team.

Democratic primary election

Democratic primary for Texas 482nd District Court

Veronica Nelson defeated Alycia Harvey and Sherlene Cruz in the Democratic primary for Texas 482nd District Court on March 1, 2022.

		Candidate	%	Votes
✔		Veronica Nelson	56.3	82,244
	Submit photo	Alycia Harvey	23.2	33,908
	Submit photo	Sherlene Cruz	20.5	29,963

---

	There were no incumbents in this race. The results have been certified. Source	Total votes: 146,115
= candidate completed the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection survey.
If you are a candidate and would like to tell readers and voters more about why they should vote for you, complete the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection Survey.
Do you want a spreadsheet of this type of data? Contact our sales team.

Republican primary election

Republican primary for Texas 482nd District Court

Incumbent Maritza Antu advanced from the Republican primary for Texas 482nd District Court on March 1, 2022.

		Candidate	%	Votes
✔		Maritza Antu	100.0	135,332

---

	Incumbents are bolded and underlined. The results have been certified. Source	Total votes: 135,332
= candidate completed the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection survey.
If you are a candidate and would like to tell readers and voters more about why they should vote for you, complete the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection Survey.
Do you want a spreadsheet of this type of data? Contact our sales team.

Campaign themes

2022

Ballotpedia survey responses

See also: Ballotpedia's Candidate Connection

Veronica Nelson completed Ballotpedia's Candidate Connection survey in 2022. The survey questions appear in bold and are followed by Nelson's responses. Candidates are asked three required questions for this survey, but they may answer additional optional questions as well.

Expand all | Collapse all

Who are you? Tell us about yourself.

Veronica Nelson is the Staff Attorney for the Harris County Criminal and Civil Judges where her responsibilities vary from trial assistance to appellate briefs. Veronica graduated cum laude from The University of California, Berkeley with B.A. degree in Legal Studies. While at Berkeley, Veronica was on the 2002 National Championship softball team and inducted into the colleges Hall of Fame in 2016. In addition, she was on the Dean’s List during the fall semester of her junior and senior years. After undergraduate school, Veronica earned her Juris Doctorate degree from the University of Alabama, School of Law where she interned at the Tuscaloosa Public Defender’s Office for two years. After graduating cum laude, Veronica accepted a position at the Harris County District Attorney’s Office. During her 11 years at the DA’s Office, Veronica tried over 85 jury trials ranging from Class C speeding tickets to non-death Capital Murders. She was able to ascend to being Chief of the 180th District Court, where she supervised young Assistant District Attorneys, as well as, carrying a caseload of Serial Sexual Assaults, Capital Murders, Injury to Child (fatality), and Murders. In 2019, she because the Staff Attorney for the County Criminal and Civil Judges, as well as, 10 Hearing Officers.

Please list below 3 key messages of your campaign. What are the main points you want voters to remember about your goals for your time in office?

• Ensure the system in fair and just for everybody
• Helping people Mental Health issues
• Public Safety

What areas of public policy are you personally passionate about?

In the legal field I am most passionate about is building faith in the judicial system and helping correct poverty related issues within the judicial system by starting to change the preconceived notions of the criminal judicial system within the community, by being present and start new programs to help with past offenses and convictions
Outside of law, I am most passionate about Title IX and protection of those rights.

What qualities do you possess that you believe would make you a successful officeholder?

My upbringing, athletic background, training and experience will be a great transition to the position because it has taught me to 1. Work with people from a diverse background, 2. How to successfully multi task 3. Have a judicial temperament under press situations, and 3. Cultivate successful relationships. In addition, it demonstrates my commitment to educating the community on various legal topics which continuing the study best practices for the Courts.

Are there any little-known powers or responsibilities held by this office that you believe more people should be aware of?

The judiciary has several roles and functions both on and off the bench. These roles and functions are guided by the Judicial Canons, Chapter 24 of the Government Code, and any regulations issued by the Texas Supreme Court. District courts have original jurisdiction over several legal matters but the 482nd District Court’s docket specializes in felony criminal cases. The Judges’ roles and functions on the bench are 1. Docket management which includes but not limited to conducting trials, hearing probable cause, issuing warrants, writing findings of facts and conclusions of law, conducting pre and post-conviction hearings 2. Ensure the efficient disposition of cases in a fair and just manner, and 3. Continued education to have a superior knowledge of the law. Off the bench, the roles and functions of the judge are 1. Engage and educate the community 2. Manage alternative courts and solutions for judicial issues, 3. Protect the staff 4. Study and implement best practices 5. Adopt and/or update Local Rules which consist of an indigent defense plan, Pre-trial services, probation departments, Hearing Officers just to list a few.

Why are you running for this particular court seat?

482nd is a brand new District Court bench created by legislators to begin having dockets in September 2021. When the bench became available, I was approached by numerous judges, prosecutors, and defense attorneys to run for the open bench due to my experience and current position as being an ideal person to bring integrity and knowledge to this position. After careful thought and consideration, I believed I would be the best person to serve on this bench as I have the most judicial experience and temperament. My goal would be to bring new programs and ideas to the felony courts that have proven to work well in both Harris County misdemeanor courts and other jurisdictions, in addition to handling the case back log that currently is clogging all courts in Harris County.

Note: Ballotpedia reserves the right to edit Candidate Connection survey responses. Any edits made by Ballotpedia will be clearly marked with [brackets] for the public. If the candidate disagrees with an edit, he or she may request the full removal of the survey response from Ballotpedia.org. Ballotpedia does not edit or correct typographical errors unless the candidate's campaign requests it.

See also

2022 Elections

What's on the ballot? U.S. Congress U.S. Congress special elections State executives State legislatures State courts Ballot measures Municipal government School boards Election analysis hub

Government

Who represents me? U.S. Congress State executives State legislators State courts Ballot measures Municipal government School boards

Newsletters

The Heart of the Primaries The Daily Brew The Weekly Brew The Ballot Bulletin Checks and Balances Economy and Society Hall Pass Number of the Day Robe & Gavel Union Station

External links

Search Google News for this topic

Candidate

Texas 482nd District Court

Website

Facebook

Instagram

Personal

LinkedIn

Footnotes

Texas courts

---

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