Today, Austin attorney Keith S. Hampton announced he will return to seeking the Presiding Judgeship of the Texas Court of Criminal Appeals (CCA), the state’s highest criminal court, challenging incumbent Judge Sharon Keller. Hampton had announced he would seek Place 8 on the CCA after Judge Lawrence Meyers, a Republican, had suggested he would challenge Keller as a Democrat. Hampton has practiced criminal law in Texas for over twenty years and was the 2010 Democratic nominee for Place 6 on the CCA.
“I am challenging Judge Keller after Judge Meyers decided not to enter the race as a Democrat,” said Keith Hampton. “Among many other sacred duties, the Presiding Judge chairs the Indigent Defense Commission, a role for which I am uniquely qualified.”
In his 2010 campaign for Place 6, Hampton won the prestigious State Bar Poll of Texas lawyers as well as receiving the endorsement of the Dallas Morning News, Fort Worth Star Telegram, and Austin American-Statesman.
“The Court needs fresh perspective, and I can offer my experience in having handled cases from misdemeanors to death sentences in both state and federal court,” he said. “No one on the Court has my breadth or depth of experience.”
The Court of Criminal Appeals is the highest criminal court in Texas and hears all criminal appeals, including capital cases. Judges on the Court of Criminal Appeals are elected statewide and currently all seats on the Court are held by Republicans.
