Rebecca Simmons

This page was current at the end of the individual's last campaign covered by Ballotpedia. Please contact us with any updates.

Rebecca Simmons

Republican Party

Elections and appointments

Last election

November 6, 2018

Education

Bachelor's

Austin College

Law

Baylor University

Personal

Religion

Christian

Profession

Attorney

Contact

Campaign website

Personal website

Personal Twitter

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Rebecca Simmons (Republican Party) ran for election for the Place 5 judge of the Texas Fourth District Court of Appeals. She lost in the general election on November 6, 2018.

Simmons completed Ballotpedia's Candidate Connection survey in 2018. Click here to read the survey answers.

Simmons was a judge on the Texas Fourth District Court of Appeals. She was appointed to this position in May of 2005. She retired from the court on December 31, 2012, after losing a bid for re-election.

Biography

Rebecca Simmons earned a B.A. from Austin College in 1978 and a J.D. from Baylor University School of Law in 1980. Simmons’ career experience includes working as a briefing attorney with the Texas Supreme Court, an associate general counsel with Acelity, and an adjunct professor with St. Mary's University School of Law. She serves as chair of the Judicial Committee on Information Technology, which describes its mission as “to establish standards and guidelines for the systematic implementation and integration of technology in Texas' trial and appellate courts.”

Simmons was appointed to serve as a justice of the the 408th Judicial District Court (Bexar County) in 2003. She held this position until her appointment to the Court of Appeals in 2005.

Elections

2018

See also: Texas intermediate appellate court elections, 2018

General election

General election for Texas Fourth District Court of Appeals Place 5

Liza Rodriguez defeated Rebecca Simmons in the general election for Texas Fourth District Court of Appeals Place 5 on November 6, 2018.

		Candidate	%	Votes
✔		Liza Rodriguez (D)	52.4	433,796
		Rebecca Simmons (R)	47.6	393,321

---

	There were no incumbents in this race. The results have been certified. Source	Total votes: 827,117
= candidate completed the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection survey.
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.
Do you want a spreadsheet of this type of data? Contact our sales team.

Democratic primary election

Democratic primary for Texas Fourth District Court of Appeals Place 5

Liza Rodriguez advanced from the Democratic primary for Texas Fourth District Court of Appeals Place 5 on March 6, 2018.

		Candidate
✔		Liza Rodriguez

---

	There were no incumbents in this race. The results have been certified.
= candidate completed the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection survey.
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.
Do you want a spreadsheet of this type of data? Contact our sales team.

Republican primary election

Republican primary for Texas Fourth District Court of Appeals Place 5

Rebecca Simmons advanced from the Republican primary for Texas Fourth District Court of Appeals Place 5 on March 6, 2018.

		Candidate
✔		Rebecca Simmons

---

	There were no incumbents in this race. The results have been certified.
= candidate completed the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection survey.
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.
Do you want a spreadsheet of this type of data? Contact our sales team.

2012

See also: Texas judicial elections, 2012

Simmons was defeated by judicial candidate Patricia Alvarez in the general election on November 6, 2012.

Campaign themes

2018

Ballotpedia survey responses

See also: Ballotpedia's Candidate Connection

Rebecca Simmons completed Ballotpedia's Candidate Connection survey. The survey questions appear in bold and are followed by Simmons' responses.

What would be your top three priorities, if elected?

1. Make the appeal process more efficient and timely by amending the internal operating procedures of the Fourth Court of Appeals. 2. Encourage the hiring of one-year law clerks to bring fresh insight and provide mentoring opportunities. 3. Focus on reviewing and completing appeals in a thorough and timely fashion.

What areas of public policy are you personally passionate about?

I am very involved in increasing access to justice through technology improvements to our legal processes. I currently serve as Chair of the Judicial Committee on Information Technology that advises the Texas Supreme Court on technology issues. JCIT has promoted the implementation of e-filing of court records across the state. Through this process we have included electronic forms that make it easier to access the legal system. JCIT is currently in the process of implementing remote public access to court house public records across the state. The remote access makes it easier for those without lawyers or limited financial means to participate in the legal process.

What qualities do you possess that you believe would make you a successful officeholder?

As a former district court judge and appellate justice I posses a good understanding of what the job requires: a strong work ethic, a broad legal background and great writing skills. As a lawyer for over 25 years, adjunct professor at our local law school for over twenty years and a judge and justice for over 13 years, I have the background and skills necessary for the Fourth Court of Appeals.

What do you believe are the core responsibilities for someone elected to this office?

The core responsibilities of an appellate justice: 1. To review cases carefully and thoroughly 2. Apply the law without bias or prejudice 3. Craft a timely opinion that is concise, clear and precise

If you could be any fictional character, who would you want to be?

Atticus Finch

Do you believe that empathy is an important quality for a judge?

I believe empathy is an important quality for all human beings

Have you ever been rated by a Bar Association? If so, what was the rating?

In the recent state bar of Texas election poll I received the most votes of any candidate or incumbent on the Fourth Court of Appeals. In prior years I received very positive ratings as a district court and appellate judge from our local bar poll.

Do you believe that the Bar Association ratings are an accurate reflection of a judge's ability?

I think they are a rough reflection of your peers thoughts on your performance.

Why are you running for this particular court seat?

Because I bring needed experience to this court and fresh ideas to make the court more efficient.

If you are not a sitting judge, do you have previous judicial experience? Do you believe it's important to have that kind of experience for this judgeship?

I am a prior trial court judge and appellate justice and I currently sit as a visiting judge, or a judge that sits by assignment when other judges are recused or sick or have a backlog. I sit at both the trial court and appellate court levels around the State of Texas. I believe prior appellate experience is an absolute requirement to be an appellate justice. Trial work is important but appellate experience is key.

Do you believe that it's beneficial for a judge to have previous experience in government or politics?

It is beneficial to have previous judicial experience.

Note: Ballotpedia reserves the right to edit Candidate Connection survey responses. Any edits made by Ballotpedia will be clearly marked with [brackets] for the public. If the candidate disagrees with an edit, he or she may request the full removal of the survey response from Ballotpedia.org. Ballotpedia does not edit or correct typographical errors unless the candidate's campaign requests it.

See also

• Texas Court of Appeals

External links

• Search Google News for this topic
• Campaign website
• Campaign Facebook page
• Campaign Twitter page
• Campaign YouTube page
• LinkedIn page
• Official Texas Fourth Court of Appeals website
• "Seventh Woman Picked for Bench," San Antonio Express-News, April 1, 2005 (dead link)
• "Simmons to fill vacancy on 408th District Courth," San Antonio Business Journal, April 7, 2003
• "High court open seat attracts another candidate for 2010," Tex Parte Blog, August 14, 2009
• "Three candidates so far for O’Neill’s seat on the Texas Supreme Court," Supreme Court of Texas Blog, August 14, 2009
• "Texas Supreme Court candidates wanted," Brains and Eggs, August 17, 2009