Michael Keasler
| Michael Edward "Mike" Keasler | |
 | |
Judge of the Texas Court of
Criminal Appeals, Place 6 | |
| In office January 1999 – December 2020 | |
| Preceded by | Charles F. "Charlie" Baird |
|---|---|
| Succeeded by | Jesse F. McClure, III |
| Born | August 16, 1942 Dallas, Texas |
| Political party | Republican |
| Spouse(s) | Nancy Lawson Keasler (married 1969) |
| Children | Christina Keasler ___ |
| Residence | Austin, Texas |
| Alma mater | University of Texas at Austin (B.A, J.D) |
| Religion | Episcopalian |
Michael Edward Keasler, known as Mike Keasler (born August 16, 1942),[1] is a former judge of the nine-member Texas Court of Criminal Appeals, the state court of last resort in criminal cases in Texas. His service extended from 1999 to 2020.
A Republican, Keasler was first elected in 1998 and won second and third terms in 2004 and 2010.[2] He won re-nomination in the Republican primary on March 1, 2016, against Richard Davis, a former prosecutor and guest lecturer at Baylor University Law School in Waco, Texas. Keasler polled 1,100,566 votes (56.9 percent) to Davis' 834,528 votes (43.1 percent).[3]
Background
A resident of the capital city of Austin,[1] Keasler received a Bachelor of Arts degree from the University of Texas at Austin and his Juris Doctorate from the UT Law School.[2]
Since 1969, Judge Keasler has been married to the former Nancy Lawson, a teacher at St. Andrew's Episcopal Church in Austin. Their married daughter, Christina, is a financial analyst in Dallas. There are three Keasler grandchildren.[4]
Career
In 1969, Keasler was named assistant district attorney for Dallas County, a position which he held until 1981, when he was appointed judge of the 292nd District Court in Dallas by then Governor Bill Clements, the first Republican chief executive in Texas since Reconstruction. He remained on the 292nd trial court until 1998. From 1990 to 1997, Keasler was the dean of continuing judicial education in Texas. In 1993, he instituted the Texas College of Advanced Judicial Studies. In 1992, he became a faculty member at the National Judicial College.[4]
Keasler lost a bid in 1996 for the Republican nomination for the Court of Criminal Appeals[2] but rebounded in the 1998 Republican runoff election, in which he defeated intraparty challenger, Vicki Barbee Isaacks (born 1957) of Denton County, 130,764 votes (62.8 percent) to 77,575 (37.2 percent).[5] In the general election, Keasler unseated the Democrat incumbent, Charles F. "Charlie" Baird, also of Austin, 1,889,069 votes (54 percent) to 1,611,538 (46 percent).[6] In 2004, Keasler defeated another Democrat, J. R. Molina, 3,990,315 votes (57.9 percent) to 2,906,720 (42.1) percent.[7] In 2010, Judge Keasler defeated the Democrat Keith Hampton, also of Austin, 2,906,012 votes (60.5 percent) to 1,759,365 (36.6 percent. Another 139,299 votes (2.9 percent) went to the Libertarian Party candidate.[8]
Keasler, who was age-limited at seventy-eight, left the Court of Criminal Appeals in December 2020, with two years remaining in his term. Governor Greg Abbott appointed as Keasler's successor Jesse F. McClure, III, an African-American., who had been defeated for reelection to a Houston district court judgeship in 2020.[9]
References
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 Judge Michael Keasler's Biography. Project Vote Smart. Retrieved on December 17, 2014.
- ↑ 2.0 2.1 2.2 Judge Michael Keasler. The Texas Tribune. Retrieved on December 17, 2014; material no longer on-line.
- ↑ Texas Secretary of State, Republican primary election returns, March 1, 2016.
- ↑ 4.0 4.1 Judge Michael Keasler. txcourts.gov. Retrieved on December 17, 2014.
- ↑ Texas Secretary of State, Republican runoff election returns, April 14, 1998.
- ↑ Texas Secretary of State, General election returns, November 3, 1998.
- ↑ Texas Secretary of State, General election returns, November 2, 2004.
- ↑ Texas Secretary of State, General election returns, November 2, 2010.
- ↑ January 2021 Judicial News: Texas. rrhelections.com. Retrieved on February 19, 2021.
