John Messinger
Republican
John Messinger
Republican
Candidate for Texas Court of Criminal Appeals, Place 9
About
Has served as an Assistant State Prosecuting Attorney since 2011, representing the State in petitions for discretionary review and granted cases in the Court of Criminal Appeals. He previously served as an Assistant District Attorney in the McLennan County District Attorney’s Office. Chair of the State Bar’s Pattern Jury Charges Criminal Committee.
Conservative Endorsements
Candidate Videos
Survey Responses
Notable Quotes
“Proverbs 17:15 states, "Acquitting the guilty and condemning the innocent—both are detestable to the Lord." This verse neatly sums up the purpose of the criminal justice system.”
“I chose my campaign slogan, "Justice Through Law Enforcement," because the only way to get justice in a system of law is to enforce it. On our streets, at the border, and in our courts.”
“In every sense, law enforcement is essential to justice.”
Positions on Texas Eagle Forum Legislative Priorities
Education Issues
- STATED, “A parent's right to raise their child as he or she sees fit is one of the few rights so essential to the concept of ordered liberty that it did not need to be written down in the Constitution. This extends to control over the things their child is taught. Regardless of how public education is funded, no parent should be forced to allow their child to learn things contrary to their sincerely held beliefs.”[1]
Gender Issues
- STATED THAT GENDER IDENTITY IS NOT A PROTECTED CLASS UNDER THE CONSTITUTION, stating, “...it is difficult to see how it could be...Gender identity does not seem to be immutable. We are told to accept whatever someone says they are when they say it, and proponents of the idea that gender differs from sex seem to resist any test."[1]
- STATED THAT PARENTS "should not have to worry about teachers or counselors encouraging beliefs or choices about sexual identity that conflict with the parent's wishes."[1]
Protect Life
- SERVED ON THE BOARD OF DIRECTORS OF RADIANCE WOMEN'S CENTER, a Pflugerville pregnancy resource center.[1]
- STATED THAT THERE IS NO FEDERAL CONSTITUTIONAL RIGHT to physician-assisted suicide under Washington v. Glucksberg: “there is nothing in our country's tradition that suggests the right to help someone kill themselves is so fundamental that it is constitutionally protected.”[1]
- STATED, “Unlike the ‘right’ to abortion, the free exercise of religion is explicitly protected by the Constitution.”[1]
Other Constitutional Issues
- EMPHASIZES ENFORCING LAWS AS WRITTEN. Strongly believes justice improves when judges apply the law strictly rather than substituting personal judgment.[1]
- ON THE ESTABLISHMENT CLAUSE, stated that government need not be “strictly secular;” “it would deny the plain text of our founding documents to deny that ours is a system based on rights given us by a Creator.”[1]
Notes from Local Researchers
- Current Court Delays & Commitment to Faster Case Resolution: The Court of Criminal Appeals has taken over 500 days on average to review lower‑court decisions, delays he calls unacceptable for both victims and defendants. He will push for more timely decisions.[1]
- Clear Law‑Enforcement Orientation: Messinger frames justice as inseparable from high quality law enforcement and believes courts need to return to law‑and‑order principles to stop the unraveling of our nation.[1]
- Strong Christian: Mentions his relationship with Christ consistently across interviews and surveys as driving his principles and decisions.[1][2][3][4]