“Messy,” in the wild drama sense, is not a typical adjective when describing a judicial election but that’s the exact right word for what’s been going down in the Democratic primary for Houston’s 234th Civil District Court judgeship. The race featured dueling injunction requests and a late-night hearing which ultimately culminated in a would-be challenger getting booted from the ballot.
Incumbent Judge Lauren Reeder was successful in getting Kimberly McTorry off the ballot, with Judge Christi Kennedy writing, “This conduct renders McTorry administratively ineligible to be certified as a candidate for judicial office.” What conduct you ask? Well, buckle up.
According to Reeder’s court filings, McTorry allegedly tried to strong-arm her into dropping out of the race by threatening to expose personal information that would “get back to [your] husband, children and other family members.” That information? A two-month consensual affair in 2013 between Reeder and AZA Law partner Todd Mensing.
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Now, the relationship ended more than a decade ago, but that didn’t allegedly stop McTorry from trying to use it against Reeder. It should also be noted Mensing later appeared in Reeder’s courtroom. Reeder did not recuse herself, a fact McTorry seized upon.
Reeder alleged that McTorry’s demand she drop out of the race was paired with the use of a co-conspirator to publish what Reeder described as “vile, offensive” social media posts designed to amp up the pressure. McTorry denied the allegations, but Kennedy found her testimony “not credible,” particularly given the timing of the posts, which the court said was “unlikely to be a coincidence.”
Kennedy also found that some of the signatures McTorry submitted to qualify for the ballot were forged and/or obtained from suspended voters.
But remember there were dueling efforts to get folks kicked off the ballot. And, well, McTorry’s effort didn’t go nearly as well. She alleged Reeder violated Texas election law by “effectuating” a $50,000 donation from a law firm to McTorry, supposedly in exchange for McTorry dropping out of the race and seeking a different judgeship.
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Judge Kennedy rejected that claim outright, calling McTorry’s filings riddled with “materially false allegations” about bribery or coercion. The court found no evidence supporting the theory that Reeder tried to buy her opponent out of the race.
Reeder’s attorney, Lloyd Kelly, summed it up bluntly, “This is a historic case. It is drawing the line that you cannot campaign for a position on the ballot as a judge if you engage in what is basically extortion.” And that history-making has given lawyers plenty to gossip about.
Kathryn Rubino is a Senior Editor at Above the Law, host of The Jabot podcast, and co-host of Thinking Like A Lawyer. AtL tipsters are the best, so please connect with her. Feel free to email her with any tips, questions, or comments and follow her on Twitter @Kathryn1 or Mastodon @[email protected].