Dabney Bassel
2019 - Present
2030
6
Dabney Bassel (Republican Party) is a judge for Place 5 of the Texas Second District Court of Appeals. He assumed office in 2019. His current term ends on December 31, 2030.
Bassel (Republican Party) ran for re-election for the Place 5 judge of the Texas Second District Court of Appeals. He won in the general election on November 5, 2024.
Biography
Dabney Bassel lives in Fort Worth, Texas. He earned a B.A. in history from Trinity University in 1979 and a J.D. from Baylor University School of Law in 1982. Bassel’s career experience includes working as an attorney with his own law firm, the Law Office of Dabney Bassel.[1][2]
Elections
2024
See also: Texas intermediate appellate court elections, 2024
General election
General election for Texas Second District Court of Appeals Place 5
Incumbent Dabney Bassel won election in the general election for Texas Second District Court of Appeals Place 5 on November 5, 2024.
Candidate | % | Votes | ||
| ✔ | Dabney Bassel (R) | 100.0 | 1,043,047 | |
| Total votes: 1,043,047 | ||||
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Republican primary election
Republican primary for Texas Second District Court of Appeals Place 5
Incumbent Dabney Bassel advanced from the Republican primary for Texas Second District Court of Appeals Place 5 on March 5, 2024.
Candidate | % | Votes | ||
| ✔ | Dabney Bassel | 100.0 | 239,642 | |
| Total votes: 239,642 | ||||
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Campaign finance
Endorsements
Ballotpedia did not identify endorsements for Bassel in this election.
2018
General election
General election for Texas Second District Court of Appeals Place 5
Dabney Bassel defeated Delonia Watson in the general election for Texas Second District Court of Appeals Place 5 on November 6, 2018.
Candidate | % | Votes | ||
| ✔ | Dabney Bassel (R) | 58.3 | 622,466 | |
| Delonia Watson (D) | 41.7 | 444,612 | ||
| Total votes: 1,067,078 | ||||
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Democratic primary election
Democratic primary for Texas Second District Court of Appeals Place 5
Delonia Watson advanced from the Democratic primary for Texas Second District Court of Appeals Place 5 on March 6, 2018.
Candidate | ||
| ✔ | Delonia Watson | |
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Republican primary election
Republican primary for Texas Second District Court of Appeals Place 5
Dabney Bassel advanced from the Republican primary for Texas Second District Court of Appeals Place 5 on March 6, 2018.
Candidate | ||
| ✔ | Dabney Bassel | |
| If you are a candidate and would like to tell readers and voters more about why they should vote for you, complete the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection Survey. | ||||
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Campaign themes
2024
Ballotpedia survey responses
See also: Ballotpedia's Candidate Connection
Dabney Bassel did not complete Ballotpedia's 2024 Candidate Connection survey.
2018
Ballotpedia survey responses
- See also: Ballotpedia's candidate surveys
Dabney Bassel participated in Ballotpedia's candidate survey on September 25, 2018. The survey questions appear in bold, and Dabney Bassel's responses follow below.[3]
What would be your top three priorities, if elected?
| “ | Justices on the Court of Appeals face two challenges—deciding appeals correctly and timely. The first challenge dictates any appellate judge’s top three priorities: 1) careful consideration of the arguments; 2) care in the preparation of opinions; and 3) an open-mind to the views of the other justices. The second challenge requires the dedication to make sure the parties have their appeals resolved timely.[4][5] | ” |
What areas of public policy are you personally passionate about? Why?
| “ | Ensuring that all who enter the justice system are treated fairly and equally.Cite error: Invalid <ref> tag; invalid names, e.g. too many[5]
|
” |
Ballotpedia also asked the candidate a series of optional questions. Dabney Bassel answered the following:
Is there a book, essay, film, or something else that best describes your political philosophy?
| “ | Reading Law: The Interpretation of Legal Texts by Antonin Scalia and Bryan Garner[5] | ” |
| “ | That I was a judge who considered each side’s arguments, fairly characterized and analyzed those arguments, and wrote opinions that studiously adhered to the law and accurately portrayed the facts involved in each case.[5] | ” |
| “ | Four core principles ground my judicial philosophy: (1) fidelity to the principle that cases should be decided based only on the facts and the law; (2) a textual approach to the interpretation of statutes to ensure that judges do not legislate from the bench; (3) a respect for precedent, within proper bounds; and (4) a respect for the principle of separation of powers that is the foundation of our system of government.[5] | ” |
| “ | I worked with Chief Justice Clarence Guittard, who served on the Dallas Court of Appeals. Chief Justice Guittard is remembered as an icon of Texas appellate judges because he embodied excellence on the appellate bench. He combined diligence, scholarship, a dedication to good writing, and congeniality with those who disagreed with him (up to a reasonable point). He was also a constant monitor of the timeliness and quality of the court's work.[5] | ” |
| “ | The court of appeals can be the only opportunity that a person has to fix an injustice that happened at trial. It is usually the last court that can fix the problem because it decides all appeals properly presented to it.
