Tuesday, November 2, 2010
7:00 p.m. to midnight
Driskill Hotel
604 Brazos
Austin, Texas

Make sure you VOTE before 7 pm Tuesday!

Then join Kurt and other Democratic candidates at the Driskill Hotel in Austin to watch the returns come in.

No charge for admission; cash bar.

• Bipartisan support, including crossover endorsements from three Republican former Texas Supreme Court justices, a Republican former Solicitor General of Texas, and many other Republican and independent attorneys, business leaders and community members
• Voted “best qualified” by nearly 2 to 1 in the State Bar of Texas Judicial Poll
• Endorsed by all 4 newspapers that made endorsements in this race
• Endorsed by the Texas Municipal Police Association and many sheriffs and prosecutors across the Court’s district

As hard as I’ve worked on this campaign over the last 23 months, I’m prepared to work even harder on the Third Court of Appeals, if given the privilege of serving.

For the Court to eliminate its notorious backlog, it is critical that this open seat be filled with someone experienced in the type of complex legal appeals that the Third Court decides.  As the only board-certified appellate lawyer in this race, head of the appellate section at a major Texas law firm, and an adjunct professor of appellate advocacy at the University of Texas School of Law, I have the experience you can trust to get the job done.

Please vote on Tuesday (if you haven’t already), and let your friends and family know about our race. I would be honored to serve you on our Court of Appeals.

Best regards,

Kurt Kuhn for Justice
Third Court of Appeals

P.S. — Please join us Tuesday night at the historic Driskill Hotel in Austin for our election watch party starting at 7 p.m.

A significant portion of the races on this year’s election ballot are for judicial positions, ranging from local justices of the peace to state appellate courts to Texas Supreme Court and Texas Court of Criminal Appeals.

Texas is one of only two states that has two, rather than one, courts of last resort. The Texas Supreme Court is the final arbiter for all civil cases; the Court of Criminal Appeals is the final arbiter for all criminal cases.

Before cases reach either court of last resort — if appealed — they are heard in a state appellate court. The state is divided into 14 court of appeals districts, and each court hears primary appeals from trial courts within its district.

San Angelo is in the 3rd Court of Appeals, which spans 24 counties, including Travis County, where Austin is.

The court is often described as the most important or influential intermediate appellate court because it rules on the cases that arise from state agencies in Austin.

“It really is the most important court in the state,” said Democrat Kurt Kuhn, who is running against Republican Melissa Goodwin for an open seat on the court.

“Because it sits in Austin, it hears all the cases of all the government agencies. If you care about the environment or education or agriculture or water or public corruption — any of the issues we care about as Americans — this is the court that they go to. This court affects every single Texan every day, whether they know it or not.”

During a recent visit to San Angelo, Kuhn said he has seen the court’s reputation deteriorate throughout the past decade as the turnover rate and backlog has increased. When he heard that Justice Jan Patterson was not going to seek re-election for the Place 4 seat, he said he felt “an obligation” to run.

Goodwin said she decided to run for the 3rd Court because of the diverse issues it hears. It is responsible for reviewing the decisions made by criminal and civil trial courts in the district.

“It’s got everything. That’s the beauty of it,” Goodwin said during a recent visit to San Angelo.

“It’s not just civil, it’s not just juvenile, it’s not just criminal, it’s not just administrative — it’s all of it. That’s what’s fun.”

Goodwin, who practices law privately at an Austin firm, was appointed by Gov. Rick Perry in 2007 to serve as judge of the 427th District Court of Travis County, which was created by the state Legislature in 2007. She served on that court for a year before making an unsuccessful re-election bid.

The 45-year-old St. Mary’s law school graduate started out her career at the Texas Criminal Court of Appeals, where she worked as a briefing attorney under Lawrence Meyers, the first Republican elected to the court.

After that, she practiced law privately and later was elected as a justice of the peace in Travis County, where she served one term and made another unsuccessful re-election bid.

Goodwin says after a few years in private practice, she is ready to get back to the bench.

She says she likes being a judge because it involves dealing with the law “from the perspective of hearing everything from the one side, hearing everything from the other and then trying to sort it all out,” rather than advocating for one side or the other.

