Justice John Devine of the Texas Supreme Court is being questioned again about his fairness after a video of him this week went viral in which he seemed to suggest that Democrats are planning to cheat against Donald Trump in the 2024 election.
“Do you think the Democrats are going to roll over and let Trump be president again??” Devine asked in a keynote speech at the Texas Tea Party Republican Women’s Christmas celebration. “You believe they will simply vanish, then discover Jesus and [there will be an honest election]. I do not think so.
Former anti-abortion campaigner Devine argues that church-state separation is a fallacy and, in the 1990s Harris County, battled to have a copy of the Ten Commandments displayed in his courtroom as a state district judge. Claiming to have been imprisoned 37 times at anti-abortion demonstrations in the 1980s, he ran a strong 2012 campaign for the Texas Supreme Court and has since become a consistent friend of conservative, Christian voters in the state.
Texas Supreme Court justice implies Democrats will cheat in 2024 election https://t.co/FCQP3T6edQ
— KSAT 12 (@ksatnews) April 7, 2024
After narrowly escaping a GOP primary challenge last month based on his ethics, Devine now faces Democrat state district court Judge Christine Vinh Weems in the November general election.
In his remarks, Devine said the court might hear other election issues, including ones involving Harris County, which he accused of trying to “bastardize” election rules when it extended voting access during the COVID-19 epidemic. The Texas Supreme Court later rejected many of the county’s procedures.
“I believe those kinds of circumstances will resurface in this cycle,” he said.
Then Devine commended Sen. Paul Bettencourt, R-Houston, who supported many bills meant for Harris County following the 2020 elections. The Texas Supreme Court last year refused to invalidate a statute written by Bettencourt eliminating the post of elections administrator for Harris County.
Attending Devine’s address, Bettencourt returned the compliments: “You’re one of the reasons we do win fights at the Supreme Court,” he said to Devine.
In a Saturday statement, Harris County Attorney Christian Menefee criticized Devine’s remarks, characterizing them as ” shockingly inappropriate” and linking them to general mistrust of the court.
Menefee added, “Judges should be honestly examining and applying our state’s laws, not giving partisan speeches baselessly accusing members of a rival political party of “cheating in elections.” “It is grossly improper for a sitting justice to disparage remarks directed against a party who has been and will always be before his court.
Though given his concession that he sees himself helping Republicans in a “fight” against Democrats, I won’t hold my breath. Justice Devine should act with integrity and abstain from Harris County proceedings going forward.
Texas Supreme Court justice implies Democrats will cheat in 2024 election https://t.co/s77TLWe92L
— CBS News Texas (@CBSNewsTexas) April 6, 2024
Not only were election controversies among the hot-button topics Devine discussed that evening. Using apocalyptic rhetoric when talking about Democrats, he denounced court challenges to Texas’ abortion laws as a “mockery of God,” stating his judgeship offered him a “front-row seat to the end of the world.” His forty-minute speech
“Our culture is dying right in front of our eyes,” he remarked. “The church seems to be weak and clueless about what to do. Our administration is under corruption. Federal level, we are governed by a criminal enterprise. Nobody of you is going to be able to flee this. And therefore I would beg you to approach the Lord. I would beg you to start preparing. I would beg you to invite other people.
Friday’s request for comments regarding the remarks or internet criticism of them went unpackled by Devine. The reaction comes barely a month after the Tribune revealed another speech he gave last year, in which he once more alleged that Democrats had undertaken electoral theft. Devine also attacked his peers on the all-Republican Texas Supreme Court in his address as “brainwashed” by “Big Law.”
“At times I feel like they would sacrifice the Republic for the sake of the process,” Devine remarked in his speech. “I worry that they all submit to the altar of process instead of loyalty to the Constitution. And when I say that, it’s not intended to be hostility directed at my colleagues. I believe their training and brainwashing style reflected their attitude.
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Devine has lately been asked about other ethical issues. Bloomberg News earlier this year said he had missed more than half of oral arguments before the court this year while running for reelection.
The Tribune also revealed in February that Devine did not abstain from 2022 while the court examined a well-publicized sex assault lawsuit against Southern Baptist leader Paul Pressler and his long-time law partner, Jared Woodfill. Devine, the Tribune discovered, had worked for years for Pressler and Woodfill’s law practice and simultaneously claimed he had been abused by Pressler while employed by the company.
