With the incessant din of accusations and counter-accusations that has characterized the presidential race this year, it’s all too easy to overlook the comparatively quiet campaigns taking place toward the bottom of the ballot – those for three places on the 5^th District Court of Appeals. Yet in many ways, voters’ lives will be affected to a greater extent and in a much more immediate way by the outcome of these judicial races. We try to know as much as possible about our children’s teachers before we send them off to school, and we research our doctors before entrusting them with our health. But despite the impact that the judiciary can have on our lives, it ranks as the least understood branch of our government, in large part because many of us don’t take the time to learn about judicial candidates. Those who will make decisions and set precedents affecting the economy, schools, healthcare, and the administration of justice for individuals and businesses alike remain largely unknown to us. In a survey conducted this past July by Baserice & Associates, over a third of the Texas voters surveyed confessed to not voting in judicial contests. Of these, 74% said that they skipped casting a vote because they just didn’t know enough about the candidates to make an informed decision.

Well, voters, this column is aimed at eliminating ignorance as an excuse. There are three contested races involving the 5^th District Court of Appeals. Although it’s often referred to as the Dallas Court of Appeals, it in fact hears appeals of both civil and criminal matters from trial courts in not only Dallas County, but Rockwall, Hunt, Collin, Grayson, and Kaufman Counties as well. This Court of Appeals, with its total of 13 justices serving 6 year terms, is just below the highest court in the state, the Texas Supreme Court. Three spots on this appellate court are up for grabs on November 4: the race for Place 3 (being vacated by a retiring judge) pits Dallas civil district court judge Mary Murphy, the Republican candidate, against municipal court judge Don Chae on the Democratic ticket. Meanwhile, the race for Place 6 features Republican incumbent Justice David Bridges against Democratic challenger David Hanschen, a recently elected Dallas family court judge, and the Place 8 election is between Republican incumbent Justice Kerry Fitzgerald and Democratic newcomer Tina Yoo, a Dallas lawyer and part-time municipal judge.

What do we know about these candidates? In the race for Place 8, 38 year-old Dallas attorney Tina Yoo is a graduate of the University of Texas and the SMU/Dedman School of Law. From 1995 to early 2006, she was a prosecutor in the Dallas County D.A.’s office. Following a brief stint as an attorney advisor for the Small Business Administration, Ms. Yoo went into private practice with Choe, Holen, Yoo, & Burchfiel, where she specializes in criminal defense. From March 2007 to the present, she has also served as a municipal judge for the City of Hutchins. According to her response to a questionnaire submitted to the Dallas Morning News, Ms. Yoo points to the desire to bring more diversity to the bench as a factor motivating her to run for this seat on the Court of Appeals. She is active in a number of organizations, including the Dallas Asian American Bar Association, the Korean American Coalition, and the White Rock Lake Democrats.

66 year-old Justice Kerry Fitzgerald received his B.B.A. from SMU, and then earned his J.D. at the University of Texas School of Law. He has been a Justice on the Court of Appeals since 1999, authoring numerous opinions on a wide variety of cases. Like his opponent, he also got his start with the Dallas County D.A.’s office, where he worked in the appellate and trial sections. He is board-certified in criminal law, and was in private practice for 30 years. His appellate experience, both as an advocate and as a judge, spans over 40 years – longer than his challenger has been alive. In addition to authoring articles in a number of law reviews and journals, Justice Fitzgerald has been very active in the bar, at both the state and local levels. Among other commitments, he has served as a member of the Rules Advisory Committee for the Court of Criminal Appeals, the highest criminal court in Texas. He believes strongly in giving back to the community, both at St. Patrick Catholic Church where he serves as a Eucharistic minister and in his work speaking to and mentoring at-risk youth. Justice Fitzgerald has also helped police the legal profession, serving as a member of the State Bar’s local Grievance Committee.

Given such impressive credentials, it’s no surprise that Justice Fitzgerald received the overwhelming support of his fellow attorneys, receiving nearly 74% of the votes in the State Bar Judicial Poll compared to Ms. Yoo’s 26%. Justice Fitzgerald also received the endorsement of the Dallas Morning News Editorial Board, which described him as "temperamentally sound and profoundly serious about the law" with a "depth and breadth of bench experience that challenger Tina Yoo simply can’t match." Texas Attorney General Greg Abbott characterizes Justice Fitzgerald as "a legal scholar whose well-reasoned decisions are based on fundamentally conservative principles." Ms. Yoo doesn’t find fault with Justice Fitzgerald’s judicial philosophy or his record; in fact, Justice Fitzgerald’s supporters and contributors represent a cross-section of prominent attorneys both Republican and Democrat. Acknowledging a record of judicial integrity and excellence, it would seem, knows no party lines.

