| Court & Place | Democrat | Republican | Notes/Other |
|---|---|---|---|
| Mike Engelhart (D-Bellaire)  | April Farris (R - Sugar Land)
| Candidate (L) | |
| Campaign Mailing Address | PO Box 56386 Houston, Texas 77256 | ||
| Campaign Phone | (713) 942-5816 | ||
| Campaign Website | JudgeEngelhart.com | aprilfarris.com | |
| Social Media Links | twitter | twitter | |
| Current Occupation | Judge 151st Civil District Court 2009-present | Justice, Place 4 2021-Present | |
| Years of Texas Residency | 30 years | ||
| JD School & Year | University of Houston Law Center 1995 | Harvard Law School 2009 | |
| Other Education | B.A. Political Science and Spanish University of Michigan | B.A. Integrated Marketing Communications summa cum laude Abilene Christian University 2006 | |
| Year of State Bar Licensure | 1995 | 2009 | |
| Legal Experience - Nonjudicial | I started working for a large plaintiff’s firm, O’Quinn, Kerensky, McAninch & Laminack during law school and for a year afterwards. I graduated law school in 1995 and was licensed in Texas that year. In 1996 I started my own law practice as a Plaintiff’s attorney and maintained a law partnership with another lawyer doing Plaintiff’s work through 2008 when I was elected to my current position as Judge of the 151st Civil District Court. My clients were largely working men and women injured in car accidents, slip and falls, small business owners and those injured in mass torts or large-scale securities fraud matters, like Enron shareholders. I tried many jury trials to verdict as a first chair and handled many appeals of my own cases and was hired to represent many other people and businesses in appeals. | Appellate Partner, Yetter Coleman L.L.P. (2018-2021) Assistant Solicitor General, to the Texas Attorney General (2014-2015) Associate, Yetter Coleman L.L.P. (2010-2014) Clerk to the Honorable Jennifer Walker Elrod, United States Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit (2009-2010) | |
| Jury Trial Experience | I have tried 18 jury trials to verdict as a first chair as an attorney. Hundreds more as Judge of the 151st Civil District Court. | ||
| Appellate Judicial Experience |
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| Other Judicial Experience | Judge of the 151st State Civil District Court since January 1, 2009 | ||
| Courts Admitted | Texas (1995) Northern District of Texas (1995) Southern District of Texas (1996) Eastern District of Texas (2002) Western District of Texas (1998) Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals (2001) | All Texas courts | |
| Board Certifications | Personal Injury Trial Law since 2010 | ||
| Honors and Awards | Trial Judge of the Year - Texas Association of Civil Trial and Appellate Specialists (2016) Frankin Jones Best Legal Article, College of the State Bar of Texas (2018) Public Sector Achievement Award, University of Houston Law Center Alumni Association (2017) President's Award, Houston Bar Association (2019) | ||
| Key Endorsements (Max 5) | Texas Gulf Coast Area Labor Federation/AFL-CIO Texas Congressman Al Green Harris County Judge Lina HidalgoHouston Black American Democrats Attorney Rusty Hardin Former Houston Bar Association President Benny Agosto, Jr. | Houston Chronicle | |
| Prior Elections | I was elected as Judge of the 151st State Civil District Court in 2008 with 51% of the vote. I was re-elected in 2012 with 51% of the vote. I was re-elected in 2016 with 54% of the vote. I was re-elected in 2020 with 100% of the vote as I had no general election opponent. | ||
| Most Recent Bar Polls | Here is a link to my page in the Houston Bar Association's 2021 Judicial Evaluation Poll Results: https://bit.ly/35WUUQQ. Generally, I among the top 2-3 rated civil Judges in each poll year and I have beaten my opponent in HBA preference polls each year since 2008. State Bar (Feb '22) 562 | State Bar (Feb '22) 1,087 | |
| Judicial Philosophy (Max 250 words) | I believe in protecting property rights and constitutional rights. I believe in a level playing field for all people in a courtroom, whether they are individuals or businesses or government entities. I believe in being fair, polite, consistent, dependable and efficient. | ||
| Misc | |||
| Date Submitted by Candidate | 2/7/22 | Data gathered from public sources and/or previous profiles. |