“I’m just excited about getting back to that,” she said.

Kuhn, who has been endorsed by three former members of the Texas Supreme Court, who are all Republican, has practiced appellate law at an Austin-based firm for the past decade and teaches appellate advocacy at the University of Texas School of Law. He began practicing appellate law privately after working as a clerk for a Republican-appointed federal district judge and a private international law firm in Dallas.

Later, the 40-year-old Yale Law School graduate became one of the state’s first assistant solicitor generals when the office was established under U.S. Sen. John Cornyn when he was Texas’ attorney general.

Kuhn says the 3rd Court’s backlog is the result of an increased partisan environment in the judiciary that is hurting the court’s efficiency.

“The reality is, we need to make these races less partisan so when the court gets together, it can work together,” Kuhn said.

Kuhn says practicing appellate law has taught him that experience trumps party affiliation entirely.

“I worked in the White House, and I worked for Sen. John Cornyn. In neither of those instances did it ever matter what the politics were,” he said. “I have to run as a Democrat, but I’m running not to be a Democrat but to be a judge,” Kuhn said.

Goodwin, who said she successfully dealt with a backlog problem as a justice of the peace, blames the problem on the court’s high turnover rate.

“There has been so much transition on that court,” Goodwin said. “I don’t know what the true situation is, but that’s something that has to be addressed.”

Asked if there are any other problems facing the court she would address if elected, Goodwin points to some criminal cases the court has decided in which civil judgment standards have been applied.

“Importing civil standards, civil tasks and standards of proof into the criminal context causes problems, and I’d like to take a closer look at that,” Goodwin said. “It shifts burdens, and that creates problems under the Constitution.”

See the original article in the San Angelo Standard-Times.

with Kurt Kuhn

Thursday, October 28, 2010
6:00 – 8:00 p.m.
Creek Road Cafe
301 Hwy 290 West
Dripping Springs, Texas

Hosted by Sarah K. Brandon, Steve Brown, Bob O’Boyle and Barbara Stroud

For more information or to RSVP, please contact Barbara at barbara@stroudmediation.com or 512.391.1983.

Sunday, October 24, 2010
2:00 – 4:00 p.m.
Flipnotics
1601 Barton Springs Rd.
Austin, Texas

Featuring music by:

Gary Graves (2 pm)

Jason Weems (2:45 pm)

Corrina Rachel (3:30 pm)

No minimum donation.

Thursday, October 21, 2010
5:30 – 7:30 p.m.
Home of Marcy and Sam Greer
2006 Wychwood Drive
Austin, Texas

For more information or to RSVP, contact Kristen Grone at events@VoteKuhn.com or (512)465-2162.

Featuring Dreamland Jazz by Corrina Rachel

]]> http://www.votekuhn.com/2010/10/dreamland-jazz-reception/feed/ 0 http://www.votekuhn.com/2010/10/bell-county-reception-2/ http://www.votekuhn.com/2010/10/bell-county-reception-2/#comments Thu, 21 Oct 2010 03:49:37 +0000 Kurt Kuhn for Justice http://www.votekuhn.com/2010/10/bell-county-reception-2/ Bell County Reception

for Kurt Kuhn

Wednesday, October 20, 2010

5:30 – 7:00 p.m.

The Law Office of Craig Carlson

400 West Jasper

Killeen, Texas

Hosted by Vicki and Craig Carlson, Diane and Riche Kaye, and Peggy and Sam Murphey

For more information or to RSVP, please contact Kristen Grone at (512) 465-2162 or events@votekuhn.com.

The Austin-based 3rd Court of Appeals, now evenly split between Democrats and Republicans, would swing to a 4-2 GOP advantage if Melissa Goodwin can defeat Kurt Kuhn in November’s election.

Both candidates stress their experience: Goodwin as a former judge who also worked as a lawyer for the state’s highest criminal appellate court ; Kuhn as a board-certified appellate specialist who teaches the subject at the University of Texas Law School .

