Would I tweet if I didn't run for office? Maybe, but I'd certainly use Twitter to stay abreast of warp-speed happenings in the world and to enjoy the musings of smart, fascinating people. Twitter is a neat, one-stop compilation of smart, incisive viewpoints on every imaginable topic from a riveting cross-section of folks.
Folks are astounded that 'judge' isn't a synonym for 'humorless Luddite.'
A Charlie Brown Christmas' is a national treasure because it delivers beautifully the central miracle of Christmas: Emmanuel - God With Us. From the wood of the manger to the wood of the cross.
If you're a Texas Supreme Court Justice hopscotching across 254 counties, trying to tattoo your name onto the noggins of millions of voters, you must find creative ways to raise visibility and build awareness. Twitter, Facebook, etc. are low-cost but high-yield ways to leverage the support of key influencers and opinion leaders.
Laws that impinge your constitutionally protected right to earn an honest living must not be preposterous.
If legislators come to believe that police power is an ever-present constitutional trump card they can play whenever it suits them, overreaching is inexorable.
If judicial review means anything, it is that judicial restraint does not allow everything.
Re-election comes every six years, which explains why I spend so much time on Twitter. If you're an obscure judge whose name ID hovers between infinitesimal and zilch, it's political malpractice to neglect social media. I'm probably the tweetingest judge in America, which, admittedly, is like being the tallest Munchkin in Oz.
Judges should always behave judicially by adjudicating, never politically by legislating. I leave policy to policymakers. They're preeminent, but they're not omnipotent. In other words, lawmakers decide if laws pass, but judges decide if laws pass muster.
When writing, I split my time between my chambers and my satellite office: my neighborhood Chick-fil-A. It offers the word-nerd trifecta: I bring Bose headphones; they provide Wi-Fi and waffle fries.
