Barbara Walther
Republican | Texas
Candidate Profile
Leans Conservative
BIOGRAPHY
Name
Barbara Walther
Party
Republican
Election Year
2014
Election
Primary
Race
Judge, Court of Crim. Appeals, Place 3
Incumbent
No
Links
EDUCATION
Southern Methodist University, Dallas, Texas, J.D., 1977
University of Texas, Austin, Texas, B.A., 1974
Stephens College, Columbia, Mo., A.A., 1972
WORK & MILITARY
State of Texas, District Judge, 22
State of Texas, Associate Judge/Family Law, 5
Attorney, Attorney, 10
AFFILIATIONS
Judicial Section, State Bar of Texas, Past Chair, Texas Center for the Judiciary
Past Chair, Texas Center for the Judiciary, Past Chair of the Curriculum Committee
Texas Bar Foundation, Sustaining Life Fellow & Judicial Liaison, Laura W. Bush Institute for Women's Health
Community Advisory Board, Court of Criminal Appeals Education Committee, Member
State Bar of Texas Administration of Rules of Evid, Member (evidence rules committee), Holy Angels Catholic Church
POLITICAL OFFICES HELD
District Judge, 22
POLITICAL OFFICES SOUGHT
None
Race
ENDORSEMENTS
REPORTED BY CANDIDATE (1)
(None listed.)
SELECTED CONTRIBUTIONS
CONSERVATIVE
GIVEN BY CANDIDATE (2)
Local, County, and District Republican Organizations
Republican Women's Organizations
RECEIVED BY CANDIDATE (3)
DFW Conservative Voters
Drew Darby
Texans for Lawsuit Reform
OTHER INFORMATION
QUESTIONNAIRE
OTHER IMPORTANT ISSUES
1. Election of judges by the people for a definite term of office is the best way to select judges.
Strongly Agree
2. The U.S. Constitution is a living document and should be interpreted according to the circumstances of each generation.
Agree
3. Foreign laws should be used in American courts even where those laws conflict with constitutional rights.
Strongly Disagree
4. Free enterprise and the right to private property turn mankind's natural self interest into the fairest and most productive economic system there is, and are the key to national prosperity.
Strongly Agree
5. Which current Justice of the U.S. Supreme Court best reflects your judicial philosophy?
Justice Antonin Scalia
6. Which U.S. president elected to that office in 1960 or thereafter best reflects your political philosophy?
President Ronald Reagan
7. Which U.S. Supreme Court decision do you think has most impacted society? Please explain your answer.
Brown vs. Board of Education This landmark cases opened our schools and opportunity to all of the people of this great county.
8. Based on the Declaration of Independence and the U.S. Constitution, please arrange the following entities, starting with the highest source of authority, and continue the list in descending order of authority, skipping any that do not apply: Academia, Congress, Constitution, God, Industry, Media, Professional Sports, Supreme Court, Voters.
God, Voters (We the People), Constitution, Congress, Supreme Court
9. What in the nature of mankind caused America’s Founders to carefully define, separate, and limit powers within the Constitution?
Our Founding Fathers understood that absolute power corrupts absolutely. Therefore, they devised a system, that had never before been used, to limit government by creating three co-equal branches of government. These independent branches of government would be able to provide checks and balances and thus prevent anyone branch of the government from becoming all powerful.
10. Please give an example of a judicial decision where strict constructionist policy was violated. Explain.
Roe vs. Wade. The United States Supreme Court in Roe vs. Wade recognized a constitutional right that is not specifically enumerated in the Constitution.
11. What is the proper use of legislative history in interpreting statutory law?
Statutes should be applied as they are written and adopted by the Legislature. Legislative history can be helpful in clarifying what issues the legislature intended to address when they passed certain statutes. However, it is not controlling. It should only be used to provide background information about a statute. Sometimes a statute, as it is adopted by the legislature, has conflicting provisions and then the history of the statute can sometimes provided some guidance as to the legislative intent.
12. What specific text in the Declaration of Independence provides the critical basis for individual rights and the form of government guaranteed in the United States Constitution?
"We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty, and the pursuit of Happiness. That to secure these rights, Governments are instituted among Men, deriving their powers from the consent of the governed."
13. Briefly describe your spiritual beliefs and values.
I am a practicing member of the Catholic Church. The teachings of my faith provide guidance to me.
