- Chief Justice Blacklock stressed his commitment to an originalist legal philosophy
- Concerns were expressed about the ability to attract and retain quality judges due to low pay compared to other states
- Blacklock also emphasized the importance of public safety
Texas Supreme Court Chief Justice Jimmy Blacklock delivered his first State of the Judiciary Address to a joint session of the Texas Legislature yesterday, stressing the importance of a qualified and adequately compensated judiciary that will uphold the rule of law.
Blacklock, who has served on the Texas Supreme Court since 2018, was appointed Chief Justice last month by Governor Abbott. Nathan Hecht, who had served as Chief Justice since 2013, was forced to retire from the bench after reaching the mandatory retirement age.
The new Chief Justice’s remarks stressed his commitment to “Constitutional Originalism”, as opposed to the philosophy of a “Living Constitution” that is embraced by many liberal jurists.
“If we can all agree that judges shouldn’t replace the Legislature’s policy choices with their own, then surely we can agree that judges shouldn’t put their own policy choices into the Constitution, but that is exactly what the Living Constitution invites judges to do. For that reason, the Texas Supreme Court has repeatedly held that Originalism—not Living Constitutionalism—is the right way to interpret our Constitution. Hear me say this. In Texas, under this Supreme Court, the Living Constitution is Dead,” said Blacklock.
Judicial pay was also a significant focus of Blacklock’s speech.
Blacklock asked lawmakers for a 30% increase in the base pay for judges, citing a statistic that Texas ranks 48th out of the 50 states in judicial pay. The last time that the Legislature raised the base pay of judges was in 2013. He warned that it was becoming difficult to attract and retain good judges due to the pay and noted that his request would only take Texas up to number 31 out of 50 states in judicial pay.
“If we want to attract and retain hard-working, rule-of-law judges who are qualified to wield the extraordinary power our Constitution gives them, it is absolutely essential that we raise judicial salaries significantly, this Session,” remarked the Chief Justice.
“And the bottom line is this: You get what you pay for. Higher pay means more highly qualified people will apply. It means more highly qualified people will stay in the job longer. That’s true of any job. If we’re serious about attracting and retaining great judges, salaries are not the only piece of the puzzle. But they are an essential piece, and we cannot continue to ignore it.”
Blacklock also discussed how the Texas Supreme Court was working to identify “problem judges” and expressed a willingness to utilize provisions of the Texas Constitution that allow for judges to be removed by the Texas Supreme Court for negligence and incompetence.
“Article 15, section 8 allows the Legislature, on the Governor’s recommendation, to remove a judge for several reasons, including willful neglect of duty or incompetence. Article 15, section 6 allows the Supreme Court, on the petition of 10 lawyers, to remove a district judge who “negligently fails to perform his duties as Judge; or who shall fail to execute in a reasonable measure the business in his courts.” These provisions show us, that the Framers of our Constitution knew, that judges have to be capable, qualified people who can manage a courtroom. The Framers also knew that elections might occasionally give us unqualified judges. Their answer wasn’t—tough luck, vote them out in four years. No. They gave us tools to fix these problems in the rare cases when they arise. And if we forget about these tools or we don’t use them because we’re afraid it will be difficult or we’ll be criticized for it, then we’re not allowing our Constitution to operate as it was designed.”
Although the Texas Supreme Court only had jurisdiction over civil cases, with the Court of Criminal Appeals having jurisdiction over criminal cases, Blacklock emphasized the importance of public safety and thanked State Senator Joan Huffman for her work on bail reform.
In discussing Huffman’s proposals, Blacklock said, “One thing I know you’re considering is changing the law, and asking the People to change the Constitution, so that after these officers have risked their lives to take violent criminals off the streets, our judges are empowered—even required—to keep those violent criminals in custody, as they await a speedy trial. The Governor has made this an emergency item, and I want to thank Senator Joan Huffman for her leadership on this vital issue of public safety.”
Blacklock’s comments come as Democrat Harris County District Judge Hilary Unger has been criticized by victims’ rights advocates and law enforcement groups after she allowed a suspect charged with capital murder of a police officer to be released on bond.
Andy Kahan, Director of Victim Services and Advocacy with Crime Stoppers of Houston, told Houston television station KHOU, “It’s a slap in the face to all law enforcement officers. It’s a definite slap in the face to the public,” adding, “I’ve never, ever in my career ever seen a defendant charged with capital murder of a police officer get out on bond.”
