Justice John Devine of the Texas Supreme Court is being questioned again about his fairness after a video of him this week went viral in which he seemed to suggest that Democrats are planning to cheat against Donald Trump in the 2024 election.
“Are you sure the Democrats will give up and let Trump become president again?” Devine asked in her opening speech at the Christmas event for Texas Tea Party Republican Women in 2023. “You think they’ll just leave, find Jesus, and there will be a fair election?” “I don’t believe it.”
Devine used to fight against abortion and now says that the idea of church and state separation is not true. When he was a state district judge in Harris County in the 1990s, he pushed to have a copy of the Ten Commandments put up in his courtroom. During his successful 2012 run for the Texas Supreme Court, he said that he had been arrested 37 times at anti-abortion protests in the 1980s.
Texas Supreme Court Justice John Devine, who rules on election disputes: “Do you really think the Democrats are gonna roll over and let Trump be president again? You think they’re just gonna go away, all of a sudden find Jesus and be an honest election?” pic.twitter.com/1mh35KDjDJ
— Robert Downen (@RobertDownen_) April 4, 2024
Since then, he has been a steady ally of Christian and conservative voters in the state. Last month, Devine barely beat a challenge from the GOP primary that was based on questions about his ethics. In November, he will face Democrat state district court Judge Christine Vinh Weems.
In his speech, Devine said that the court could hear more election cases, including ones involving Harris County. Devine said that Harris County was trying to “bastardize” election rules when it made it easier for people to vote during the COVID-19 pandemic. In the end, the Texas Supreme Court threw out many of the county’s rules.
“I think those kinds of cases are going to be back to us in this cycle,” he said.
Devine then praised Sen. Paul Bettencourt, R-Houston, who championed numerous laws that were aimed at Harris County in the wake of the 2020 elections. Last year, the Texas Supreme Court declined to block a law, authored by Bettencourt, that removed Harris County’s elections administrator position.
Bettencourt, who attended Devine’s speech, returned the praise: “You’re one of the reasons why we do win fights at the Supreme Court,” he told Devine.
Harris County Attorney Christian Menefee blasted Devine’s comments in a Saturday statement, calling them “shockingly inappropriate” and tying them to broader distrust in the judiciary.
“Judges should be honestly evaluating and applying our state’s laws, not giving partisan speeches baselessly accusing members of a different political party of ‘cheating’ in elections,” he said. “A sitting justice should never say bad things about a person who has been in front of his court and will continue to be in front of his court.” Going forward, I hope Justice Devine is honest and stays out of Harris County cases, but I won’t hold my breath since he has already said that he sees himself as helping Republicans in their “fight” against Democrats.
Not only did Devine talk about election disagreements that night, but he also talked about other controversial topics. During his 40-minute speech, he called court challenges to Texas’ abortion laws a “mockery of God” and used apocalyptic language to talk about Democrats, saying that as a judge, he had a “front-row seat to the end of the world.”
Will the democrats cheat in the 2024 election…?
— Gunther Eagleman™ (@GuntherEagleman) August 1, 2024
He said, “Our culture is dying right in front of our eyes.” “The church is weak and doesn’t know what to do.” Our government is not honest. Our government is run by a crime organization at the federal level. You will all not be able to get away from this. Because of this, I beg you to get closer to God. Please take the time to get ready. I want you to get more people on board.
Devine didn’t answer when asked for a comment on Friday about the words or the criticism of them online. Not long ago, the Tribune wrote about another statement he gave last year in which he said that Democrats had tried to steal elections again. This time, there was a backlash. In the same speech, Devine called his fellow Republicans on the Texas Supreme Court “brainwashed” by “Big Law.”
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In that statement, Devine said, “Sometimes I feel like they would give up the Republic for the sake of the process.” “I’m worried that they will all make the process more important than following the Constitution.” And when I say that, I don’t mean to be mean to my coworkers. I believe it is because of how they were taught or brainwashed.
Recently, Devine has been asked about his morals again. Bloomberg News said earlier this year that he had missed more than half of the court’s oral hearings this term because he was running for reelection.
According to a story in February by the Tribune, Devine did not step down when the court was considering a high-profile sex abuse case against Southern Baptist leader Paul Pressler and his longtime law partner, Jared Woodfill. It was found by the Tribune that Devine had worked for Pressler and Woodfill’s law company for years. At the same time, the plaintiff in the lawsuit said Pressler sexually assaulted him while he was working at the firm.