But in a district where close races are the norm — the last seven winners, four Republicans and three Democrats, received an average of 51.6 percent of the vote — Democrat Kuhn is banking on support that crosses party lines.

Three former Supreme Court justices, all longtime Republicans, are supporting Kuhn as the most qualified candidate and sponsored a September fundraiser for him in downtown Austin.

Former Justice Scott Brister, who left the Supreme Court last year, said Kuhn’s “smarts, skills and experience” made him one of the state’s leading appellate lawyers. Fellow Republicans Tom Phillips, a former chief justice, and Craig Enoch, who left the court in 2003, also endorsed Kuhn, who runs the appellate practice group for the Brown McCarroll law firm.

“I have to run as a partisan because it’s a partisan election, but I’ve tried really hard to run a nonpartisan race,” Kuhn said, adding that the bipartisan backing “sends a strong signal about who’s clearly the most qualified candidate. I’m the only one in the race who actually is an appellate lawyer. It’s what I do for a living.”

Goodwin, however, is not conceding the fight over experience, noting that she’s the only 3rd Court candidate to have served as a judge.

Gov. Rick Perry appointed Goodwin to a newly created District Court bench in 2007, but Travis County voters replaced her with a Democrat 15 months later. Goodwin also served as a Travis County justice of the peace from 2003 to 2007.

“As a judge, I presided over civil, criminal and juvenile trials and administrative proceedings,” Goodwin said. “You have the luxury, and the duty, to listen to all sides and call the fairs and the fouls. It will make me a much better appellate judge.”

Goodwin also spent her first eight years as a lawyer working as a staff attorney and briefing attorney at the Court of Criminal Appeals , the state’s highest criminal court. She said working up cases and writing draft opinions gave her an appreciation for the nuances of appellate law.

Goodwin, however, enters the campaign’s final weeks at a distinct financial disadvantage, having raised a little more than $95,200, including a $25,000 loan, compared with almost $305,000 for Kuhn. As of Sept. 23, Kuhn had almost $146,000 available; Goodwin had about $31,300.

The winner will replace Justice Jan Patterson, a Democrat who had hoped to move to a District Court bench but lost in the March primaries.

No third-party candidates are vying for the 3rd Court, which handles appeals from 24 counties, including Travis, Williamson, Hays and Bastrop.

See the original article in the Austin American-Statesman.

In the Central Texas judicial community, Republican Melissa Goodwin and Democrat Kurt Kuhn are causing a much bigger stir than Gov. Rick Perry or Bill White.

The two candidates for the 3rd Court of Appeals are campaigning in a battleground district of 24 diverse counties for the seat Justice Jan Patterson is vacating. Whoever wins will walk into a backlogged court many appellate lawyers describe as “not too collegial.” Kuhn is ahead in fundraising and headline-making endorsements. He’s raised nearly $300,000 and still has about $146,000 on hand. Goodwin has raised about $60,000 and has about $30,000 on hand. Still, she has Republican fervor and the resulting down-ballot effect on her side.

Goodwin  has served as a district court judge in the 427th district of Travis County, and justice of the peace in Travis County Precinct 3. She also worked at the Court of Criminal Appeals as a staff attorney. She currently practices civil, criminal defense and administrative law at Pots & Reilly, L.L.P. in Austin and Marble Falls.

“The biggest difference between us is the judicial experience,” Goodwin said. She added that her JP experience taught her how to reduce backlog.

But, Kuhn says his experience as an appellate lawyer is what counts. He is a partner and chair at Brown McCarroll and adjunct professor of appellate advocacy at the University of Texas School of Law.

“I’ve handled complex administrative appeals,” Kuhn said. “My opponent has no real experience as an appellate advocate, and that’s why my campaign has crossover support from Republican justices.”

Kuhn received endorsements from former Supreme Court Chief Tom Phillips and former Supreme Court Justices Scott Brister and Craig Enoch. Brister said his endorsement wasn’t necessarily against Goodwin; he just doesn’t know her, and he respects Kuhn’s work.

Travis County GOP spokesman Dave Nalle said the endorsements must be tied to the former justices’ current work as trial lawyers and that Goodwin is one of the only GOP candidates on the ballot universally liked among the Republican Party.