Appellate courts of last resort in Texas—The Texas Supreme Court and Court of Criminal Appeals—have what is called discretionary jurisdiction, and a party has to convince those courts that case is important enough for the court to hear the case. Since the court of appeals is often the last court to hear a case, its decisions have to be right. The consequences of a bad decision can be tragic: people can be ruined financially, parents can lose their children, the innocent can go to jail or the guilty be set free.[5] |
” |
| “ | The Tarrant County Bar Association conducted a Judicial Candidate Qualification Poll. Of the 260 “Well Qualified” votes cast by local lawyers between me and my opponent, I received 233 of those votes. The State Bar of Texas also conducted a judicial poll. I received almost 70% of the votes cast in that poll.[5] | ” |
| “ | The polls conducted by local Bar Associations are helpful to the voters. The polls let voters know how lawyers who have practiced with the candidates view their abilities.[5] | ” |
| “ | I do not have prior judicial experience and do not believe that prior experience is necessary to do the job of a justice on the Court of Appeals. Experience in appellate matters is vital. I have that experience. I began my career as a briefing attorney for a court of appeals. I have handled appeals and done litigation for 35 years. For almost 20 years, I’ve held a certification in Civil Appellate Law from the Texas Board of Legal Specialization that is held by less one-half of one percent of the lawyers in Texas.[5] | ” |
2016
- Main article: Texas judicial elections, 2016
Bassel ran for a seat on the Texas Second District Court of Appeals in the 2016 elections. The seat was held by Judge Anne Gardner (R), who announced that she would not seek re-election in 2016. Bassel is a registered Republican and faced four other Republicans in a primary elections. No Democrats filed to run for Gardner's seat.[6] Bassel and Elizabeth Kerr were the top two finishers; since neither received more than 50 percent of the vote, they faced each other in a May 24 runoff.[6]
May 24 primary runoff
| Texas Second District Court of Appeals Republican Runoff, Seat 3, 2016 | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Party | Candidate | Vote % | Votes | |
| Republican |  Elizabeth Kerr |
54.83% | 25,628 | |
| Republican | Dabney Bassel | 45.17% | 21,116 | |
| Total Votes (100% Reporting) | 46,744 | |||
| Source: Texas Secretary of State Official Results | ||||
March 1 primary
| Texas Second District Court of Appeals, Seat 3, Republican Primary, 2016 | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Party | Candidate | Vote % | Votes | |
| Republican | Elizabeth Kerr |
33.15% | 89,272 | |
| Republican | Dabney Bassel |
18.83% | 50,706 | |
| Republican | Andy Porter | 18.81% | 50,656 | |
| Republican | Bill Ray | 17.28% | 46,532 | |
| Republican | Mary Johndroe | 11.94% | 32,158 | |
| Total Votes (100% Reporting) | 269,324 | |||
| Source: Texas Secretary of State Official Results | ||||
Campaign finance summary
Note: The finance data shown here comes from the disclosures required of candidates and parties. Depending on the election or state, this may represent only a portion of all the funds spent on their behalf. Satellite spending groups may or may not have expended funds related to the candidate or politician on whose page you are reading this disclaimer. Campaign finance data from elections may be incomplete. For elections to federal offices, complete data can be found at the FEC website. Click here for more on federal campaign finance law and here for more on state campaign finance law.
See also
2024 Elections
External links
|
Officeholder Texas Second District Court of Appeals Place 5 |
Footnotes
- ↑ Dabney Bassel for 2nd Court of Appeals, Place 5, "Meet Dabney," accessed February 6, 2018
- ↑ Dabney Bassel, Attorney at Law, "Home," accessed February 6, 2018
- ↑ Note: The candidate's answers have been reproduced here verbatim without edits or corrections by Ballotpedia.
- ↑ Ballotpedia's candidate survey, "Dabney Bassel's responses," September 25, 2018
- ↑ 5.0 5.1 5.2 5.3 5.4 5.5 5.6 5.7 5.8 5.9 Note: This text is quoted verbatim from the original source. Any inconsistencies are attributable to the original source.
- ↑ 6.0 6.1 Texas Secretary of State, "2016 March Primary Election Candidate Filings by County," accessed December 19, 2015
| Political offices | ||
|---|---|---|
| Preceded by - |
Texas Second District Court of Appeals Place 5 2019-Present |
Succeeded by - |
Federal courts:
Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals • U.S. District Court: Eastern District of Texas, Western District of Texas, Northern District of Texas, Southern District of Texas • U.S. Bankruptcy Court: Eastern District of Texas, Western District of Texas, Northern District of Texas, Southern District of Texas
State courts:
Texas Supreme Court • Texas Court of Appeals • Texas Court of Criminal Appeals • Texas District Courts • Texas County Courts • Texas County Courts at Law • Texas Statutory Probate Courts • Texas Justice of the Peace Courts
State resources:
Courts in Texas • Texas judicial elections • Judicial selection in Texas
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