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Ashley Bean Thornton for Texas House District 56

Who Judges the judges? - Prop 12

(Early Voting for the November 4 election starts Monday (October 20,2025). This will be our opportunity to vote on 17 proposed amendments to the Texas Constitution. That’s a lot of propositions!

 I am working through the list a few at a time and sharing how I plan to vote. 

Here are links to the ones I have done so far: 

 

You are not allowed to take your phone with you into the polls, but you are allowed to take a piece of paper with notes.  For what it’s worth, here’s a printable version of what I have figured out so far. I will update it every time I post till it is finished.: Propositions and How ABT is voting. Thank you! – ABT)


How I Plan to vote and why:

I’m going to be impressed if you know what the “State Commission on Judicial Conduct (SCJC)” is.   I had to look it up.  The SCJC is basically the ethics “watch dog” for Texas judges.  It’s kind of like how the State Bar oversees lawyers, except for judges.

Here’s the mission statement according to their operational Guidelines: “The mission of the State Commission on Judicial Conduct is to protect the public, promote public confidence in the integrity, independence, competence, and impartiality of the judiciary, and encourage judges to maintain high standards of conduct both on and off the bench.”

In the pursuit of this mission the SCJC investigates allegations of judicial misconduct or incapacity, and, if indicated, issues sanctions, censures, suspensions, or recommendations for removal from office.

The commission is made up of 13 members.  These members serve six-year terms.  They receive no pay for their service.

Currently, the 13 members are:  

  • Six judges appointed by the Supreme Court of Texas, one from each of the following court levels: appellate, district, county court at law, constitutional county, justice of the peace, and municipal;

  • Two attorneys appointed by the State Bar of Texas, who are not judges; and

  • Five citizen members appointed by the Governor, who are neither attorneys nor judges.

Prop 12 would get rid of the two attorneys appointed by the bar and instead give the governor the responsibility to appoint 7 citizens.  In other words, if this passes the governor will be appointing the majority of commissioners (7/13).  This majority of commissioners will be “regular people” who don’t necessarily have any particular legal training.

I don’t like this idea.   

Regardless of party, I feel like appointing the majority of commissioners gives the governor too much influence over our judges.  Also, I think it is good for the bar to appoint at least a couple of members to this commission because I think it probably helps to have some commissioners who are not judges, but who understand how the law works at more than just a cursory level.

Other parts of this amendment make it more likely that more of the sanctions issued by the commission will be public instead of private.  This is appealing because it makes the workings of the commission more transparent.  But I am concerned that in this case “transparency,” combined with a majority of commissioners who are political appointees of the governor, could invite political theatre instead of judicious consideration of the facts of a case.

I know there are some people who are concerned that trust in our judiciary is eroding, but I don’t think the changes proposed here will help that. In fact, I worry that this proposed amendment would make it worse.

I will be voting NO on proposition 12.

Resources: