Criminal District Court Judge, District 180
District courts are trial courts of general jurisdiction of Texas. They have original jurisdiction in felony criminal cases, divorce cases, cases involving title to land, election contest cases, civil matters in which the amount of money or damages involved is $200 or more, and any matters in which jurisdiction is not placed in another trial court. The courts may specialize in civil, criminal, juvenile, or family law matters. Four-year term.
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Stephanie Morales
(Dem)
Qualifications:
What training, experience and characteristics qualify you for this position?
Issues:
What are the two (2) most pressing issues that you will face in the office that you seek? Describe your "specific" plans/ideas for addressing these issues.
district
180th District Court
Education
LLM in International Law from Univeristy of Houston Law Center, J.D from South Texas College of Law, B.S in Biology from Texas A&M University
Occupation
Lawyer
I started doing criminal defense as a 3rd year law student. When I passed the bar, I went to go work at the Harris County DAs office. I left HCDAO in Dec 2017 and opened my own law practice and have been doing criminal defense since then. My practice also includes Juvenile law. In 2021, I attended AXION where I earned the designation of Lawyer- Scientist from the American Chemical Society. As a court appointed attorney, I do a lot of Continuing Legal Education classes and am a member of the Texas Bar College. I make sure to keep up with changes in the law, with any new science, and with new trial techniques. I take court appointed and hired cases, with a majority of my clients being native Spanish speakers. I also mentor younger attorneys.
1) As a criminal attorney, I know there is a disproportionate number of minorities in the criminal system. As a judge, I will work to stop mass incarcerations of minorities by ensuring people have a bond they can afford.
2) There are a lot of young minorities in the criminal system who may not have the resources needed to get out of situations that cause them to have contact with the courts. I want to start a Youthful Offenders Court that bridges the gap between the adult and juvenile systems and offers resources needed to stop the school to prison pipeline.
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