Preceded by Tom Price Children Cory Sean Richardson Political party Republican Party Spouse(s) Terri Richardson Role Texas judge | Succeeded by Ron Rangel Name Bert Richardson Preceded by New judgeship Residence San Antonio, Texas | |
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Education St. Mary's University School of Law, Brigham Young University, Judson High School | ||
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.
Contents
- Interview with bert richardson candidate for texas court of criminal appeals hardhatters
- Background
- Legal career
- References
Interview with bert richardson candidate for texas court of criminal appeals hardhatters
Background
A native and resident of San Antonio, Texas, Richardson was reared in a military family. His father was a fighter pilot, and Richardson spent part of his earlier life abroad in Argentina and in several places 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, dates of study unavailable.
A former competitive runner, Richardson is also heavily involved in his avocation of photography. He married his wife, Terri, a month before he began law school. He has a son, Cory Sean Richardson (born 1988), who attended Texas Tech University in Lubbock.
Legal career
Richardson began his legal career with the Bexar County district attorney's office in 1988. In 1998, he joined the staff of the United States attorney in San Antonio. In 1999, Governor George W. Bush appointed Richardson, a Republican, to a newly created state judgeship numbered 379. He remained on the bench 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).
Richardson has been a special state judge on call. He was scheduled to hear the 2014 indictment of Governor Rick Perry for abuse of official capacity by the Travis County District Attorney's office. After his election to the Court of Criminal Appeals, Richardson refused to throw out the case against the governor on a technicality, as Perry's attorney had sought. Richardson has not yet ruled on constitutional objections raised by the Perry lawyers.
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).Richardson then prevailed in the general election, 2,738,412 (59.8 percent) to 1,617,921 (36.5 percent) for his principal opponent, the Democrat, John Granberg.
Elected to the Court of Criminal Appeals with Richardson are Kevin Patrick Yeary, also of San Antonio and David Newell of Houston. The terms of all three judges expire on December 31, 2020.