Judge James R. DePiazza

10/19/2026

Tomorrow starts early voting and only 16 days from election day. Anxiety has set in with many of the candidates as they execute their final strategies for victory. These times are not only stressful for the candidates, but for their families also. The Political environment has become a ruthless endeavor to make an opponent look as bad as possible instead of showing what the candidate plans to do to make our society better. Sometimes both tactics are employed at the same time with comparisons in which the candidates make themselves look good, while making their opponent look bad. In my opinion, it is an over-inflation of self with disingenuous rhetoric against the opponent. I have long said that when you have to attack your candidate’s character, diminish their accomplishments, or speak negatively of them in any way, you have no substance of your own to stand on. These negative strategies are employed by both those on the left and the right; Conservative and Liberal; Democrat and Republican; In primary and general elections. The hardest fact to swallow, when the election is over, we continue to stand divided. The vile nature of the campaign left no room for cordiality afterwards.

As I finish out my last 74 days as an elected official, I can honestly say that I never used those negative strategies to win any of my seven contested races, regardless of what my opponents threw at me. My greatest desire, since 2005, was to walk away from public life as an example that you don’t have to hate on your opponent to win an election. In good conscience, I can say that I did that! Character and integrity, in my opinion, are the bedrock principles to holding an elected office, especially a judicial office.

After the 2022 election, I really thought the attacks on my record were done. It was quite surprising to me when the Republican candidate had to attack my record publicly. As I have posted previously on both these instances, after a confrontation, he could not come up with a single fact to justify his rhetoric. Worse than that, on the second instance it was a fabricated lie! What he was told and what he stated were two completely different statements. Why would a candidate for an open seat choose to do that? My assessment…Lack of character and integrity.

As for the Democrat candidate, she attended a docket back in May. I had a very pleasant conversation with her after. When we finished, I told her that I did not see much difference, if any, with our judicial philosophies. We never talked politics and she did say to me that politics do not belong in the courtroom, only the Constitution, law and facts of each case. After that, I allowed her to meet with the clerks so she could ask questions about the court and its operations. She wanted to make sure she had all the facts as she planned out her campaign strategy. Character and integrity prevailed in her.

However, for many voters the only thing that matters is whether you have an “R” or a “D” behind your name. That is how we have ended up with the political state that we are in and why our Country is on a moral decline. Ideology trumps character and integrity in our elected officials, which is why, after 43 years of being a Republican, I gave up party politics and became an Independent. Character and integrity have to trump ideology! That said, the majority of my votes will swing Republican because when it comes to electing lawmakers and other statewide offices, I have to be a values voter and when I align my values to the candidates, progressivism just doesn’t fit and almost all the Democrat candidates show their extreme progressivism. This is the exact reason why I have said that we need to abolish the two-party system. Some States will stay red, some will stay blue; However, the hope would be that the majority would be more moderate, stick to the Constitution, and let the States decide their own fate…without a bail out from the US Government. Then again, it may be just a fantasy. There is one fact that I will never back down on though; If this country would just turn to the moral and religious truths it was founded on, it would thrive again!

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10/15/2026

We are a few short days away from the start of early voting, and just 19 days until election day. While I cannot endorse a specific candidate and no longer carry a party affiliation to support a specific party candidate, there is nothing that prevents me from providing my insight or thoughts to help you make an informed decision in electing your next Justice of the Peace for Precinct 2. Keep in mind as you read this that the two candidates you have to choose from are both attorneys, so regardless of who you vote for, there is no choice for what I call a “peer judge;” Your next Justice of the Peace will be a lawyer. Some welcome that reality, some have issues with it; However, I have heard statements from both candidates that it will still be the “People’s Court.”

In doing some research, I have found that of the approximately 850 Justices of the Peace in Texas, only about 60 are attorneys. In my near 20 years in office meeting and getting to know many of my colleagues, I can honestly say that the best, most grounded JP’s that have had a relationship with are non-attorney JPs. There are also some terrible ones in both camps, regardless of party affiliation! And do not take that as I am saying attorney JPs are bad; some are really good. I have also found that across the State, there are some attorneys running against non-attorney candidates who are by far the better choice. I have good relationships with several attorney JPs and see the good they do in their courts. It is just my belief that the “People’s Court” is best served with a peer judge, which is why I believe the Texas Constitution set it up as such.

Since the constituents in JP2 do not have the choice of a “peer judge,” the question I am posing to you to answer is, “Which candidate has the better demeanor and qualities, not qualifications, to be your ‘peer judge’?” There is enough easily assessable information from both candidates on their positions and how they are highlighting themselves. It is very apparent that one candidate is focusing on attorney credentials and a desire to be a judge and one on a desire to be a public servant in the community who just happens to be an attorney. Because both have made public statements that politics do not belong in the courtroom, which I commend both for taking that stance, it really does come down to your decision on the type of person who you want to adjudicate the cases in your People’s Court.

09/23/2026

Today marked the first day of Fall, hopefully the last triple digit degree day of the year, and the last triple digit day of my time left in office. At midnight, only 99 days until retirement. It's been a great ride! I feel blessed for the opportunity to serve, and thankful for the people who supported me through all these years...Hard to believe it was almost 20 years ago when I started. I will continue to serve these last 99 days with the same passion for justice I had on day one. To God be all the glory.

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09/10/2026

Yesterday, at the Republican Mid-term Convention in Dallas, President Trump promised that every adult American citizen would get $5000 if the Republicans keep control of the House and Senate...and the crowd went loud with applause. Here folks is the problem with the Republican Party and one of the reasons why I am no longer a part of it; they complain about spending and the National debt, but when they are promised money, they cheer. We need to get rid of the two party system if we want to save our country. Both are corrupt in their own way! Wake-up America!

