Bert Richardson
Republican | Texas
Candidate Profile
Conservative
BIOGRAPHY
Name
Bert Richardson
Party
Republican
Election Year
2020
Election
Primary
Race
Judge, Court of Crim. Appeals, Place 3
Incumbent
Yes
Links
EDUCATION
St. Mary's Law School, San Antonio, JD, 1987
Brigham Young Univ, Provo, BS, 82
WORK & MILITARY
State of Texas, Senior Judge, 5
State of Texas, 379th State Disrict Judge, 10
US Department of Justice, Asst. United States Attorney, 1
Bexar County DA's Office, Asst. DA & Intern, 12
AFFILIATIONS
Church of Jesus Christ of LDS, Teacher, Public Affairs, Volunteer., St. Mary's University
Adj. Prof., Mentor, Volunteer, Church of Jesus Christ of LDS, Two year full time missionary - Argentina
San Antonio College, Adjunct Prof., BYU
Associate Photo Editor Publications
POLITICAL OFFICES HELD
379th District Judge Bexar County, 10
Senior Visiting Judge Texas, 6
POLITICAL OFFICES SOUGHT
Place 3 Texas Court of Criminal Appeals, 2014
379th District Court , Bexar County, 200-2008
Race
Previous Races
ENDORSEMENTS
CONSERVATIVE (1)
Texas Home School Coalition
REPORTED BY CANDIDATE (6)
San Antonio & Houston Police Officer Associations
Texas Bipartisan Justice Committee
Retired TCCA Judge Cathy Cochran
Rusty Hardin- Rusty Hardin & Associates
Dr. John Coppedge
SELECTED CONTRIBUTIONS
CONSERVATIVE
GIVEN BY CANDIDATE (3)
Local, County, and District Republican Organizations (2017)
Republican Women's Organizations (2019)
State Republican Party Organizations (2014)
RECEIVED BY CANDIDATE (6)
DFW Conservative Voters (2014)
Grassroots America - We the People PAC (2015)
Local, County, and District Republican Organizations (2014)
Republican Women's Organizations (2015)
State Republican Party Organizations (2014)
LIBERAL
GIVEN BY CANDIDATE (0)
RECEIVED BY CANDIDATE (1)
Roland Gutierrez (2009)
OTHER INFORMATION
QUESTIONNAIRE
RELIGIOUS LIBERTY
Religious liberty is at risk in the United States and deserves the highest level of protection in the law.
Strongly Agree
The Ten Commandments should not be displayed in public school buildings or court houses.
Disagree
What does "separation of church and state" mean to you?
Ideally, it stands for the proposition that the under the First Amendment, the government should not interfere in a citizen's right to practice the religion of their choice; however, that has not always been the case in the early days of our country. I believe it prevents the government from forming a state religion, but I don't believe it prevents the government from recognizing certain religious practices or traditions in our society. Unfortunately, some of those rules have been ambiguous over the years.
VALUES
Judeo-Christian values established a framework of morality which is necessary for our system of limited government.
Strongly Agree
George Washington's comment that “Religion and morality are the essential pillars of civil society” is still true today.
Strongly Agree
What in the nature of mankind caused America’s Founders to carefully define, separate, and limit powers in the Constitution?
The Founders of this country left England for many reasons related to the oppressive conditions of the English government. Those Founders were cognizant of the dangers of that system, and did not want it repeated as our new nation was being formed. The documents they wrote created a system of government allowing checks and balances on each branch of the government, thereby preventing those abuses from occurring as they did in England.
Briefly describe your spiritual beliefs and values.
I am an active member of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. I served a two year volunteer mission in Argentina at the age of nineteen. My faith believes in Jesus Christ and the values he taught in the scriptures.I attend church weekly and work in my church when time permits one night during the week in various capacities. I have been married for 35 years and have one son. My religious beliefs are an integral part of my life.
In light of the U.S. Supreme Court decision in Obergefell v. Hodges allowing members of the same sex to marry, which justice’s opinion in that case most closely approximates your understanding of marriage?
