Our recommendation for Harris County District Court 177

Should voters care whether a judge is popular with the lawyers who practice on his court?

The answer is crucial in deciding who gets to wear the black robe in Harris County's 177th Criminal District Court.

The main charge against incumbent Judge Robert Johnson, 58, is that his abrasive temperament in the courtroom has not won him many friends in the county's legal community since he was first elected in 2016. Polls conducted this year by the Harris County Criminal Lawyers Association and in 2023 by the Houston Bar Association found Johnson performing poorly in most categories. Among criminal defense lawyers, 83% of respondents disapproved of him – the second-lowest mark of all 26 county judges – while 47% of bar association respondents said his overall performance “needs improvement.”

These surveys carry weight for us, but they do not seem to correspond with Johnson's actual performance. For example, bar survey respondents gave Johnson low marks for efficient use of attorneys' time and for scheduling and conducting hearings and trials in a timely manner. Yet, according to the district, Johnson litigates more than most criminal judges, and his backlog and dismissal rates are above the average for the 26 district courts.

“I'm not here to participate in popularity contests,” Johnson told the editorial board when selecting his candidate. “I'm here to call balls and strikes, to decide based on the law and to remain fair and impartial at all times.”

Johnson's reputation, however, is one of the reasons his Republican opponent, Emily Detoto, decided to challenge him. Detoto, 52, is a veteran criminal defense attorney who began her career in the late 1990s as a prosecutor under former Harris County District Attorney Johnny Holmes. After two years, she switched to criminal defense and opened her own practice in 2001. She made a name for herself defending high-profile clients such as Friendswood dentist Clara Harris, who ran over her husband after catching him with another woman, and Warren Jeffs, a leader of a polygamous cult who sexually abused one of his child brides. Both cases ended in convictions.

Detoto is also a regular commentator on “Breaking Bond,” a program on the local Fox News affiliate that highlights cases in which suspects commit new crimes while out on bail.

But Detoto is neither the typical Republican judicial candidate who takes a tough stance against crime, nor does Johnson fit the caricature of a “liberal” judge who gives defendants endless chances.

Detoto's approach to bail can be summed up as “higher bail amounts and lower bail conditions,” an inappropriate philosophy for a candidate whose primary concern is that defendants will reoffend while in custody. She told us she prefers to stick to the strict protocol of a bail plan that bases the standard bail amount solely on the nature of the alleged crime. However, she also believes that some of the current district judges are abusing their discretion by making bail conditional on onerous conditions.

“Someone charged with possession of less than a gram of cocaine does not need a GPS monitor – this is not a violent crime,” Detoto told us during her investigation. “Many judges in Harris County overcompensate on bail conditions, which makes these people's existence very oppressive.”

Johnson's approach to bail conditions didn't seem particularly oppressive. He said he often revokes drivers' licenses for drunken offenses. When a defendant is accused of domestic violence, he orders no contact with the alleged victim and requires an ankle monitor to ensure compliance. These seem like reasonable ways to address public safety concerns without simply throwing the defendant in county jail.

Detoto struck us as a combative criminal defense attorney who vigorously defends her clients. But we're sticking with the incumbent in this race. If Johnson's worst flaw is his abrasive behavior on the bench, we're not worried. The judiciary is supposed to be blind, but not necessarily alert.