Debra Lehrmann

Debra Ann H. Lehrmann
Associate Justice of the Texas Supreme Court
Incumbent
Assumed office June 2010
Preceded by	Harriet O'Neill
State District Judge (360th Judicial District) in Tarrant County, Texas
In office 1987 – June 2010
Personal details
Born	November 16, 1956 (1956-11-16) (age 54) Harris County, Texas
Nationality	American
Political party	Republican
Spouse(s)	Greg Lehrmann
Children	Gregory Lehrmann Jonathan Lehrmann
Residence	Colleyville Tarrant County, Texas
Alma mater	University of Texas at Austin
Occupation	Attorney
Religion	United Methodist
The Republican Lehrmann of Fort Worth handily defeated the Democrat, Judge Jim Sharp[1] of Houston, in the general election for the Texas Supreme Court on November 2, 2010.

Debra Ann H. Lehrmann (born November 16, 1956) is one of the eight associate justices of the Texas Supreme Court, a civil and juvenile tribunal, and a former 360th Judicial District Court^[2] judge from Fort Worth, Texas.

In the November 2, 2010, general election, Lehrmann, a Republican, won the Place 3 position on the court by defeating her Democratic opponent, Jim Sharp. Lehrmann polled 2,902,003 votes (59.9 percent) to Sharp's 1,805,837 (37.3 percent). A Libertarian, William Bryan Strange, III, polled the remaining 138,579 ballots (2.9 percent).^[3]

Lehrmann succeeds the retired Justice Harriet O'Neill on the all Republican body. When O'Neill stepped down in June 2010, with more than six months left in her six-year term, Governor Rick Perry appointed Lehrmann immediately to the position.

Lehrmann had been a judge with speciality in family issues and abuse cases since 1987. She trailed former State Representative Rick Green of Dripping Springs in Hays County in the March 2 Republican primary election. Her second-place primary finish propelled her into April 13 runoff, in which she topped the more conservative Green by some 12,000 votes.^[4]

Green is an attorney and a lecturer on the Constitution of the United States. Sharp is a First Circuit Court of Appeals judge from Houston, and Strange is a real estate lawyer from Dallas.

Green led Judge Lehrmann by approximately eight thousand votes in the six-candidate primary. He polled 212,797 votes (18.9 percent); Lehrmann received 204,547 ballots (18.20 percent). The four remaining candidates split a combined 63 percent of the vote. In third place was Jim Moseley, with 203,720 (18.13 percent).^[4] In the runoff for the Supreme Court nomination, the only contested race statewide on either party's ballot, Lehrmann prevailed by more than 12,000 votes, 172,813 (51.8 percent) to 160,572 (48.2 percent).^[5] In her own Tarrant County, Lehrman prevailed, 61-39 percent.^[5]

In her campaign literature, Lehrmann predicted the Democrats would make the Place 3 Supreme Court race their top target in Texas in 2010.^[6] She claimed that she will have a better chance of defeating Sharp than would have Green, who has no experience as a judge. "I have a conservative judicial record of applying the law as written and not legislating from the bench. My twenty-two years of experience on the bench, my experience as a prosecutor and in private practice, and my legal writing skills will be an asset to the court", Lehrmann said.^[6]

Lehrmann carries the support of the interest group, Texans for Lawsuit Reform and the political action committees of the Texas Medical Association, the Texas Hospital Association, the Texas Farm Bureau, the Texas Restaurant Association, and the Texas and Southwestern Cattle Raisers Association. She is also endorsed by former Texas Supreme Court Justices Thomas R. Phillips and Craig T. Enoch.^[6]

Judge Lehrmann is a native of Harris County. A member of Phi Beta Kappa, she graduated with high honors in 1979 from the University of Texas at Austin. In 1982, she received her Juris Doctor degree from the University of Texas School of Law. Prior to her appointment to the bench, she practiced family law with the Fort Worth law firm of Law, Snakard & Gambill. In 1990, she was named the "Outstanding Young Lawyer of Tarrant County." In 2003, she was cited by the Texas Bar Foundation for having written the "best bar journal article" of the year. She and her husband, Greg Lehrmann, have two adult sons, Gregory and Jonathan Lehrmann. The family resides in Colleyville near Fort Worth in Tarrant County. They are active members of the First United Methodist Church of Colleyville.^[7]

References

1. ^ http://www.1stcoa.courts.state.tx.us/court/justice_jsharp.asp.
2. ^ District courts in Texas are numbered in the order of their creation by the Texas State Legislature.
3. ^ "Texas general election returns, November 2, 2010". Texas Secretary of State. http://enr.sos.state.tx.us/enr/results/nov02_154_state.htm. Retrieved November 14, 2010. 
4. ^ ^{a b} "Republican primary election returns, March 2, 2010". enr.sos.state.tx.us. http://enr.sos.state.tx.us/enr/results/mar02_148_state.htm. Retrieved April 5, 2010. 
5. ^ ^{a b} "Texas Republican runoff election results, April 13, 2010". enr.sos.state.tx.us. http://enr.sos.state.tx.us/enr/results/apr13_150_state.htm. Retrieved April 17, 2010. 
6. ^ ^{a b c} Mailed brochure, "Judge Debra Lehrmann for Texas Supreme Court", April 2010
7. ^ "Judge Debra Lehrmann". judgedegbralehrmann.com. http://judgedebralehrmann.com/about.shtml. Retrieved April 17, 2010. 

Persondata
Name	Lehrmann, Debra
Alternative names
Short description
Date of birth	November 16, 1956
Place of birth	Harris County, Texas
Date of death
Place of death