Meagan Hassan

Qualifications: What characteristics and experience qualify you to serve as a justice?

Prior to being elected: civil rights litigation and appeals. Since: authored 300+ majority opinions, 19 concurrences, 32 dissents, and 3 full court opinions clarifying important legal issues locally.

Ethics: Since judicial candidates solicit donations and raise money to be elected, how can voters be assured that campaign donations will not impact how judges interpret the law and review lower court decisions?

The campaign finance system in Texas for judicial elections is broken. There is no meaningful way (other than cross-checking donor lists and released case rulings or opinions) for voters to feel confident that financial support will have no impact on jurisprudence. I would like to see this system significantly overhauled to promote more public confidence in the judiciary in this regard.

Judicial Elections: How would the administration of justice be impacted if judges ran in nonpartisan races?

Whether a judge is elected in partisan elections has no provable impact on their decisions; judges are human beings who try their best to resolve the cases before them regardless of political leanings. Nonpartisan elections remove the benefit of giving voters an extra piece of information about a judge's jurisprudence that they otherwise would not have. More information in voters' hands is better.

Equity: What can be done to improve access to justice for all, including persons or groups who may be underserved?

Judges need to be more visible in the community and need to encourage those from traditionally underserved groups to engage in the legal process and system without fear or unease. I have recruited interns from various ethnic and socio-economic backgrounds to work for our court with the express purpose of increasing the number of members from these groups in appellate practice.

Court System: What effect will the new business court and statewide court of appeals have on the administration of justice in Texas?

The legislature created these courts through a system that values the separation of powers (despite overwhelming opposition from some stakeholders). The statute regarding business courts provides that only the governor will appoint these judges. This may lead to a politicized and privatized system of justice for some overlaid upon our current system. It remains to be seen.