Failure to Launch: How the Delinquent Politics and Policies of the Texas Legislature Have Failed to Remedy Texas’s Antiquated Judicial System and How Voters Have Accepted the Status Quo for Far Too Long

Several scholars, most notably judges, have called for judicial reform in the selection process of appellate and supreme court justices in Texas. However, not much attention has been placed on the selection process of Texas trial court judges. This Article focuses on the genealogy of district courts in Texas, with an emphasis on Texas\u27s family court system, an area of the law that decides the fate of thousands of children who, for the most part, are unable to speak for themselves and that comprises a majority of civil cases within the state of Texas. As the majority of family court cases are decided by the trial court, judicial review by an appellate or higher court is virtually non-existent. It is therefore necessary to have associate and district court family judges who are educated and adequately staffed to handle the multifarious complex issues involving children and families. It is also vital that citizens better educate themselves about our judicial candidates and the judiciary in general until such time as the Texas legislature gets serious and enacts fundamental change pertaining to the selection of state judges at all levels