Published: August 09, 2008 12:00 am      

Texas Supreme Court candidate makes local visit

GREENVILLE — One of the candidates seeking to become the next member of the Texas Supreme Court made a campaign stop in Greenville Thursday.

Democrat Sam Houston, who hails from Harris County, met with local attorneys and Democratic Party officials during a visit to the Hunt County Courthouse as part of a swing through North Texas. Houston is seeking the Place 7 seat on the nine-member, all Republican Court, which is the highest court hearing civil cases in Texas.

Houston said he has tried several cases before the panel and believes he can improve it.

“In my opinion, the best way to change the court is to bring an outsider in,” Houston said. “I know a lot of the guys up there. I just don’t like the direction in which they’re headed.”

Houston criticized what he believed was the growing backlog in decisions rendered by the court.

“On average, cases are sitting on the Supreme Court two years from the date they are argued,” Houston said. “That is just too long.”

Houston also pointed a finger at what he termed were “too many career judges” on the Court, which he claimed has a reputation for being on the side of corporations far too often in their verdicts.

“Corporations should have a fair shake in the courts just like everybody else, but they shouldn’t get the only shake,” Houston said. “They ought to call it down the middle.”

Houston takes pride in being a trial lawyer, who has handled both plaintiff and defense civil cases.

“There’s not many attorneys who have tried too many cases on the Supreme Court,” Houston said. “I think that’s part of the problem.”

In the November general election, Houston is scheduled to face incumbent Republican Justice Dale Wainwright.