Dallas County Democrats
Keliher's Resignation Called For

This site is an ARCHIVE of the website used for the Dallas County Democratic Party from 2000 to May of 2002, and which was built by the then Chair Bill Howell. Though some information here will be relevant through the 2002 elections, other pages here are of interest for history or research. For the latest updated news about the Dallas County Democratic Party, see their own website at www.dallasdemocrats.org.

[UPDATE May 8 -- The Dallas Observer picked up on this story and ran a column about it. See "Judge Fudge: Margaret Keliher hopes people won't know what office she's really running for" By Jim Schutze at this link. We understand that, seeing this kind of bad press ahead, Keliher has now decided to resign at the end of May.]

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE April 17, 2002

KELIHER ACCUSED OF FLOUTING JUDICIAL CONDUCT CODE, RESIGNATION AS JUDGE CALLED FOR

DALLAS- Today Texans for Public Justice (TPJ) released their monthly Dollar Docket, which stated that District Civil Court Judge and Republican nominee for Dallas County Judge, Margaret Keliher, is "flouting Texas' Code of Judicial Conduct." The code states "A judge shall resign from judicial office upon becoming a candidate in a contested election for a non-judicial office either in a primary or in a general or in a special election."

"Keliher shouldn't continue to serve as a judge," said Bill Howell, Dallas County Democratic Chair. "She is running for a non-judicial seat. The position of Dallas County Judge has no judicial authority, therefore the Code requires her to resign her current position. What she is doing is blatantly unethical, using her judicial title to help her bid for Dallas County Judge."

Texans for Public Justice is a non-partisan, non-profit policy and research organization based in Austin which tracks the influence of money in politics. Their monthly Dollar Docket provides updates on the effects of money on cases before the Texas Supreme Court. Their April 17 issue added that "Judge Keliher is hiding her indiscretion behind a misnomer" because the office she is seeking is called County Judge, but is a non-judicial post.

The TPJ added that "Judges are barred from taking overt political positions because doing so undermines the pretense of judicial impartiality." Howell added that "Keliher has spoken out on political issues on numerous occasions as a candidate for County Judge - both verbally and in writing. The Code of Judicial Ethics makes it very clear that a sitting judge is not allowed to speak on issues," added Howell.

"I call for Judge Keliher to step down from her current seat immediately, said Howell. "The people of Dallas County deserve ethical judges, not judges who use their positions purely for political gain."

The Texans for Public Justice "Dollar Docket" can be found at the following web address: www.tpj.org/payola/docket20.html

The Code of Judicial Conduct can be found at the following web address: www.courts.state.tx.us/Judethics/canons.htm

The specific section calling for resignation when seeking non-judicial offices is Section 4 of Canon 5, "Refraining From Inappropriate Political Activity", and can be found at: www.courts.state.tx.us/Judethics/canons.htm#Canon5

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