Texas is one of the states where voters elect judges, and “because the elected Supreme Court justices in Texas are heavily dependent on money from attorneys and businesses with cases before the court, voters should know as much as possible about their records. That includes knowing how they voted when accepting and rejecting cases.” Senator Kirk Watson has filed a bill that would “require Supreme Court justices to disclose how they voted on every petition that comes before the court.” This is vitally important as “the court denies 87 percent of the requests that come before it” and thus “voting on petitions is where most of the action is.” The editorial author argues that Texas Supreme Court justices “absolutely should have to reveal how they voted in rejecting or accepting a case” as “such transparency is basic good government.”

Website: http://www.texaswatch.org/TW/