Jane Roden, judge of Dallas County Criminal Court No. 8
Image: Danny Hurley

Jane Roden has never cared for politics. In fact, she can't remember the last time she attended a political function. Like many of her colleagues on the Dallas County trial bench, she believes party affiliation has never figured into a decision she has made as a judge.

Regardless, in the coming days Roden will dive right into politics as she formally switches from the Republican Party to the Democratic Party for the 2010 election cycle.

"I've worked for Dallas County for 19 years. I don't plan on walking away from that," says Roden, judge of Criminal Court No. 8. Before becoming a judge she served as Dallas County's chief public defender and as an assistant district attorney.

Remaining in the Republican Party would be akin to abandoning her job, she says, adding, "In Dallas County, the writing is on the wall."

And if that makes her look like an opportunist, so be it.

"You don't want to disappoint people who have supported you," Roden says. "But I think a lot more people would be disappointed if I gave up."

Roden is not alone in making this decision.

In November 2006, more than 40 Republican judges in Dallas County lost their jobs when Democratic candidates swept the civil and criminal courthouses in an election that shocked even the wisest political analysts. Many analysts believe the shift was due to changing demographics within Dallas County, which has been trending Democratic for about six years. Twelve Republican judges, including Roden, did not draw a Democratic opponent in 2006. But in 2010, no one expects that to happen again. So Republican judges whose terms end in 2010 must make a choice: switch parties, stay with the GOP or retire. Six of them say they are switching parties.

Of Dallas' 59 trial court benches, currently 45 are held by Democrats and 14 are held by Republicans.

If the judges don't announce the switch before this year's Nov. 4 general election, that's akin to staying with the Republican Party, says Darlene Ewing, chairwoman of the Dallas County Democratic Party. They have to show commitment to the party now to be considered viable and legitimate. There's no wait and see -- it wouldn't look genuine, says Ewing, a family law solo.

"If they are going to wait and think maybe the Republicans are coming back, they're shot," Ewing says. That's why several Republican judges have already contacted her about making the jump. Some are already making appearances at Democratic functions, she says.

"When I get the call, I basically say, 'Great and come on over. But don't expect it to be a smooth, protected road. You will get a primary opponent,' " Ewing says. "But I tell them, first of all, they need to come over now and make the rounds and meet the Democrats. And as long as they're a good judge, they've got as good a chance of winning as anybody else."

Texas Lawyer contacted all 12 of the Dallas trial judges whose terms are up in 2010. Two of them plan to remain on the ballot as Republicans; one is retiring; one is not running for his current bench again but says he'll remain a Republican should he run for another post; and two are undecided.

The six who say they are switching parties are 291st District Judge Susan Hawk, 305th District Judge Cheryl Lee Shannon, County Court-at-Law No. 5 Judge Mark Greenberg, County Criminal Court No. 7 Judge Elizabeth Crowder, County Criminal Court No. 1 Judge Kristin Wade and Roden. The majority of them say they switched parties in an effort to keep their jobs.

Of Dallas County's six contested trial court benches in the 2008 general election, only one incumbent switched parties from Republican to Democrat -- John Creuzot of Dallas County Criminal District Court No. 4. The remaining benches are already held by Democrats or are open seats.

Jonathan Neerman, chairman of the Dallas County Republican Party, says he holds no resentment toward the judges leaving his party.

"The judges who are switching obviously want to keep their jobs so they are hedging their bets. And I think un-til the Legislature changes the way we elect judges, we will see this," says Neerman, an associate with the Dallas of-fice of Hunton & Williams. "I have talked to those who have called me ahead of time and I've given them the same mes-sage: You will not get any criticism from me. This is life in the big city. It gives me more opportunity to recruit new candidates."

Neerman believes his party will be competitive in the 2008 and 2010 Dallas judicial elections.

"I think we'll make a good showing," Neerman says. "I certainly don't get the sense that there's some sort of groundswell to toss out the judicial candidates. It's all tied to the top of the ticket."

"I tried not to look at the game tape from '06," Neerman adds. "I looked at it once and burned it."

While Roden says she's still picking her time to announce her party switch, the judge in the courtroom next to hers already has done so. At the Dallas County Democratic Party's Labor Day picnic in early September, Crowder was mak-ing the rounds, shaking the hands of party activists as a newly minted Democrat. Crowder says her reception was a warm one.

"People were coming up to me and hugging me," Crowder says. "One colleague told me, 'Welcome home.' "

Crowder says it was an easy switch -- one that improves her chances of retaining her bench. She has never had an opponent since she was first appointed to the bench by Dallas County commissioners in 1995 and she has friends in both parties.

"Instead of going into a room full of strangers, I'm with people I've worked with for 22 years," Crowder says, noting party affiliation has never been an "us versus them" proposition for her. "I don't have those emotions built up."

Crowder was joined at the function by Greenberg, who also was delving into Democratic activities. Greenberg has been on the county court bench since 2003. When asked why he's switching parties, he says, "It's really a political is-sue that I'm trying to keep out of the courtroom.

"The political landscape is a factor, but it's not a determining factor. I reached out to the Democratic Party and they reached out to me. And to say that it's expedient is not fair to the party and it's not fair to myself."

