State ex rel. McKie v. Bullock, 12010
| Decision Date | 11 October 1972 |
| Docket Number | No. 12010,12010 |
| Citation | 485 S.W.2d 378 |
| Parties | The STATE of Texas on the relation of William J. McKIE, Appellant, v. Robert D. BULLOCK, Secretary of State, State of Texas, et al., Appellees. |
| Court | Texas Court of Appeals |
Beard & Kultgen, Pat Beard, Glenn A. Sodd, Waco, Jimmy Morris, County Atty., Navarro County, for appellant.
Clark, Thomas, Harris, Denius & Winters, Mary Joe Carroll and Donald S. Thomas, Austin, for appellees.
Suit was brought by the State on the relation of William J. McKie to enjoin the County Clerk of Navarro County from placing the name of H. D. Nicholson on the official ballot for the General Election to be held in November 1972. Mr. Nicholson is the Democratic nominee for District Judge of the 13th Judicial District of Navarro County, Texas. The suit also sought to remove Mr. Nicholson's name from the ballot if it is printed thereon and seeks a declaratory judgment as to whether Mr. Nicholson is qualified to serve as District Judge.
After trial to the Court, judgment was entered denying the writs of injunction and mandamus prayed for by relator and further declaring, in response to a cross action by Mr. Nicholson, that the County Clerk of Navarro County is required to print Mr. Nicholson's name on the ballot in the General Election as Candidate for District Judge. Consequently, an appeal has been perfected in this Court.
We affirm the judgment of the trial court.
Appellant is before us on two main points, the first being that the finding of the trial court that Nicholson is and will be qualified to hold the office of district judge is against the overwhelming weight and preponderance of the credible evidence received at the trial.
We overrule this point.
Article 5, Section 7 of the Texas Constitution, Vernon's Ann.St., requires that a candidate for district judge shall have been a practicing lawyer for four (4) years next preceding his election. H. D. Nicholson is a licensed attorney, had practiced law for some six years prior to the time in question; however, Appellant contends that he will not have been a practicing lawyer for four years next preceding the General Election to be held in November 1972.
Mr. Nicholson has operated a large hog ranch with his father since 1966. Appellant contends that since this time Nicholson has not maintained a law office with secretary and law library, has not appeared in court for the last four years, has retained no formal records or copies of any instruments in writing, has not been a member of any local bar association, and has not been listed in any of the publications in which lawyers customarily list themselves. Appellant further maintains that in Nicholson's application for voter registration in 1965, he listed himself as a lawyer; however, since that time, in 1968 1969 and 1970, he listed his occupation as rancher. Appellant contends that Nicholson did not pay his bar dues for 1970 until August 1972, after the suit at bar had been filed. Appellant contends that before Nicholson paid these delinquent dues he sent a letter to the State Bar Association in which he stated he had not practiced law for the past three years, and that if he should desire to resume his law practice he would so advise the Bar and remit his dues at that time.
Nicholson's status as a member of the bar is not in question nor does Appellant question Nicholson's legal ability or professional qualifications to serve as a district judge. After graduating from Southern Methodist University with a grade average of 3.99 out of a possible 4.0 points, Nicholson enrolled in Law School at Southern Methodist University, where he maintained a grade average of 80 and wrote for the Southwestern Law Review. Nicholson passed the Texas Bar Examination in June of 1959, a month after his graduation from law school. In 1961 he became Assistant District Attorney of Dallas County and was soon promoted to Chief Prosecutor in a felony court. In this position he had two assistants under his supervision. He remained in that position until the latter part of 1963, when he became First Assistant United States Attorney for the Eastern District of...
To continue reading
Request your trial
-
State ex rel. McKie v. Bullock, B-3652
...as required by Tex.Const. art. V, § 7, Vernon's Ann.St. Both the trial court and the court of civil appeals held against the plaintiff. 485 S.W.2d 378. In the meantime, Mr. Nicholson's name was placed on the ballot and he was elected; he now occupies the office. Therefore, the only relief r......