Kuhn’s supporters tout his advantage of being a household name in the appellate community.

“Goodwin has criminal law experience, and I don’t want to downplay that,” said Austin appellate lawyer Todd Smith. “But the consensus among appellate lawyers is that Kurt is the better-qualified candidate.”

Both candidates have to put a lot of miles on their cars in hopes voters will recognize their names at the bottom of the ballot on Nov. 2. With 24 counties to cover, the district isn’t easy to call when it comes partisan politics. True blue Travis County is the most populous, but none of the other 23 voted in favor of Barack Obama in 2008.

Currently, three of the sitting judges are Democrats (including Patterson), and two are Republican. The sixth spot on the court is empty–vacated by Justice Alan Waldrop in September–and will be filled by a governor’s appointee, picked by the November winner in the Perry-White contest.

Chad Ruback, a Dallas appellate lawyer, said the 3^rd Court of Appeals is the only one out of the 14 in the state where being a Republican or Democrat can’t help or hurt you.

“Small matters like endorsements can actually make a difference,” Ruback said.

Another potential game-changer is a complaint filed with the Texas Ethics Commission against Goodwin, concerning a $25,000 campaign loan from her in-laws (over the state limit of $5,000). According to the Austin Chronicle‘s Jordan Smith, Goodwin repaid more than $20,000 of the loan to return to compliance. The complaint is still pending, but Goodwin says she didn’t do anything wrong, according to the Chronicle.

In the grander scheme, however, Republicans are expected to be out in full force for this election. Kuhn admits that it’s not the best year to be a Democrat, and while he characterizes Texans as independent voters, straight ticket voting is often the Lone Star way.

The Republican candidate has attended some Tea Party meetings – something Kuhn targets as a sign of her partisan campaign style. But Goodwin doesn’t see the connection.

“Any citizen gathering is something we should be going to, whether it’s an AFL-CIO picnic or a Tea Party meeting, 100 people or 1,000,” she said.

In the last decade, the court has built a poor reputation when it comes to case backlog, but Chief Justice Woodie Jones has made improvements since the beginning of this year. Some say it’s a matter of funding, but turnover and turmoil from the death of Justice Mack Kidd, Justice Bea Ann Smith’s retirement and Justice Waldrop’s resignation hasn’t helped. No one likes to talk specifics, but the current justices don’t exactly pal around.

The future of the 3rd Court of Appeals has people talking just as much as the campaign. The winner of this tough race won’t have much time to celebrate before taking the bench on a court with justices who don’t even hold conference together.

See the original article in the American Independent.

All Texas courts are important, but the Third Court of Appeals matters more than most. Because Travis County is among the 24 counties, including Tom Green, the district encompasses, it is the first appellate stop for all cases emanating from state government.

In the Place 4 race for the six-member court, Democrat Kurt Kuhn offers better credentials than his opponent, Republican Melissa Goodwin, a former Travis County district judge and justice of the peace.

A self-described “appellate nerd,” Kuhn’s career has been focused on that part of the law. Board certified in civil appellate law, Kuhn is a partner in the Brown McCarroll firm in Austin and leads its appellate work. He was assistant solicitor general under then-Attorney General John Cornyn, representing the state in civil and criminal appeals, and teaches appellate advocacy at the University of Texas School of Law.

He is considered the superior candidate by three former Republican Supreme Court justices, including former longtime Chief Justice Tom Phillips, who have endorsed Kuhn.

Too, they probably were motivated to support Kuhn because they think his presence can help get the court back on the right track. The court previously headed by San Angeloan Marilyn Aboussie once enjoyed an excellent reputation, but no longer.

The Third Court is marked by high turnover, a troubling backlog of cases and partisan rifts that interfere with its work.

Kuhn recognizes that he can’t change those conditions on his own, but he pledges to set an example of writing thoughtful, well-researched opinions in a timely fashion and working cooperatively with others on the court regardless of their party affiliation.

Kuhn’s background, record and temperament suggest he could be an excellent addition to the Third Court of Appeals.

See the original article in the San Angelo Standard-Times.