how a trial judge should act like a baseball umpire
“I believe that a trial-court judge should act like a baseball umpire. First, a trial judge’s job is to call balls and strikes, not to rewrite the rule book. It is the job of the legislature to make the laws and the job of the trial judge to apply the laws as written. If a law is bad, it should be changed by the legislature, not by a trial judge. Second, an umpire should not have a different strike zone depending on who the pitcher or batter is. Unfortunately, too often an umpire will have a different strike zone for an all-star player than for a rookie, and too often a trial judge will hold certain parties to different legal standards. If elected, I will faithfully apply the laws fairly and equally to every party in each and every case. Finally, an umpire must make a call as soon as the pitch is thrown. There are too many cases in Dallas County courts languishing on the docket because the trial-court judge will not make a ruling. I promise that if elected I will work to make timely rulings on the matters presented to the court.”
