The following are the complete and unedited responses submitted by the candidate listed below to the Amarillo Pioneer’s Candidate Questionnaire.

Name: Michelle Slaughter

Office Sought: Judge, Court of Criminal Appeals, Place 8

Party Affiliation: Republican

Age: 49

Educational Background: J.D., University of Houston Law Center (cum laude - top 15%); B.A. University of Houston (magna cum laude)

Occupation: Judge, Texas Court of Criminal Appeals, Pl. 8

Please list any civic boards or commissions (non-profit, government, union, religious, political, etc.) on which you have served as a board member or equivalent.

Board Member, Adria Women’s Health (a pregnancy center located in Texas City, TX) (2015-Present); Court's Liaison to Appellate Section of the State Bar of Texas (2019-Present); Galveston County Criminal Courts Board, Member (2013-2018); Galveston County Community Supervisions and Corrections Board, Member (2013-2018); Galveston County Juvenile Justice Board, Member (2013-2018); Galveston County Pre-trial Release Board, Chair (2017-2018); Member (2013-2018); Director, Rotary Club of Galveston Board of Directors (2014-2018); Vice President, Board of Trustees for The Galloway School (Friendswood) (2013-2016); Founding Member/Advisor, Hispanic Republicans of Texas - Galveston County Chapter (2013-2018)

Have you previously held or do you currently hold any elected office? If so, what office(s)?

Judge, Texas Court of Criminal Appeals (Jan. 2019-Present); Judge, 405th District Court of Galveston County, Texas (Jan. 2013-Dec. 2018)

If your campaign has any online campaign resources where voters can learn more about you, such as social media accounts or a website, please list them below.

www.JudgeMichelleSlaughter.com; Facebook - Judge Michelle Slaughter Page (https://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=100063904172029)

Why did you decide to run for this office in 2024?

I currently serve in this position and want to continue my hard work for the people of Texas. We need to keep strong conservatives like me in our judiciary. I rule based on a strict interpretation of the law the way it was originally intended to be interpreted at the time the law was enacted. Activism and ruling based on political expediency or outside influences have no place in our judiciary, and I will continue to stand against it.

If elected, what will be your top priority?

My top priority will be to continue serving as a strong constitutional conservative and originalist judge. I will continue working hard for the people of Texas and standing against judicial activism.

Please describe your legal career experience and discuss any career highlights you would like to share.

I have served as a judge for more than a decade. In my current position, I have served for five years, have authored more than 80 published opinions, and have been involved in deciding more than twenty thousand criminal law matters. I also served six years as a trial judge where I presided over thousands of civil and felony criminal cases and approximately one hundred bench and jury trials. When I was elected as a trial judge, I beat a 12-year incumbent who had the largest backlog of cases in the county. Within my first two years on the bench, I transformed the court into the most efficient, most effective district court with the lowest backlog in the county. Before being elected as a trial judge, I served eight years as an attorney litigating for two large international law firms and had my own successful law firm. My work as an attorney earned me the distinction of being named a “Rising Star” in the Super Lawyers Edition of Texas Monthly magazine. Currently, I also serve as an adjunct law professor for Baylor Law School's quarterly Criminal Law Bootcamp.

During your time in law school, what was the most profound lesson you learned that continues to play a role in your career and/or your life?

In law school I learned how much a legal case can affect the lives of those involved as plaintiffs or defendants and how all-consuming it can be for those individuals. Throughout my career, I have tried to keep that in mind to understand the stress that parties to a lawsuit are under and how important the outcome is to them. By being keenly aware of this, I have always tried to treat everyone with respect and work efficiently while reaching the proper outcome under the law. As a judge, however, I do not make the law. It is my role and my duty to ensure that the law, written by our Legislature, is interpreted and applied as it is written and as it was originally intended at the time of its enactment. Therefore, there are occasions where I am forced to make decisions and reach conclusions that I do not like or that I disagree with. But, as a constitutional conservative and originalist, I will never be an activist judge who rules based on the outcome I want or based what I believe the law should be. Instead, I will always stay true to the letter of the law as originally intended.

What fictional lawyer do you most identify with? Please explain.

I do not identify with any fictional lawyers, because such lawyers too often stray from the reality of the legal world. But I most admire, and my judicial philosophy is most like, Supreme Court Justice Clarence Thomas. That is because, just like I do, he applies a strict interpretation of the law as it is written and as it was originally intended to be interpreted.

Do you have any notable endorsements you would like to highlight for voters?

While I am continuing to receive several endorsements weekly, as of mid-December, I have been endorsed by the PACs of Texas Right to Life, Texas Alliance for Life, Texas Values, and the Combined Law Enforcement Associations of Texas (CLEAT). I am also endorsed by Republican National Committeeman, Dr. Robin Armstrong; Railroad Commissioner Jim Wright; Senator Mayes Middleton; State Representative Dr. Greg Bonnen; Texas Freedom Caucus Members State Representatives Valoree Swanson, Terri Leo Wilson, and Briscoe Cain; several State Republican Executive Committee Members, the Galveston Municipal Police Association, and Collin County Judge Chris Hill.

Why are you the best candidate for voters to support for this position?

Having authored more than 80 published opinions, I have the proven track record as a judge on the Texas Court of Criminal Appeals of being an unwavering constitutional conservative and originalist. I always strictly interpret the law as it written and as it was originally intended. My experience and proven conservative track record is in stark contrast with my opponent. My opponent claims to be a conservative and claims to have integrity, but according to a recent court judgment he has failed to pay his mortgage for several years resulting in an almost half-million-dollar judgment against him and an order for the foreclosure and sale of his home. That is the opposite of conservatism and integrity. In addition, my opponent has no judicial experience, virtually no appellate experience, and limited criminal law experience. I, however, have demonstrated time and again through my actions and judicial opinions that I stand for integrity, conservatism, and the rule of law as written and originally intended.