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Wayne Mallia

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Wayne Mallia
Image of Wayne Mallia

Education

Bachelor's

University of Texas, Austin

Law

St. Mary's School of Law

Personal
Profession
Senior District Judge
Contact

Wayne Mallia was a 2016 candidate for the Texas 56th District Court in Texas.[1] He was defeated in the primary election on March 1, 2016.

Education

Mallia earned his B.A. in psychology from the University of Texas-Austin. He later received his J.D. from St. Mary's School of Law.[2]

Career

Mallia served as a judge for Texas District 405 from 2000 to 2013. He is a senior district judge and a mediator.[2]

Campaign themes

2016

Mallia's campaign website listed the following themes for his 2016 campaign:

My years of public service have made me very committed and passionate about maintaining the integrity of our judicial system. I have happily committed my career, experience and talents to serving the good people of Galveston County as a dedicated, fair, impartial and hard-working judge. These are qualities I expect any sitting judge to be upholding and they are the key principles of which the public expects from it’s judiciary.

However, I can no longer sit idly by as the sitting judge of the 56th District Court, Lonnie Cox, continues to shred the Texas Constitution – the very fabric of what makes our Republic the greatest in the Nation. A judge should fairly interpret and follow the letter of the law; A judge should never exert his authority to further his personal interests or vendettas outside the courtroom; A judge should always treat everyone with dignity and respect inside and outside of his court; Most importantly, a judge should be resolving disputes, not creating and perpetuating frivolous lawsuits at the expense of taxpayers.

Our nation is at a crossroads. One where the third branch of government, our judiciary, has stopped interpreting the law and has begun creating the law. It is time that we as citizens take a stand and stop this judicial activism being seen not only from the steps of the U.S. Supreme Court in Washington, D.C. but right here in our own backyard. [3]

—Wayne Mallia (2016), [2]

Elections

2016

See also: Texas local trial court judicial 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.[4] Incumbent Lonnie Cox defeated Wayne Mallia in the Texas 56th District Court Republican primary.[1]

Texas 56th District Court, Republican Primary, 2016
Candidate Vote % Votes
Green check mark transparent.png Lonnie Cox Incumbent 63.60% 20,234
Wayne Mallia 36.40% 11,579
Total Votes 31,813
Source: Galveston County, Texas, "Cumulative Report-Unofficial," March 1, 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.[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]

Endorsements

Mallia received the following endorsements in 2016:[8]

  • Texans for Fiscal Responsibility
  • Empower Texans
  • Texas Home School Association
  • Texas Right to Life
  • Texans for Public Safety
  • Galveston County Republican Leadership Committee

See also

External links

Footnotes