(Note: As I have done in past elections, I am continuing the series of Q&As for judicial candidates in contested November elections. I am running these responses in the order that I receive them from the candidates. Much more information about Democratic candidates who are on the ballot in Harris County, including links to the interviews and judicial Q&As done for March and for November, can be found on Erik Manning’s spreadsheet.
Justice Sarah Beth Landau
1. Who are you and in which court do you preside?
Justice Sarah Beth “Sorcha” Landau. I am one of nine justices on the First Court of Appeals.
2. What kind of cases does this court hear?
We handle everything in the entire justice system other than federal and criminal death penalty cases: civil, criminal, family, juvenile, and probate cases on appeal. Appeal means that one side did not get what they wanted in the trial court and they can have a panel of three justices review the decision for error that affected their rights.
3. What have been your main accomplishments during your time on this bench?
The first week I joined the court, I brought opinion writing software to the court to make our opinions shorter and easier to understand with less jargon. During that time, I also opened the court to public weddings. Before, you had to know a judge personally to request a wedding in our beautiful courthouse. Now everyone can do it, without discrimination. I also overhauled the summer law student intern program to make it more inclusive and useful to law wizards in training and have run the program since 2020. This is, of course, in addition to writing most of the en banc opinions our court has issued and keeping up with all my assigned cases without any backlog and giving continuing legal education presentations and judging moot courts and mock trials and teaching classes at law schools.
4. What do you hope to accomplish in your courtroom going forward?
I’d like the Houston Bar Association to adopt a system of evaluating judges and judicial candidates, informed by not only the HBA but by other nonpartisan organizations that endorse judicial candidates, such as the Association of Women Attorneys, the Mexican American Bar Association of Houston, the Houston Lawyers Association and The Caucus, so voters could easily see if these organizations thought that the candidate was qualified, highly qualified, or not qualified. It’s too hard for voters to make informed choices under the current system given the length of the ballot.
5. Why is this race important?
Control of the court is on the ballot because the majority of seats are up for election. Judicial independence is on the ballot because the executive branch has made clear that if Republican judges don’t vote their way, they will be punished with a well-funded primary opponent. Three conservative judges on the Court of Criminal Appeals got primaried because they voted to decide a case against the Attorney General. They lost.
6. Why should people vote for you in November?
First, my experience is almost as broad as the court’s jurisdiction. I have civil law experience, criminal law experience, federal court experience, state court experience, large law firm experience, public service experience, trial and appellate experience. Second, this role is a calling for me, not a job. I am all in. Third, I am not beholden to anyone. I am independent. To underline this, I do not take donations from special interests or law firms, just individuals. Not just this month, but every month, I am out in the community, meeting with voters. My opponent is not campaigning, as far as I can tell. As public servants or people seeking to become public servants, we owe it to the community we serve to be transparent and available in person or at least on social media, not just to those who agree with us politically.