Justice Roberts (note Scalia & Thomas joined him)
ABOUT YOU
I voted in these primaries and general elections:
2012 Republican Primary, 2012 General Election, 2014 Republican Primary, 2014 General Election, 2016 Republican Primary, 2016 General Election, 2018 Republican Primary, 2018 General Election
When you consider your views on a wide range of issues from economic and social matters to foreign policy and immigration, which of the following best describes you overall?
Very Conservative
Please provide publicly available information validating your answer to the previous question.
There are numerous articles on the internet that validate my conservative position (see attached links) based on my career as a criminal judge, as well as legal opinions I have written, but none of the above subjects have anything to do with my legal specialty and career, so I am unsure if there is any public information available to validate that answer. http://search.txcourts.gov/SearchMedia.aspx?MediaVersionID=e09231a1-9a90-477d-9f26-9299e43ced4d&coa=coscca&DT=OPINION&MediaID=a182b1b3-bec8-4c0d-ba82-ba016c1d22af http://search.txcourts.gov/SearchMedia.aspx?MediaVersionID=cc0e76e6-919b-46d3-8bd3-2686b8f3230c&coa=coscca&DT=OTHER&MediaID=a53f42b5-2497-4ed2-8232-ecdc5739488e https://www.hilderlaw.com/Firm-News/Texas-Titans-A-Look-at-the-Texas-Players-in-Perry-Case-_-Texas-Lawyer.pdf
What education or experience qualifies you to hold the office for which you seek election?
I am running for reelection. I am a former State and Federal prosecutor that is Board Certified in Criminal Law (less than 2% of lawyers) with a substantial amount of trial and appellate experience. I was appointed to bench in 1999 in Bexar County, but was defeated in 2008 when all R's were voted out of office. From 2009-2014 I served as a Senior Visiting Judge across the State in over 50 counties. That diverse experience provided me the opportunity to handle every type of case the Texas Court of Criminal Appeals reviews. That experience, plus working on this Court for the last 5 years qualifies me to sit on the Texas Court of Criminal Appeals.
In what areas of law have you practiced?
Criminal law full for over 31 years.
Have you ever been convicted of a felony or been penalized for sexual misconduct? If so, please explain.
NO
Is there anything else you would like voters to know about you?
I am running for reelection to the State high court for criminal cases. This Court reviews death penalty cases, post conviction writs including actual innocence claims and appeals from intermediate appellate courts. Simply put, we decide life, death and liberty issues. These are complex cases. I have the experience for the job. That experience includes hundreds of appeals and writs, over fifty death penalty cases and eight actual innocence cases. I am a former State and Federal prosecutor, and was a trial judge for over 15 years. I am Board certified in Criminal Law, have taught at the university level for over 10 years and was named a Distinguished Law Graduate of my alma mater. I am qualified for this position.
JUDICIAL PHILOSOPHY
The U.S. Constitution and my state constitution should be interpreted as living documents, rather than using a strict constructionist or originalist approach in judicial decisions.
Strongly Disagree
There are times when American judges should alter U.S. case law in order to comply with foreign case law.
Strongly Disagree
I support the use of Sharia law as a basis for legislation and judicial decisions in the United States.
Strongly Disagree
There should be more than nine justices on the U.S. Supreme Court.
Strongly Disagree
Which current U.S. Supreme Court justice best reflects your judicial philosophy?
Neil Gorsuch
Which U.S. president serving after 1960 best reflects your political philosophy?
George W. Bush (he appointed me to the bench)
What is the proper use of legislative history in interpreting statutory law?
I don't believe the legislative history should be used to interpret the law. Statutes should be interpreted literally. Having been involved in discussions on the legislative intent of a particular statute, and whether to include that intent in an opinion, there are just too many variables at play. As statutes make their way through the legislative process there are too many competing interests on and off the record discussions to accurately determine the legislative intent, other than the literal language of the statute.
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?
The Declaration of Independence does not actually create these individual rights (that came later with the Bill of Rights), it simply recognizes that they are bestowed upon us by our Creator. That text is "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." The Declaration does state that governments are created to secure these rights as long as the powers of the government come from the consent of the people and those powers are not abused. That text states "That to secure these rights, Governments are instituted among Men, deriving their just powers from the consent of the governed, --That whenever any Form of Government becomes destructive of these ends, it is the Right of the People to alter or to abolish it."
