James Patrick Sharp Jr. (born c. 1952), known as Jim Sharp, is a former

justice Justice, in its broadest sense, is the principle that people receive that which they deserve, with the interpretation of what then constitutes "deserving" being impacted upon by numerous fields, with many differing viewpoints and perspective ...

of the First Texas Court of Appeals, based in

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, serving from January 2009 to December 2014.

Education and background

Sharp received a BA from the University of Texas at Austin and a JD from South Texas College of Law. Prior to attending law school, he worked for the

Washington, D.C. ) , image_skyline = , image_caption = Clockwise from top left: the Washington Monument and Lincoln Memorial on the National Mall, United States Capitol, Logan Circle, Jefferson Memorial, White House, Adams Morgan, ...

, political consulting firm of Matt Reese & Associates. Prior to being elected to the First Texas Court of Appeals, Sharp practiced as a general solo practitioner for nineteen years.

Judicial career

Sharp was elected to the First Court of Appeals in November 2008 as part of a Democratic sweep that also replaced many Republican incumbents with Democrats in the Harris County courthouse. A

Dallas Dallas () is the List of municipalities in Texas, third largest city in Texas and the largest city in the Dallas–Fort Worth metroplex, the List of metropolitan statistical areas, fourth-largest metropolitan area in the United States at 7.5 ...

native, Sharp was the court's only

Democrat Democrat, Democrats, or Democratic may refer to: Politics *A proponent of democracy, or democratic government; a form of government involving rule by the people. *A member of a Democratic Party: **Democratic Party (United States) (D) **Democratic ...

during his time of office. He ran for re-election to a second six-year term in 2014. Sharp was unopposed in the Democratic

primary election Primary elections, or direct primary are a voting process by which voters can indicate their preference for their party's candidate, or a candidate in general, in an upcoming general election, local election, or by-election. Depending on the ...

but lost to his Republican opponent in the

general election A general election is a political voting election where generally all or most members of a given political body are chosen. These are usually held for a nation, state, or territory's primary legislative body, and are different from by-elections ( ...

. The ''

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'' had recommended that Justice Sharp not be reelected because of his disciplinary record while on the appellate bench. In 2016, Sharp lost his bid for the Place 2 seat on the 14th Circuit Court of Appeals, which encompasses part of Harris and nine other counties, including

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, garnering 30 percent of the vote.

Disciplinary history

In 2012, Justice Sharp was barred from hearing a neighboring county's cases in a dispute over a

shoplifting Shoplifting is the theft of goods from an open retail establishment, typically by concealing a store item on one's person, in pockets, under clothes or in a bag, and leaving the store without paying. With clothing, shoplifters may put on items ...

charge against a friend's daughter. Sharp tried to use his influence improperly demand the girl's release from a juvenile detention facility. In a voice mail to a state district court judge in Brazoria County Sharp said, in reference to a detention supervisor, "If I had been there in person and had a baseball bat, that (expletive) would have been cracked upside the head." Sharp went on to call Brazoria County authorities as "a bunch of backwoods hillbillies." Brazoria County District Attorney Jeri Yenne filed a complaint with the State Commission on Judicial Conduct and asked that Sharp be recused from Brazoria County cases, a request granted by the Court of Appeals.

References

External links

Houston Case Law Monitor Entry for Justice Jim Sharp
{{DEFAULTSORT:Sharp, Jim (justice) 1952 births Living people Texas Democrats University of Texas at Austin College of Liberal Arts alumni South Texas College of Law alumni Lawyers from Dallas Lawyers from Houston Texas state court judges