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2020 Judicial Comparison
Texas Fifth Court of Appeals
Place 6
Stephen Craig Smith (Democrat) | John Browning (R-Dallas) |
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SOCIAL |
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CAMPAIGN CONTACT | |
Judge Craig Smith Campaign P.O. Box 130993 Dallas, Texas 75313-0993 | (214) 454-6563 |
CURRENT OCCUPATION |
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Presiding Judge 192nd Civil District Court [Dallas County] 2006-present | Attorney Passman & Jones, P.C. |
UNDERGRAD SCHOOL/YEAR |
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B.B.A., Business Administration University of Texas 1973 | B.A. History Rutgers University (Rutgers College *General & departmental honors 1986 B.A., Comparative Literature Rutgers University (Rutgers College) *General & departmental honors 1986 |
JURIS DOCTOR |
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Texas Tech University School of Law 1976 | University of Texas School of Law 1989 |
YEAR STATE BAR LICENSURE |
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1977 | 1989 (also licensed in Oklahoma) |
JUDICIAL EXPERIENCE - APPELLATE |
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JUDICIAL EXPERIENCE - OTHER |
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Presiding Judge 192nd Civil District Court Dallas County 2006-present | Appointed by the Supreme Court of Texas to the Professional Ethics Committee of the State Bar, a 9-member quasi-judicial body that writes and issues the ethics opinions governing the legal profession in Texas. |
LEGAL EXPERIENCE - NONJUDICIAL |
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Over the course of nearly 28 years of practicing law, I have had extensive trial and appellate experience throughout Texas and beyond. My experience covers a broad range of areas, including personal injury and wrongful death; product liability; commercial litigation; employment law; family law; probate law; defamation and media law; consumer protection law; health care; professional liability; cyberliability and data privacy; class action litigation; and all types of intellectual property litigation, including patent infringement, trademark infringement, and copyright infringement. My appellate cases have not only been before the Fifth Court of Appeals, but also other appellate courts throughout Texas. In addition, my work has been cited as authority by the Fifth Court of Appeals and by other appellate courts. I have practiced as an associate, and later a partner of a midsized firm; operated my own small firm for nearly 10 years; moved my practice to the Dallas office of a large national firm; was recruited to be the managing partner and open the Dallas office of another national law firm; and I am currently a partner in one of Dallas' oldest law firms. |
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JURY TRIAL EXPERIENCE |
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BOARD CERTIFICATIONS |
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Civil Trial Law Personal Injury Trial Law | None sought |
COURTS ADMITTED TO |
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HONORS & AWARDS |
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PRIOR ELECTION RESULTS |
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2018 Texas General Election Judge, 192nd Judicial District 100%; unopposed 2014 Texas General Election Judge, 192nd Judicial District 100%; unopposed 2010 Texas General Election Judge, 192nd Judicial District 100%; unopposed 2006 Texas General Election Judge, 192nd Judicial District 53.47% v. Dawn Estes | 2018 Texas Republican Party Primary Election Fifth Court of Appeals, Place 11 57.06% v. Tom Nowak (R), Dan Wyde (R) |
MOST RECENT BAR POLL RESULTS |
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2020 Texas State Bar Winner, 59.82% | |
KEY ENDORSEMENTS |
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JUDICIAL PHILOSOPHY |
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Like my friend and mentor, the late Justice Antonin Scalia, I am an originalist who advocates judicial restraint and who believes in applying the law as it is - as it was written - and not as some would like it to be. I believe that judges must exhibit consistent and unwavering respect for the rule of law, and not legislate from the bench or attempt to rewrite laws and statutes. A judge should protect, defend, and interpret our laws without bias, not attempt to create law. |
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OTHER INFORMATION |
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| Throughout my career, I have been a servant leader in the bar and the community. I have been a county bar president, and held or currently hold leadership positions in the Dallas Bar, the State Bar of Texas, and in national bar organizations. I have also served or still serve on various civic and charitable boards. I am a nationally-recognized legal scholar and writer, and serve as an adjunct law professor at 3 law schools - SMU, Texas A&M, and Texas Tech. I have been a sought-after speaker and author on many legal subjects, including not just civil law but criminal law and evidence as well. I am regularly called upon to teach not only lawyers, but judges as well, and I'm a faculty member of the Texas Center for the Judiciary, the Appellate Judges Educational Institute, and the Federal Judicial Center. I have litigated cases in all six counties that comprise the Fifth Court of Appeals' jurisdiction, While leaving my successful private practice involves financial sacrifice, I believe in public service and I believe it should be a sacrifice. I am running because I believe in public service, and because protecting the rule of law is too important to entrust to those without the experience, qualifications, or judicial temperament to do the job. |
INFORMATION APPROVED BY CANDIDATE ON: |
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Sourced from public information | 8/31/17 |
Last Updated: | Last Updated: |
11/26/19 | 10/3/18 |
Please send any corrections to info@tcjl.com | Please send any corrections to info@tcjl.com |