Greenberg says he can't remember who reached out first -- him or the Democratic Party.

"I'm not exactly sure of the answer to that. I can't say whether it was me or them," Greenberg says. "I was wel-comed by the Democratic Party. It wasn't like 'please take me.' But it was like both sides reaching out to each other.''

"I'm not well known in the Democratic Party. I want the people active in the party to get to know me and I want to get to know them," says Greenberg, who adds that he was embraced by the party.

Staying With the GOP

But for some judges, switching parties is something they can't stomach.

Of the seven family court judges in Dallas, Judge Marilea Lewis of the 330th District Court is the last Republi-can. Even though she has known and respected Ewing for more than 20 years -- and was even asked by Ewing to switch par-ties -- Lewis says her loyalty is with the Republican Party.

"It is tough," says Lewis, who fully understands her decision could cost her the bench. "I don't think that a judge should be a political entity. And unfortunately because we are elected, we are forced to have a political person-ality. I have been elected twice as a Republican and I think I need to run again as a Republican."

Switching parties wouldn't be the right choice for her, Lewis says.

"There is some view of political expediency. While I don't think a judge should be partisan, I don't think they should be politically expedient either," Lewis says. "While we have to make hard calls on the bench, we have to make them in life as well."

Lana Meyers, judge of the 203rd District Court, also says she'll run again for her felony court bench as a Re-publican.

"The Republican Party has elected me four times and I've considered everything and I understand everything. It's just the decision that I made," Meyers says.

Meyers says her decision is a matter of faith as much as anything.

"I think God wanted me here," Meyers says. "And as I've always done, I trust God will lead me where he wants me to be, whether it's here or somewhere else. I know that I'll be fine."

Nikki DeShazo, who has been judge of Dallas County Probate Court No. 1 since 1983 and is the most senior trial judge in Dallas, says she plans to retire in July 2009 when she turns 65 years old.

"I could have retired several years ago but I thought I'd retire after the traditional 65th birthday," DeShazo says. "I had already planned to retire before the situation that we see now presented itself."

Tom Fuller, judge of County Criminal Court-at-Law No. 5 since 1989, says he is not running again for his bench, but doesn't rule out running for another one.

Robert E. Price, judge of Dallas County Probate Court No. 2 since 1986, says he doesn't know what he'll do. Price, who is 77 years old, points out, "I can retire anytime I want to. I don't know what my posture would be. But if you call me a year from now, I could probably tell you."

Anne Ashby, judge of the 134th District Court, also doesn't know if she'll run again. She says she'll decide what her next move is sometime next year.

History in Action

This is not the first time judges in Dallas have been faced with the dilemma of switching parties. Dallas was a Democratic stronghold until 1978 when it elected its first Republican judge in modern times, John Ovard, to the 265th Dis-trict Court. That year, Bill Clements became the first Republican governor since Reconstruction.

In 1980, Republicans' fortunes rose even further when Ronald Reagan won the presidency by a landslide.

During those election cycles in Dallas, the then-fledgling Republican Party gathered strength and won more benches -- often by recruiting Democratic judges to their side. One of them was Linda Thomas, who was elected to a family court bench in 1978 but switched to the Republican Party in 1980 after being recruited by Fred Meyer, then-chairman of the Dal-las County Republican Party. It was a wise move for Thomas, as Democratic judges continued to lose their benches in gen-eral elections throughout the 1980s. Thomas was elected to Dallas' 5th Court of Appeals in 1986 and has been the court's chief justice since 1995.

"I do think the climate was so much different in '78, '80 and '82," Thomas says, noting the partisan transition at the courthouse wasn't as swift back then as it was in 2006. Democrats served on the bench in Dallas up until the early 1990s when the civil and criminal courthouses became entirely Republican.

"Back then there was actually a choice to be made," Thomas says, noting that the political shift within the county was gradual and running for a judgeship in either party was a viable option.

John Marshall, a Republican who was elected judge of the 14th District Court in 1980 who served until he was beaten in the GOP primary in 2000, says switching parties is likely the best chance for Dallas Republicans to hold onto their benches in 2010.

"I would agree with them that politically that's their best shot as far as political survival," Marshall says. "I don't believe that there will be any Republican judges left on the bench after the 2010 election. That would be an as-tounding event unless there was an appointment."

There's nothing original about a Dallas judge switching parties, adds Marshall, who now serves as a senior judge.

"There's a group of us senior judges who meet once a month for lunch," Marshall says. "And I'm the only one at the table who's never been anything but a Republican."

Carlos Cortez, a Democrat who was elected judge of the 44th District Court in 2006, says he welcomes the Republi-can judges who want to switch parties.

"If they want to do it now before the November election, to me that's a show of good faith," Cortez says. "In the Democratic Party, we welcome anybody who's going to do a good job and uphold our values. We have tried for the last two years to have judges who work hard to give people a fair ruling. And anybody who does that is welcome in the Democratic Party as far as I'm concerned."

Cortez believes it's time for Democrats to be accommodating to party switchers for the good of the Dallas County trial bench.

"The legal community in the '80s didn't like to see good judges lose their benches because of politics," Cortez says. "I refer to the case Goose v. Gander."