Dallas Morning News: We Recommend Grubbs For 330th Family District Court's Democratic Primary
Challenger Randall Grubbs is the best choice in the Democratic primary for the 330th Family District Court seat over first-term incumbent Andrea Plumlee.
While every new judge has a learning curve, Plumlee, 49, has not distinguished herself in the eyes of attorneys. In the Dallas Bar Association’s judicial poll, fewer than half of 100 attorneys responding thought she was prepared for trial and, more troubling, less than 40 percent thought she was impartial and demonstrated an adequate knowledge of the law. We find these assessments troubling given that Plumlee is not board-certified in family law and had no judicial experience before her 2010 election.
In contrast, Grubbs, 69, is board-certified in family law, was an associate judge in the 330th Family District Court from 2003 to 2011 (under the judge Plumlee defeated in 2010), and served as a Garland municipal judge in the early 1980s. As an associate judge, he drew far stronger marks across the board in all bar poll categories than Plumlee.
Grubbs says Plumlee doesn’t use public defenders enough, going instead with private attorneys, which adds to courtroom costs. Plumlee responds that she made the change when she discovered that many public defenders didn’t provide adequate representation. Still, based on her computations, she says that cost per disposition in her courtroom has improved from seventh place among the family courts when she took over to second best. Those numbers are difficult to confirm given the way the family courts report cases.
This primary winner will face no GOP opposition in November. We believe Grubbs has a stronger legal background for handling complicated and contentious family court cases.
This is one in a series of 50 Dallas Morning News candidate recommendations in the upcoming primary elections.