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07/04/2026

Happy 250th Birthday, USA! For those who were alive and old enough to remember celebrating the Bicentennial in 1976, ponder and chime in...are we better off as a Nation today than we were 50 years ago?

06/03/2026

It was 21 years ago around this time that I made my official announcement to run for JP2. Many changes in the political sphere have happened, but my values, mores and ethics have not. As I prepare to end my time as an elected official, I have come to a cross-road and am forced to make a tough decision. I have witnessed our Country fall further into division, and I truly believe a divided country cannot stand. This division has become more than just Republican-Democrat, Left-Right, Conservative-Liberal divisions, it has infiltrated into the Republican party itself. All of it, in my opinion, is rooted in evil, an evil that has not just become pervasive in our county, but our state, country, and the world. I have chosen to distance myself from it all.

The Republican party in Texas has given me some awful choices to vote for, but the choice of voting for a Republican candidate that doesn’t share all of my values is easier than the progressive ideology that is pervasive in the Democrat party platform, where its candidates hold, pretty much, none of my values. The system is broken and it is the system that needs to be fixed. We need to get rid of the two-party system so that independent voters don’t have to choose between two extremes. My solution would be to run our elections in the manner that our local elections are run…All candidates are in one primary election that the entire electorate gets to participate in, with the two leading vote-getters facing off in the general election. Fair and simple!

You leaders of the factions in the Republican Party need to stop. You don’t understand the pressures you put on elected officials and candidates when you force us to choose a faction. You are creating a divide in the party that, if it continues, there will be as much division within the party as there is between the two major parties...we may already be there! I am not going to go further, in this post, on how it affected me, but seeing the direction the Republican party is going, I have a hard time being associated with it. There are many good people in the party that I consider dear friends, and hope to continue those friendships, yet I cannot continue to see myself support the rhetoric that exists within its culture.

I am officially announcing that I no longer consider myself a Republican, I am an independent-minded constitutional American who will no longer support ideologies and positions that are in contrast with my values, mores, and ethics. I am America First and if we don’t start focusing on our own problems, I do not believe we will have a country left to defend. This is the fault of both Republicans and Democrats, so stop pointing fingers! In the spirit of Ronald Reagan, “I am not leaving the Republican Party, the party left me." The main reason for this decision is the fact the Republican Party claims to be pro-life, yet supports the genocide that went on in Gaza and continues in Lebanon. Now the IDF has moved onto attacks on Catholics and other Christian communities in those regions, yet there is only silence from Republican leaders and continued support for what the Nation of Isreal is doing. That was the breaking point for me. I no longer want to be associated with an organization that supports such evil. I no longer see the Republican Party as pro-life. At best, it is anti-abortion, which is an admirable quality, but anti-abortion and pro-life are two different ideologies. Second, I cannot vote for all the Republican candidates the party has given me to choose from. Character and integrity matter the most to me and there is one office that the Democrat candidate has shown more of those traits than the Republican candidate. Hence, that is why I am now an Independent.

My hands are tied right now due to being a judicial officer, but come January 1, 2027, my voice will not be silenced any longer. Hard decisions need to be made by the American people, which the Republican and Democrat Parties have both shown that they do not have the capacity to fix the brokenness they have both created. Stay tuned…

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05/25/2026

It's not just a day off of work, time for a barbecue, or the "official" beginning of summer, it's a day to honor and remember those who died so we can have and do such.

Take some time today to reflect and honor those who gave the ultimate sacrifice.

05/19/2026

It was my intention to not publicly insert my self into the primary election for my replacement. However, one candidate has chosen to insert me into it with his misleading rhetoric and, recently, with an easily verifiable untruth. I believe I not only have the right to defend myself, but a responsibility to do so. At a forum hosted by the Frisco Lakes Conservative Coalition this past Sunday, candidate Chris Pochyla stated that I don't allow prosecutors access to my court, which creates a backlog. This is an absolute false statement as prosecutors have assigned courts and days they attend to those courts. Since taking office, the JP2 courts pretrial and trial docket have been held two Thursdays a month. This schedule has never been hindered and there have been times when additional dockets have been added when the criminal caseload increased and required additional time to prevent a backlog.

I confronted Mr. Pochyla on this and he told me a prosecutor from the DAs office told him that. I pressed him and he walked back his statement to, in essence, they don't like coming to the JP2 court because I don't let them do their job. Far different message than I don't allow them access to the court that creates a backlog.

I fully accept that my standards constrain the plea deals prosecutors can do in my court. I stand behind those standards and criticizing those is fair game. But I am not his opponent, so why would he even want to bring that up? That would be a question for him and would like to see him respond. If he wants to have a public debate on my record, here is his opportunity to do so. I can defend any criticism he has about me and willing to do so.

05/08/2026

If anyone in Frisco knows the following candidates from the recent city and ISD elections, please ask them to come to the Denton County Government Center in Frisco to take down their signs so the County doesn't have to use its resources to do so. Thank you!

Muni
Sai
Babu
Reddy

05/01/2026

Recently celebrating my last birthday in office, my clerks, whom are the true reason that this office is so successful, made it memorable. They work very hard for the pay they receive...been trying to get the Commissioners Court to see their pay is not commensurate to the work they perform for years to no avail...while getting yelled at, cussed at, degraded, given the finger and even had a forty-something year old woman stick her tongue out at them, yet they excel and keep the court flourishing.

Without them, I am nothing! Thank you Lisa, Claudia, Alejandra, Ana, and Nubia for all you do. You all Rock!
..If you notice in the last pic, they reminded me that all of my ducks are almost in a row. 🙂