The race for Place 3 on the 5^th District Court of Appeals pits 55 year-old Judge Mary Murphy, who has presided over the 14^th Civil District Court in Dallas since her election in 2000, against 74 year-old Judge Don Chae, who has been a municipal court judge in Dallas for 12 years. Both are vying to replace retiring Justice Mark Whittington.

Judge Chae received his B.A. from Chonnam National University in Korea, his M.A. from the University of Pennsylvania, and a Ph.D. from the University of Texas before embarking upon a ten year career as a college professor. He switched career paths, earning a J.D. from SMU in 1980. After 16 years of private practice, he became a judge of the City of Dallas Municipal Court in 1996. From 2001 to 2002, he served as chair of the Municipal Judges Section of the State Bar of Texas. Judge Chae declined to submit any responses or information to the Dallas Morning News Editorial Board, but sums up his judicial philosophy on his website: "I promise that I will be a people’s judge, and I will be a smiling judge. I don’t like grim-faced judges on the bench."

Judge Mary Murphy worked her way up from legal secretary to paralegal before becoming a lawyer. She received her B.A. from the University of Texas-Dallas, and then her J.D. from SMU School of Law (and in 2007 received her Civil Trial Judge Certification from the Texas Center for the Judiciary College for Judicial Studies). She has been licensed as an attorney since 1983, and in private practice represented both plaintiffs and defendants in civil matters, advocating for clients ranging from individuals to small businesses to large corporations. Before being elected in 2000, Judge Murphy served as a civil court master, hearing disputes referred by sitting judges.

Judge Murphy’s record on the bench has been nothing short of exemplary. Described by Texas Lawyer as one of the hardest working district judges in Texas and by the Dallas Morning News as "one of Dallas’ top legal minds and ultimately one of its most respected judges," Judge Murphy received the State Bar’s Presidential Commendation for Individual Leadership in Improving Justice in Texas in 2007. She was also named "Judge of the Year" by the Dallas chapter of the American Board of Trial Advocates and the Distinguished Alumna by the University of Texas at Dallas in 2006. As a sought-after speaker for lawyers’ continuing legal seminars, Judge Murphy helps teach lawyers; she also instructed future lawyers as an adjunct professor at SMU Law School, as well as other judges as a faculty member at the Texas Center for the Judiciary. Her court, the 14^th District Court, consistently ranks among the most efficient in Dallas County in terms of the number of cases handled and the cost for each disposition, an accolade Judge Murphy is quick to share with her court staff. She credits this team effort with the progress made toward "treating lawyers and litigants like customers and providing them meaningful access to the court."

With such a "customer service" approach and a philosophy of judicial restraint in applying the law equally to all, it’s no wonder that Judge Murphy enjoys a broad base of support. Although she is the Republican candidate, attorneys from both parties have been vocal in their support for her. If the State Bar Judicial Poll had a "mercy" rule like children’s sports, it would have been invoked as Judge Murphy received a whopping 82% of the vote. She also received the ringing endorsement of the Dallas Morning News, which noted not only her sterling record but the fact that "Lawyers who work in front of her praise her for fair, respectful treatment and judicial restraint."

I know Judge Murphy from handling cases in her court, and can attest to her knowledge of and abiding respect for the law, as well as her well-deserved reputation as a premier jurist. And I’ve seen the side of Mary Murphy the person who is active in her church and community, the Mary Murphy who excused herself early from a bar association function because of a prior commitment to build a house with Habitat for Humanity. Don Chae may have a nice smile, but the Court of Appeals deals with topics far more serious than speeding tickets. Judge Murphy has presided over matters ranging from minor personal injury cases to wrongful deaths and complex business disputes with millions and millions of dollars at stake. Simply put, Judge Mary Murphy brings the experience, knowledge and gravitas that the Court of Appeals requires. As voters, we deserve no less.