The 2016 political season is in full swing and candidates are doing what it takes to get their message out to voters.
Among the many positions being vied for, is a seat on the Texas 2nd Court of Appeals, located in Fort Worth. With five candidates running for the open seat, if one of them is able to gather over 50percent of the vote in the March 1, 2016 Republican Primary, that person will have earned the nomination, and will be on the ballot in the November general election. If there is no clear winner on March 1, there will be a runoff election in May for the two candidates that received the most votes.
The Second Court of Appeals is comprised of seven Justices and has jurisdiction over appeals from district and county courts in twelve north central Texas counties. Those counties are: Archer, Clay, Cooke, Denton, Hood, Jack, Montague, Parker, Tarrant, Wichita, Wise and Young. Cases include civil appeals in which the amount of the trial court’s judgment exceeds $250, exclusive of costs and interest, and all criminal appeals except appeals from cases in which the death penalty has been imposed, which are appealed directly to the Court of Criminal Appeals. The Court also has jurisdiction over original proceedings, such as writs of mandamus, injunction, prohibition, and habeas corpus, arising from cases in the twelve counties it serves.
Recently, I interviewed Dabney Bassel, who is Board Certified in Civil Appellate Law by the Texas Board of Legal Specialization, a distinction held by only 431 of the 86,000 practicing lawyers in Texas. He is a past Vice President of the Tarrant County Bar Association, a member of the highly selective American Law Institute, and a member of the Federalist Society which, according to its website, was “founded on the principles that the state exists to preserve freedom, that the separation of governmental powers is central to our Constitution, and that it is emphatically the province and duty of the judiciary to say what the law is, not what it should be.”
Mr. Bassel is licensed to practice law before the Supreme Court of the United States, the Supreme Court of Texas, the United States Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit, and the United States District Court for the Northern District of Texas. Moreover, Mr. Bassel is a strong supporter of conservative efforts across North Texas. He is a Lincoln Council member of the Tarrant County Republican Party, a Lincoln Cabinet member of the Denton County Republican Party, a Reagan Council member of the Parker County Republican Party, and supports numerous conservative clubs across the region. He has worked as a volunteer on political campaigns and served as delegate to the Republican Party of Texas State Convention. He and his wife Pam live in Fort Worth, and attend Christ Chapel Bible Church. Their daughter is working on a master’s degree at UNT.
In the video below Mr. Bassel provides information about the Second Court of Appeals that most people may not know. More info on his webpage: www.dabneybasselforjudge.com
Bob Weir is a long-time Flower Mound resident and former local newspaper editor.
