John Messinger

John Messinger's career experience includes working as a prosecutor. He earned a law degree from Baylor Law School in 2006. Messinger has been affiliated with Radiance Women's Center.[1]

John Messinger has not yet completed [the profile publisher]'s 2026 Candidate Connection survey.

If you are John Messinger, click here to fill out [the profile publisher]'s 2026 Candidate Connection survey.

Who fills out the candidate survey?

Any candidate running for elected office, at any level, can complete [the profile publisher]'s Candidate Survey. Completing the survey will update the candidate's [the profile publisher] profile, letting voters know who they are and what they stand for.  More than 32,000 candidates have taken [the profile publisher]'s candidate survey since we launched it in 2015. Learn more about the survey here.

Help improve [the profile publisher] - send us candidate contact info.

Campaign website

Messinger's campaign website stated the following:

Justice Through Law Enforcement

Our system of justice is not perfect. No system made by man is. We can improve it, but that improvement doesn’t come from judges doing whatever they think is right in their own eyes. It comes from enforcing the laws as written to find out what works and what doesn’t. In every sense, law enforcement is essential to justice.

It’s Your Court. Take it Back.

Many recent opinions from the Court of Criminal Appeals ignore or conflict with applicable law, its own decisions, or both. Perhaps worse, last year the average time it took them to review a lower court decision increased to over 500 days. Imagine waiting an extra year to find out if you will have to face your attacker at a new trial. Imagine sitting in prison for an extra year before being released. Both are unacceptable. Your vote can help change that.

Experience Matters

I am a career appellate prosecutor. By virtue of the job God has blessed me with at the Office of the State Prosecuting Attorney, almost no one practicing law today has as much experience in the Court of Criminal Appeals as I do. My opponent filed one writ application in 2013. The choice is clear.

[2]

—John Messinger's campaign website (2026)[3]

Who are you? Tell us about yourself.

I am a Christian, a husband, and a father of three young children (6, 4, and 2). I moved to Texas to go to law school because I wanted to live and raise a family in a place that valued freedom. I believe that you cannot have freedom without responsibility. Too much of the conversation today is about what is owed to people instead of what is expected of them. I try to be thankful for the things God has given me.

Please list below 3 key messages of your campaign. What are the main points you want voters to remember about your goals for your time in office?

In a system of law, you don't get justice without following the law. Many people casually toss the word "justice" around. It doesn't mean "whatever one thinks is fair." Reasonable people disagree about what is fair. When people disagree about matters of law, they are settled in courts. If judges did whatever they felt was right or fair in a given case, there would be no system of justice. All we would have are little dictators who decide things differently from Court to court and county to county.If the law seems unfair, go to the Legislature and get it fixed. Sometimes, accurate application of the law leads to results that were unforeseen. Sometimes, the results were intended but the voters change their minds about what they want the law to be. In either event, the answer is to have a discussion in the branch of government designed to make law: the legislative branch. It is not the job of judges to decide what they think Texans want and to make the law say that.Experience matters. Real experience. Any lawyer who has managed not to get disbarred for ten years can run for a court of appeals. Although it is certainly possible for one of them to acquire the expertise to manage a busy docket, issue sixty or more opinions a year, and participate in twice as many other cases, it is nice when a candidate for an appellate court has experience doing appeals. For the last 13+ years, my job has been to evaluate the opinions of courts of appeals and, if necessary, have them corrected by the highest criminal court in Texas. I've written hundreds of briefs and petitions for discretionary review. Very few people have comparable experience.

What areas of public policy are you personally passionate about?

I am a career prosecutor, so I tend to focus on the nuts and bolts of government: rule of law, functioning courts, etc. But the real problem underlying most others is the breakdown of the family. A lot of well-meaning people crafted policies that have demonstrably had the unintended consequence of weakening families. No amount of money can replace the structure that intact families provide. It starts with valuing life. It continues with commitment to your spouse and children. Government can try to incentivize (or at least not discourage it) these things but change needs to start at home and in our communities.

What characteristics or principles are most important for an elected official?

Humility. Public service should be just that: service. You have a job people have trusted you to do. That job existed before you and will exist after you. An elected official should remember that.

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

I am well-qualified for the job but understand it is not about me. It is easy for any elected official, forced to run for office and earn votes, to get caught up in seeing their name on signs and in voter guides and whatnot. It is probably why so many politicians don't know when to leave. I've lived almost 50 years before all of this and will enjoy whatever life God gives me if my political life ends in November.

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

An appellate judge should fairly administer the law and write opinions that ordinary people can understand so they can decide whether to pursue further appeal (if possible) or a legislative fix (where applicable). Fair administration requires ignoring the identities and social positions of the parties and not giving into compassion; Lady Justice is blind for a reason.

What is the first historical event that happened in your lifetime that you remember? How old were you at the time?

Probably the Challenger explosion. I would have been 8 or 9 years old.

What was your very first job? How long did you have it?

I worked at our local library as a page for about two years in high school.

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

No. It is a vital quality for human beings. In our everyday interactions, we should be mindful that we cannot know each other's hearts or what experiences led everyone to where we meet them. But empathy is a terrible quality for a judge, especially an appellate judge. The last thing anyone should want is a judge who lets his feelings about one or both parties influence his decision. Again, Lady Justice is blind for a reason.

Why are you running for this particular court seat?

The person I chose to run against had no appellate experience before he ran in 2018 and no other experience that spoke to his ability to get the job done. His tenure did not convince me otherwise. I was not alone. He drew two primary challengers and lost his runoff.

What is your primary concern about today's legal system in your state?

Lack of expertise. There are far too many jurists, especially on the appellate level, who lack the ability to dispassionately decide cases in a timely manner. I've seen firsthand what happens when everyone has to sit around for years wondering whether a court of appeals will, for example, uphold a penal law. Victims, police, prosecutors, and lower judges all had to wait for over three years to know whether their cases could proceed. That delay can cause anxiety, permit further criminality, and of course costs money. People deserve to have their claims settled as correctly as possible as quickly as possible. A court of appeals is no place for on-the-job training.

Would you be interested in serving on a higher court in the future? If so, which court appeals to you?

My legal passion is criminal law. I never thought I would run for this position. If I run again, it would be for the Court of Criminal Appeals.

Tell us your favorite joke.

A man and a woman strike up a conversation. They're getting along famously until they discover they are in different political parties. The man says, "I'm surprised you're a Democrat; you seem smart." The woman replies, "I'm surprised you're a Republican; you seem like a decent human being."

I hope both sides can laugh at that. We have a lot more in common than we don't.