David M. Medina
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
| David Michael Medina | |
|
Texas Supreme Court Justice
|
|
| Incumbent | |
| Assumed office 2004 |
|
| Preceded by | Wallace B. Jefferson |
|---|---|
|
|
|
| Born | 1958 Galveston, Texas, USA |
| Nationality | American |
| Political party | Republican |
| Spouse | Francisca J. Stult Medina |
| Residence | Harris County, Texas |
| Occupation | Attorney; Judge |
David Michael Medina (born 1958) is a Justice of the Texas Supreme Court. He serves in the Place 4 position. He was elected to a full-term in 2006; his term will expire in 2012. All members of the court are Republicans.
Medina was elected in 2006 without a Democratic opponent. Unopposed for the Republican nomination, he handily defeated his Libertarian Party challenger, Jerry Adkins, 2,558,036 (75.5 percent) to 830,780 (24.5 percent).[1]
Contents |
[edit] Appointment to the court and professional experience
Medina succeeded Wallace B. Jefferson in Place 4 after Jefferson was appointed to be chief justice, following the retirement of Tom Phillips. Governor Rick Perry appointed Medina on November 10, 2004. Medina had been Perry's General Counsel since January 2004.
Before that, he was associate general counsel for Cooper Industries in Houston from 2000-2004 and served on the 157th State District Court bench in Harris County from 1996-2000 after appointment in May 1996 by then-Governor George W. Bush. He was elected in November 1996 and again in November 1998. The Houston Bar Association voted him as one of the top jurists in Harris County.
Medina rejoined Cooper in 2000 as associate general counsel for 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.
[edit] Background and education
Medina was born on Galveston Island, attended public schools in Hitchcock and graduated with a bachelor of science degree from Texas State University at San Marcos in 1980. In college he competed on the university’s karate and baseball teams and was on the Dean’s List. In 1989 he earned his Juris Doctor degree from South Texas College of Law in Houston. He was on the Dean’s List and a member of the American Bar Association Regional Moot Court National Championship Team.
Medina is a former board member of Habitat for Humanity and Houston Metro. He currently serves on the board for 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.
[edit] Indictment dropped
Medina faced an indictment by a Harris County grand jury , but charges were eventually dropped as frivolous.[2]
Early in 2008, Justice Medina and his wife, the former Francisca J. Stult (born ca. 1957) were indicted in regard to an arson-related fire on June 28, 2007, which destroyed their home of fifteen years in suburban Spring and also damaged the house of a neighbor. The indictment was dismissed by State District Court Judge Brian Rains, at the request of then Harris County District Attorney Chuck Rosenthal. The dismissal prompted the grand jury foreman, Robert Ryan, to threaten to reconvene the panel and re-issue the charge. Rosenthal, who thereafter resigned as district attorney in a personal scandal, said that the evidence against the Medinas was insufficient to support the indictment. Medina had been charged with tampering with evidence, and Mrs. Medina with arson. The damages amounted to approximately $900,000.[3]
The Harris County Fire Marshal's office determined that the fire was neither electrical nor accidental. A dog detected an accelerant at the scene. Investigators became suspicious after discovering that a mortgage company sued in June 2006 to foreclose on the home. The suit, filed after the Medinas missed payments for five months, was settled in December 2006. Yates acknowledged the family had financial problems. They owed nearly $1,900 in fees to a homeowners association and also let the insurance on the house lapse, meaning losses from the fire were not insured.[3]
Dick DeGuerin, Mrs. Medina's attorney explained that his client did not start the fire and "didn't have anything to gain. That was their dream house."[4]
[edit] References
[edit] External links
| Preceded by Wallace B. Jefferson |
Texas Supreme Court Justice, Place 4 2004 – present |
Incumbent |
