The Collin County Observer

In his continuing series of profiles of the judicial races, Frisco's DWI Attorney, Hunter Biederman takes a look at the candidates in the race for Court at Law #2.

His original article can be read on his blog, The Frisco DWI Attorney & Lawyer Blog.

Bill

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The Race For Collin County Court Two

Posted on November 5, 2009 by Hunter Biederman
The Frisco DWI Attorney & Lawyer Blog

I was informed today that long time sitting judge, Judge Jerry Lewis of Collin County Court Two has drawn an opponent, Sharon Ramage. I spoke with Sharon today who is going to email me some information about her campaign and a photo. However, I am impatient and pulled stuff from her website. I will update as needed. . . .

Considering there are several other open benches, most attorneys in the area were surprised at the news. But it does makes some sense considering each of the open benches have already garnered several candidates. See other posts on County Court 3, County Court 6, and District Court 219th.

Below are the candidates for the race:

JERRY LEWIS

Judge Lewis is the current sitting judge in County Court Two for over 20 years. I pulled his information from a facebook page created on his behalf.

Judge Lewis was first elected in 1986 and has presided over 22,000 cases. Judge Lewis is a former First Assistant District Attorney for Collin County and has ten years experience as a prosecuting attorney. He has served two terms as the Local Administrative Judge, of his fellow Court at Law Judges.

Judge Lewis is a military veteran, with 4 years active duty in the United States Army as a Captain and 5 more in the Reserves. He has been a Boy Scout leader for over 25 years and was awarded the Silver Beaver Award in 2004 - the highest adult honor given by the local Circle Ten Council.

Based on his facebook page, he will have a campaign website up soon: www.judgejerrylewis.com

SHARON RAMAGE

Sharon Ramage has been licensed to practice law since 1992. As a former social worker, Ms. Ramage has practiced law in many areas specific to protecting children since that time. From 1992-1997, Sharon served as an Assistant Criminal District Attorney in Tarrant County, and was assigned to the Crimes Against Children Division from 1995-1997.

After resigning from the District Attorney’s Office, Ms. Ramage opened a private practice in Tarrant County, where she practiced special education law and family law. Since 2000, Ms. Ramage has worked in private practice in Collin County, primarily in the area of family law and adoption. Since 2003, she has also served as a Special Education Hearing Officer and Mediator for the Texas Education Agency, conducing special education due process hearings and mediating disputes between schools and parents.

Sharon is married and the mother of two children adopted from China.

Hunter Biederman is a DWI / Criminal Defense Attorney in Collin County. He publishes his blog (www.friscodwilawyer.com) which focuses on the Collin County and Texas legal system. He can be reached at friscolaw@gmail.com or (888) DWI-FRISCO.

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Bill comments:

Until today, I've been somewhat surprised that it didn't look like Judge Jerry Lewis would face any opposition for the County Court at Law #2 bench.

In both the 2007 and 2005 Collin County Bar Polls Judge Lewis has been rated by local attorneys as the second worse judge in the county.

In 2005 the judge who rated the lowest in "How would you describe this judge's overall performance?" was John O'Keefe Barry in the Count Court at Law #3. Only 13% of the lawyers rated him as "excellent", while 50% voted for "needs improvement.

Judge Lewis fared only slightly better than Barry, with 14% rating him as "excellent and 45% saying he "needed improvement.

In the last bar poll, taken in 2007, Judge Charles Sandoval was awarded the dubious honor of Worst Judge in Collin County. His overall performance was rated "excellent" by only 12% of the lawyers polled, while 29% said he "needed improvement. The next year, Sandoval's re-election bid in the primary was thwarted by Suzanne Wooten.

Once again, Judge Jerry Lewis took 2nd from the bottom billing, with 18% rating his performance as excellent and 32% voting that he 'needed improvement".

The 2009 Bar Poll has not yet taken place. Normally the poll is done in November in election years, and the results are published in December.

Bill