Hazel Jones

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Hazel B. Jones

Texas 174th District Court

Tenure

Present officeholder

Term ends

2028

Report an officeholder change

Elections and appointments

Last elected

November 5, 2024

Education

Bachelor's

University of Texas

Law

Howard University Law School

Contact

Personal website

Hazel B. Jones is a judge of the Texas 174th District Court. Her current term ends on December 31, 2028.

Jones (Democratic Party) ran for re-election for judge of the Texas 174th District Court. She won in the general election on November 5, 2024.

Jones was a judge for Texas District 338. She was elected in 2008 and retired at the end of 2012.

Education

Jones received her undergraduate degree from University of Texas and her J.D. from Howard University Law School.

Career

Jones served as the judge for Texas District 338 from 2008 until 2012. She had previously worked as an assistant district attorney for Harris County, as a special assistant United States attorney, and in private practice.

Elections

2024

See also: Municipal elections in Harris County, Texas (2024)

General election

General election for Texas 174th District Court

Incumbent Hazel B. Jones won election in the general election for Texas 174th District Court on November 5, 2024.

		Candidate	%	Votes
✔		Hazel B. Jones (D)	100.0	903,213

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	Incumbents are bolded and underlined. The results have been certified. Source	Total votes: 903,213
= 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.
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Democratic primary election

Democratic primary for Texas 174th District Court

Incumbent Hazel B. Jones advanced from the Democratic primary for Texas 174th District Court on March 5, 2024.

		Candidate	%	Votes
✔		Hazel B. Jones	100.0	138,661

---

	Incumbents are bolded and underlined. The results have been certified. Source	Total votes: 138,661
= 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.

Endorsements

Ballotpedia did not identify endorsements for Jones in this election.

2020

See also: Municipal elections in Harris County, Texas (2020)

General election

General election for Texas 174th District Court

Incumbent Hazel B. Jones won election in the general election for Texas 174th District Court on November 3, 2020.

		Candidate	%	Votes
✔		Hazel B. Jones (D)	100.0	1,029,364

---

	Incumbents are bolded and underlined. The results have been certified. Source	Total votes: 1,029,364
= 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 174th District Court

Incumbent Hazel B. Jones advanced from the Democratic primary for Texas 174th District Court on March 3, 2020.

		Candidate	%	Votes
✔		Hazel B. Jones	100.0	232,727

---

	Incumbents are bolded and underlined. The results have been certified. Source	Total votes: 232,727
= 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.

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. Hazel Jones defeated Raul Rodriguez and Mack McInnis in the Texas 174th District Court Democratic primary.

Texas 174th District Court, Democratic Primary, 2016
Candidate	Vote %	Votes
Hazel Jones	51.24%	81,854
Raul Rodriguez	34.72%	55,459
Mack McInnis	14.04%	22,422
Total Votes		159,735
Source: Harris County, Texas, "Democratic Party Cumulative Report-Unofficial," accessed March 2, 2016

Hazel Jones defeated Katherine McDaniel in the Texas 174th District Court general election.

Texas 174th District Court, General Election, 2016
Party		Candidate	Vote %	Votes
	Democratic	Hazel Jones	52.17%	661,559
	Republican	Katherine McDaniel	47.83%	606,487
Total Votes				1,268,046
Source: Harris County, Texas, "Election Results," accessed December 9, 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.

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."

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;*
• 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.

*While no judge older than 74 may run for office, sitting judges who turn 75 are permitted to continue serving until their term expires.

2012

Jones ran for re-election to the 338th District Court and was defeated by challenger Brock Thomas.

See also: Texas judicial elections, 2012

Campaign themes

2024

Ballotpedia survey responses

See also: Ballotpedia's Candidate Connection

Hazel B. Jones did not complete Ballotpedia's 2024 Candidate Connection survey.

2020

Hazel B. Jones did not complete Ballotpedia's 2020 Candidate Connection survey.

2016

Jones' campaign website included the following themes for 2016:

“ As a trial attorney, I have been on both sides of the table as a prosecutor and as a defense attorney. I have worked in both the State and Federal court systems. From my experience of working in both the prosecutorial and defense spectrum of our legal system, I concluded that there was a dire need for a positive change in the judicial system in Harris County. That is the primary reason why I ran for judge in 2008 and was elected. Currently I am running for judge for the 174th Criminal District Court in Harris County, Texas. I will continue to bring a broader perspective to the judicial bench. I have witnessed inaccuracies and injustices from both sides of the table. I recognize the need to have a fair and impartial jurist sitting on the bench to restore confidence in the judicial system. "A vote for HAZEL JONES is a vote for a broader perspective on the judicial bench." I did not just leave the District Attorney's Office and decide to run for a judicial seat. I have a well-rounded courtroom experience that encompasses researching legal issues and writing legal briefs as a State and Federal prosecutor and as a criminal defense attorney as well as litigating those issues in a court of law. A judge must always be a fair, just, and impartial jurist to both parties of a lawsuit, and my experience will allow me to be just that. "A vote for HAZEL JONES is a vote for safety in the community. " I too, like my Republican friends, want a safe community for all citizens of our county and country. All citizens have the right to safely walk the streets of Harris County. The protection of our citizenry from those who refuse to follow the laws of this State is of the utmost importance. "A vote for HAZEL JONES is a vote for confidence in the judicial system." When a person walks into any courtroom in our county, once proceedings conclude, that person should feel that he has had his fair day in court - and not that "the fix was in." My parents helped shape the guiding principles by which I live my life. They taught me some basic principles that I believe are essential for being an effective judicial candidate and judge. They taught me to be respectful of others, and to be genuine in character and person; they also taught me to be humble, yet strong in the midst of adversity; they taught me about fair play and about the value of truthfulness, and honesty. My parents taught me many valuable lessons and shared much advice. Growing up, they warned me, "Hazel, life won't always be fair." I did not quite understand, but as I matured, I heard people saying life wasn't fair, then I witnessed life not being fair, then sure enough I experienced it. So my parents were right, but what I want you to know is that although "life" is not always fair, when you're in the four corners of the courtroom it absolutely, positively should be fair to all persons - and will be fair when I am elected as judge. ” —Hazel Jones (2016),

See also

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Personal

Website

Footnotes

Texas courts

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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