Al Bennett - Democrat for for Judge, 61st Civil District Court

Greetings! I hope this brief note finds you well. Since you played such a large role in my election in 2008 as presiding judge of the 61st Civil District Court, I want to take a moment to update you on my duties and accomplishments over the past 16 months. I promised you that I would “hit the ground running” and I did.

First and foremost, I am proud to report that in 2009, my first year on the bench, I conducted fifteen jury trials and disposed of 1,027 other cases. That represents a 50% increase in the number of jury trials and a 26% increase in the number of disposed cases from the previous year.

Moreover, as you may have seen in the Texas Lawyer and the Houston Chronicle, in January 2010, I assumed the duties of Civil Administrative Judge for Harris County’s civil district courts. The Civil AJ’s duties include presiding over monthly meetings of the civil board (comprised of all 24 civil district judges), appointing chairs and members of the civil board’s standing committees, and transferring cases among the civil district courts as required.

In addition, I continued my community service to both the bar and public by serving as a member of the Houston Bar Association’s Harris County Bench Bar Pro Bono Awards Committee, a director of the OST/Almeda Corridors Redevelopment Authority & Reinvestment Zone Number Seven, a board member of the University of Texas School of Law Alumni Association, and as a judge of the Annual MLK Oratory Competition featuring students from H.I.S.D. I also served as guest speaker at several noteworthy events - the Thurgood Marshall School of Law 2009 December Commencement, the Area I Top Teens Academy Summer 2009 Graduation Program, the American Bar Association’s Litigation Section’s Chemical Product & Toxic Tort Seminar, H.I.S.D.’s Real Men Read Night, University of Houston Center for Public Policy, the Mickey Leland Congressional Intern Program, and the South Texas College of Law’s Insurance Seminar just to name a few.

Of course, one of my greatest joys has been serving as the Tiger Den Leader for my youngest son’s Cub Scout Troop at Wheeler Avenue Baptist Church - a cherished opportunity to invest in the next generation of leaders.

In short, it has been a very busy and successful 16 months. I assure you that I will continue to serve the citizens of Harris County to the very best of my ability and give you every reason to support my re-election efforts in 2012. So, thank you and best wishes for the months ahead.

Sincerely,

Alfred H. “Al” Bennett