“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.
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.
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].