Bert Richardson (judge)

Robert Carl Richardson, known as Bert Richardson (born 1956), is an American judge who serves as the Place 3 judge of the Texas Court of Criminal Appeals, the court of last resort in state criminal cases, to which he was elected in 2014.

Robert Carl "Bert" Richardson
Place 3 Judge of the Texas Court of Criminal Appeals
Incumbent
Assumed office 2015
Preceded by	Tom Price
Judge of the 379th District Court in Bexar County
In office 1999–2009
Preceded by	New judgeship
Succeeded by	Ron Rangel
Personal details
Born	1956 San Antonio, Texas, USA
Political party	Republican
Spouse(s)	Terri Richardson
Children	1
Residence	San Antonio, Texas
Alma mater	Judson High School Brigham Young University St. Mary's University School of Law
Website	ElectJudgeRichardson.com

Early life

A native and resident of San Antonio, Texas, Richardson was reared in an Air Force family. His father was a fighter pilot, who flew 160 missions over Vietnam. His mother operates a fine art gallery. The military took the family to 6 states and 3 foreign countries, including in Argentina and in Europe. He graduated from Judson High School in Converse in Bexar County. He received his bachelor's degree from Brigham Young University in Provo, Utah, and his legal degree from St. Mary's University School of Law in San Antonio.[1]

Legal career

Richardson began his legal career with the Bexar County district attorney's office in 1988 as Assistant District Attorney. In 1998, he started working as Assistant U.S. Attorney for the Western District of Texas in San Antonio. In 1999, Governor George W. Bush appointed Richardson, a Republican, to the 379th District Court Judge position. He remained on the bench, for 10 years, uncontested until his defeat in the 2008 general election by a Democrat, Ron Rangel, 263,857 (53.8 percent) to 227,015 (46.3 percent).[2]

Richardson has been a special state judge on call. He was scheduled to hear the 2014 indictment of Governor Rick Perry for alleged abuse of official capacity by the Travis County District Attorney's office. After his election to the Court of Criminal Appeals, Richardson denied the motion to dismiss the case against the governor, as Perry's attorney had sought, based on long standing legal precedents of the State high court (Texas Court of Criminal Appeals) where he now sits.[3]

In the Republican primary for the Court of Criminal Appeals on March 4, 2014, Richardson defeated Judge Barbara Walther, the first woman and the first Republican to serve on the 51st Texas District Court in San Angelo. Richardson polled 668,618 votes (60.4 percent) to Walther's 439,267 (39.6 percent).[4] Richardson then prevailed in the general election, 2,738,412 (59.8 percent) to 1,617,921 (36.5 percent) for Democrat John Granberg.[5]

Elected to the Court of Criminal Appeals with Richardson were Kevin Patrick Yeary, also of San Antonio, and David Newell, of Houston. The terms of all three judges expire on December 31, 2020. Richardson ran against Gina Parker, an attorney from Waco, Texas, in the March 2020 Republican primary for reelection to Place 3.[6] Richardson defeated Parker 51.84% to 48.16%, with over 1.7 million votes cast.[7]

Richardson, who is board certified in criminal law, also serves as an adjunct law professor at St. Mary's University School of Law in San Antonio.

Personal life

He married his wife, Terri, a month before he began law school. They live in San Antonio. They have a son, Cory Sean Richardson, who attended Texas Tech University in Lubbock.[1] Judge Richardson balances his legal work with photography.[8]

References

1. Ken Nikaidoh (October 2008). "Judge Bert Richardson". NSIDE TX. Archived from the original on December 19, 2014. Retrieved December 19, 2014.
2. "General election returns, November 4, 2008". Texas Secretary of State. Archived from the original on November 8, 2006. Retrieved December 19, 2014.
3. Will Weissert (November 18, 2014). "Judge Refuses To Toss Rick Perry Case". The Huffington Post. Retrieved December 19, 2014.
4. "Republican primary election returns, March 4, 2014". Texas Secretary of State. Archived from the original on November 8, 2006. Retrieved December 19, 2014.
5. "General election returns, November 4, 2014". Texas Secretary of State. Archived from the original on November 8, 2006. Retrieved December 19, 2014.
6. Witherspoon, Tommy. Local attorney setting up campaign for Texas Court of Criminal Appeals, Waco Tribune, August 8, 2019.
7. JUDGE, COURT OF CRIMINAL APPEALS PLACE 3, Texas Secretary of State. Retrieved April 29, 2020.
8. https://www.law.com/texaslawyer/2018/06/28/cca-judge-finds-balance-in-life-through-photography/?slreturn=20200612185436

External links

• Texas Courts: Judge Bert Richardson
• Texas Tribune: Judge Bert Richardson
• Campaign website
• Texas State Directory: Judge Bert Richardson
• Bert Richardson at Ballotpedia

Legal offices
Preceded by Tom Price	Judge of the Texas Court of Criminal Appeals Place 3 Robert Carl "Bert" Richardson 2015–	Succeeded by Incumbent
Preceded by New judgeship	Judge of the Texas 379th District Court in Bexar County Robert Carl "Bert" Richardson 1999–2009	Succeeded by Ron Rangel