The Houston Bar Association (HBA) today released the results of its 2013 Judicial Evaluation Questionnaire. The results are posted on the HBA website at http://www.hba.org/evaluationresults/.
Every two years, the HBA asks its members to evaluate members of the judiciary that serve in Harris County, as well as the Supreme Court of Texas and the Court of Criminal Appeals. The judges are evaluated in categories that include knowledge of the law, impartiality, efficiency, courtesy, written opinions, and an overall evaluation. Each person evaluating a judge is asked to base his or her opinions on firsthand knowledge only. The Judicial Evaluation Questionnaire is not an endorsement by the HBA of any judge.
There were 1,751 evaluations returned, representing 17.9 percent of HBA members who had access to the online valuation. The Judicial Evaluation Questionnaire includes federal judges; magistrate judges; bankruptcy judges, state and local appellate judges; civil, criminal, family, juvenile and probate judges; associate judges in the family, juvenile and probate courts; IV-D associate judges; county civil and criminal court at law judges; justices of the peace; and municipal judges.
Believing that the quality of the judiciary is of crucial importance to the legal profession and the community, the Houston Bar Association has conducted judicial polls since the early 1970s.