DAVID TAFFET | Senior Staff Writer
Taffet@DallasVoice.com
Experience: That, said Stephanie Hudson, is what distinguishes her from her opponent in the March 3 Democratic Primary race for judge in Criminal District Court No. 1 in Dallas County.
Hudson has been practicing law for 27 years, spending the last 25 of those years as a court-appointed criminal defense attorney. So why is she running for this particular court? Because that’s where she got her start as a defense attorney.
Hudson said she feels an attachment to this court. “I think its’s important for people with lots of experience to serve on a bench, especially criminal benches,” she added. “Criminal law found me.”
As a law student, Hudson clerked in a civil law firm. But that firm had a hiring freeze in place at the time, so she went to work in the prosecutor’s office in Collin County.
Then about two years into her career, she began doing defense work as a court-appointed attorney.
“It feels good to help people out who otherwise couldn’t afford representation,” Hudson said.
And, she said, she can do a good job representing her clients because, “the courts in Dallas are good. They have money for an investigator” to help her defend her clients.
Still, her career has been marked by too many trips to Lew Sterrett to speak to her clients.
One thing she’d like to see changed is the bail system. Many of her clients are held from the time of their arrest until they come up for trial, which can mean they spend as long as two years behind bars without a conviction.
Bail is paid to ensure the defendant shows up for trial. But studies have shown the amount of bail paid doesn’t correspond to whether the defendant actually appears. Hudson said there are other ways to make sure they show up.
“You can have them check in monthly,” she said. “There are any number of ways to make sure they show up.”
To be a good judge, Hudson said, it’s important to understand both the prosecution and defense. So her experience works in her favor. While most cases are settled before facing a jury, Hudson has tried more than 100 jury trials. Her opponent, she said, has tried only two cases before a jury.
“And I’ve written more than 100 appeals — mostly on cases I did not try,” she said.
But if you’re hard on crime, shouldn’t we be electing judges who were prosecutors?
“We’re all Democrats in Dallas County, and we all focus on rehabilitation while also protecting the community,” she said.
Hudson’s campaign slogan is “Fair. Accountable. Transparent.” And, she said, those are “three of the biggest issues for me. Everybody should be treated fairly no matter what the status.”
Some judges have a reputation of not showing up at scheduled times. But Hudson pledged that she will be accountable. And she will be transparent. “My courtroom will be an open courtroom,” she said. “Simple rulings that will be easily understood.”
Hudson told the Dallas Morning News, “I believe that justice is not one-size-fits-all but must be grounded in the specific facts and circumstances of each individual case.”
She explained that in administering punishment, she would balance the person’s history with reducing future harm. Her decisions would be proportionate, thoughtful and rooted in the law.
She said she would look at every case in its totality.
If two people committed very similar crimes, but one is a young, first-time offender and the other is older with multiple convictions, she said, “the same offense doesn’t deserve the same punishment.”
The Mexican American Bar Association asked Hudson to identify three key issues affecting the Latino community in the court system. She listed: discriminatory profiling resulting in longer pretrial incarceration, lack of culturally competent legal support and immigration fears.
Her endorsement from the group, no doubt, stemmed from her solutions: setting reasonable bail, appointing Spanish-speaking attorneys who can communicate with their client and not cooperating with ICE because everyone, she said, deserves their day in court without fear of being detained and deported.
Stonewall Democrats of Dallas also endorsed Hudson.
She noted the significance of her run for office. “I will be the first openly gay judge on a criminal bench in Dallas County,” she said, “and I would be very proud of that.”
Hudson’s daughter said that when her friend’s mom became a judge, she realized everyday people run the government. “Out people are also everyday people,” Hudson said.
“I have been a Democrat since 1992,” she wrote in the Morning News questionnaire. “The fact that Democratic philosophy tends to focus on social justice and fairness has always resonated with me.”