Steven Wayne Smith to Seek Supreme Court Seat Held by Perry Appointee Don Willett in GOP Primary

TX GOP website | 01-03-05 | Theodore R.

[Theodore R.]

Former Texas Supreme Court Justice, Steve Smith, to Challenge Perry appointee Don R. Willett for Place 2 on the Texas Supreme Court

[Theodore R.]

I have nothing again Willett, know nothing about him, but I am for Smith again. This is a good reason to stay in the otherwise lackluster Republican primary on March 7.

[PAR35]

Steven Wayne Smith

There used to be a running joke about the number of criminals who had 'Wayne' as their middle name. I wonder if the headline writer was trying to bring that to mind.

[Theodore R.]

No, I knew that he used the middle name, and with Smith being so common, the middle name may have helped set him apart from others. He will have a real fight on his hands. I wonder if he thinks the more common name can prevail. This time the governor won't have the time to make Smith's primary defeat his top priority.

For those who do not remember, Smith was the attorney for the plaintiffs in the Texas v. Hopwood affirmative case, since set aside by the U.S. Supreme Court.

[Theodore R.]

AUSTIN – Texas Supreme Court Justice Don Willett today filed for a place on the 2006 Republican primary ballot at the Texas Republican Party headquarters by submitting signed petitions supporting his election from every court of appeals district in Texas. Governor Rick Perry appointed Justice Willett to the bench in August 2005.

“Today I file with the iron-clad commitment that I will never legislate from the bench – not now, and not 30 years from now,” stated Justice Willett. “I am a proven and unswerving judicial conservative — through and through — and believe that a judge's supreme duty is to interpret and apply law, not create it from the bench.”


Former Texas Supreme Court Justice, Steve Smith, to Challenge Perry appointee Don R. Willett for Place 2 on the Texas Supreme Court

Published: 1/3/2006

At state Republican headquarters in Austin, Smith filed the required application for a place on the March 2006 primary ballot, $3,750 filing fee, and signature petitions. This last Fall, Smith collected the signatures of more than 1,500 rank-and-file Republicans from across the state.