David Michael Medina (born July 23,1958)[1] is a former Justice of the nine-member Texas Supreme Court. He served in the Place 4 position. He was appointed by GovernorRick Perry in 2004 and subsequently elected to a full-term in 2006. Medina was defeated in the Republicanrunoff election in 2012 by John P. Devine. His tenure ended on December 31,2012.
Appointment to the court and professional experience
Justice Medina succeeded Wallace B. Jefferson in Place 4 after Jefferson was appointed to be Chief Justice following the retirement of Tom Phillips. Governor Perry named Justice Medina to the court on November 10,2004. Justice Medina had been Perry's General Counsel for the preceding ten months.
Before that,Justice Medina was Associate General Counsel for Cooper Industries in Houston from 2000 to 2004 and Litigation Counsel from 1987 to 1996. He served on the 157th State District Court bench in Harris County from 1996 to 2000 after appointment in May 1996 by then-Governor George W. Bush. Justice Medina was elected in November 1996 and again in November 1998. He was the first Hispanic Republican district judge elected in Harris County. The Houston Bar Association voted him as one of the top jurists in Harris County.
Justice Medina rejoined Cooper in 2000 as Associate General Counsel,Litigation,responsible for supervising Cooper's litigation and product-safety matters throughout the world. In January 2004,he left Cooper to become General Counsel to Governor Perry.
Justice Medina is a Shareholder at Chamberlain Hrdlicka law firm in Houston,Texas.
Election to the Texas Supreme Court
Justice Medina was elected in 2006 without a Democratic opponent. Unopposed for the Republican nomination that year,he handily defeated his Libertarian Party challenger,Jerry Adkins,2,558,036 (75.5 percent) to 830,780 (24.5 percent).[2]
Justice Medina is a former board member of Habitat for Humanity and Houston Metro and the Spring Klein Baseball Association. He has also served as an adjunct professor for South Texas College of Law,where he taught advanced civil trial litigation.
In 2017,Justice Medina was inducted into the Texas State University - San Marcos Martial Arts Hall of Fame. He is also a member of the U.S. Martial Arts Hall of Fame.
South Texas College of Law Alumni Association presented Justice Medina with its Outstanding Public Service Award in 2012.
In 2011,Justice Medina served as Advisor to the University of Texas - Austin Hispanic National Bar Association National Championship Moot Court Team.
In 2010,Justice Medina was recognized at Justice of the Year by the Hispanic National Bar Association and Texas Justice of the Year by the Mexican American Bar Association of Texas Foundation. The P.O.L.I.C.E. (Police Officers Looking into Court Room Excellence) recognized Justice Medina as its Texas Supreme Court Justice of the Year in 2005.
Justice Medina is a Fellow of the State Bar of Texas,the Pro Bono College of Texas,and an Access to Justice Defender.
Justice Medina is a 4th Degree Black Belt in Kajukenbo and a 1st Degree Black Belt in Taekwondo.
Grand Jury
Medina faced an indictment by a Harris County grand jury in connection with a fire at his home,but charges were eventually dropped.[3]
The indictment was dismissed by State District Court Judge Brian Rains,at the request of then Harris County District AttorneyChuck Rosenthal. The dismissal prompted the grand jury foreman,Robert Ryan,to publicly threaten to re-issue the charge,which some subsequent reports characterized as unusual given the grand juror's requirement of secrecy.[4] Rosenthal,who thereafter resigned as district attorney,said that the evidence was insufficient to support the indictment.[5]
Dick DeGuerin,the Medinas' attorney explained that the Medinas did not start the fire and "didn't have anything to gain. That was their dream house."[6]
Texas Open Beaches Act
In 2012,Justice Medina "wrote a persuasive dissent in the court's recent wrong-headed ruling on the Texas Open Beaches Act."[7] Medina's dissent,which protects the public's ability to access beaches,was well received.[8] In contrast,the majority decision was criticized by Texas Attorney General Greg Abbott as being based on "nothing."[9]
Some other notable opinions
Irving Marks v. St. Luke's Episcopal Hospital,August 28,2009[10]
In the May 29,2012 Republican primary Medina faced two challengers,including former state district court Judge John Devine,who is best known for his refusal to remove a posting of the Ten Commandments from his courtroom.[16] Justice Medina received more votes than his two opponents but not enough to avoid a run-off.
On July 31,2012,Medina lost his bid for re-election,after John Devine polled 498,937 votes (53.3 percent) to Justice Medina's 437,637 ballots (46.7 percent).[17][18] Running without Democratic opposition,Devine easily prevailed in the November 6 general election. He succeeded Justice Medina on the court in January 2013.
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