Judge Ursula A. Hall

02/10/2021

"Plausibility" matters... What say you: Is it constitutional to hold an impeachment trial for a former president?

https://www.vox.com/22242411/trump-impeachment-constitution-senate-trial-william-belknap Ursula

02/10/2021

01/18/2021

"Injustice anywhere is a threat to justice everywhere. We are caught in an inescapable network of mutuality, tied in a single garment of destiny. Whatever affects one directly, affects all indirectly."

-"Letter from Birmingham Jail,"April 963, Martin Luther King, Jr.

01/04/2021

It feels as magnificent as it did on "day one," as I enjoy the start of a second term. Thank you for the incredible privilege of continuing to serve as Presiding Judge of the 165th Civil District Court, Harris County, Texas. My enthusiasms, commitment, awe, humility, gratefulness and industry continue to grow; intellectual integrity and servant leadership remain my promises. #BeyondMeasure #Team165 #TeamUrsula

https://www.facebook.com/JudgeUrsula/photos/a.441847460398/10154646689495399

Day One: 'feeling all of the joy, excitement, anticipation, awe, gratefulness, timidity, promise, hope, ambition, glee and love my memory holds for a lifetime of first days of school... multipled by a trillion! Thank you family, friends, universe! #BeyondMeasure!

12/18/2020

"The Final Meeting," Texas Commission on Judicial Selection, December 18, 2020, 10:00 a.m.
Agenda: https://www.txcourts.gov/tcjs/meetings-agendas/
Video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5iLAX1aXOhw
Ursula A. Hall

11/13/2020

"Friday the Thirteenth": Texas Commission on Judicial Selection Meeting, November 13, 2020, meeting now!

https://youtu.be/GSUpKWock7c

11/11/2020

“The willingness with which our young people are likely to serve in any war, no matter how justified, shall be directly proportional as to how they perceive the veterans of earlier wars were treated and appreciated by their nation.” -Author Unknown

11/04/2020

This heartfelt "thank you note" was inspired by Theodore Roosevelt's speech entitled “Citizenship in a Republic," which some call "Man in the Arena," delivered on April 23, 1910, at the Sorbonne, in Paris, France.

Learn more about "Citizenship in a Republic," here:

https://www.mentalfloss.com/article/63389/roosevelts-man-arena

11/04/2020

Thank you, thank you, thank you, thank you, thank you, thank you, thank you, thank you, endlessly, I thank you, Harris County, Texas!

10/27/2020

The doors…

During many of the twenty-five years since I became a licensed attorney, I had a “secret habit”…

Thanks, in large part, to my father’s matriculation at Howard University, and my mother’s work “girl Fridaying” in the Capitol, I was born at Georgetown Hospital in the District of Columbia. For many summers, I had the privilege to work and “intern” there, including extraordinary stints in the famed Public Defender Service for the District of Columbia and the Office of White House Counsel.

Blessed with many “east coast” friends, most earned as an undergrad at Wellesley College, and family residents of “the District,” I have visited there often. I love the place – the energy, the history, the embassies, the national office of everything, the incredible masonry and architecture, the academia, The Hill, the four seasons, the seemingly complete population of readers and public transportation users… and especially the sense that American government is good – wrought by all of the monuments to humanity, democracy, innovation and hope that live there, literally and figuratively.

In my whole life, I never remember expecting to be anything other than a lawyer, or, briefly, a teacher. And despite my complicated path and continuing complex relationship with “the law,” I believe… in all of the best that intellect, thoughtfulness, advocacy, legal warfare, and the rule of law promises. I still believe it offers the greatest path for positive change, continued social contracting, evolutionary humanity, equality, safety, freedom – all of the highest American ideals…

I cannot, now, well describe the depth of my love for the law – my sense that “rightness” will always win, eventually… my belief that the certainty for which the law strives is invaluable… me, a woman, one with three-fifths-ancestral personage… The rule of law embodies my greatest hopes.

The thirteen-ton, bronze doors at the main entrance of the United States Supreme Court, centered behind the massive columns of the front portico, with their bas-reliefs illustrating significant events in the evolution of justice in the Western tradition, always represented the gravitas, stability, heft that is “equal justice under the law," for all, to me.

“Secretly,” almost every time I visited D.C., after becoming a lawyer, and each time I had a petition pending there, at the odd hours required to see the doors in unison, because these sculpted doors are rolled into pockets in the wall each weekday morning when the main entrance to the Supreme Court opens, and later because of security closure, I would climb the marble steps to the doors just to rub the bronze doors. I felt just touching the doors would transmit history and justice into my being – spread good “law fortune,” remind me that eventually, “right” wins.

Tonight, after the confirmation of our newest Associate Justice, to the highest court in our land, there has been a shift... in my sense of the doors… to justice, meritocracy, America’s best promise… but, ever hopeful, I will keep rubbing the doors, I am sure.

10/26/2020

Now: The Texas Commission on Judicial Selection, Public Comment Session, in Odessa, on whether Texas judges should continue to be elected or be seated by an appointment system?

https://m.youtube.com/watch?feature=youtu.be&v=BsdbH9tGnZ8

10/22/2020

Long live the "rule of law"... no matter the vagrancies.

"Rule of law, the mechanism, process, institution, practice, or norm that supports the equality of all citizens before the law, secures a nonarbitrary form of government, and more generally prevents the arbitrary use of power. Arbitrariness is typical of various forms of despotism, absolutism, authoritarianism, and totalitarianism. Despotic governments include even highly institutionalized forms of rule in which the entity at the apex of the power structure (such as a king, a junta, or a party committee) is capable of acting without the constraint of law when it wishes to do so." - Britannica

https://www.houstonchronicle.com/news/houston-texas/houston/article/Hidalgo-asks-Abbott-to-confirm-drive-thru-voting-15667812.php

10/14/2020

Today, and always: Leadership matters. Judgment matters. Courts matter. Political Party matters.

https://www.texastribune.org/2020/10/13/texas-republicans-voting-harris-county/

10/13/2020

Judge Ursula A. Hall's cover photo

10/13/2020

It's Votin' Time... and Yard Sign Time!🇺🇸💛 ⭐️

If you'd like a "Re-Elect Judge Ursula" yard sign,💛 please text (281)889-4743 📲with your name, the delivery address, how many and any special instructions (dogs, access codes, gates)... we will get 'em to your yard, 🍃🍀ASAP, with love and thanks!⏱💛💛💛

www.ursulahalljudge.com Ursula

10/11/2020

Judges, Clerks, Courthouse staff and Administrators: 'Getting 'er done!

https://www.washingtonpost.com/local/public-safety/jury-trials-start-maryland/2020/10/05/c533a408-04c3-11eb-a2db-417cddf4816a_story.html

10/06/2020

"As the state’s top law enforcement officer, Attorney General Paxton leads more than 4,000 employees in 38 divisions and 117 offices around Texas. That includes nearly 750 attorneys, who handle more than 30,000 cases annually – enforcing child support orders, protecting Texans against consumer fraud, enforcing open government laws, providing legal advice to state officials, and representing the state of Texas in court, among other things." texasattorneygeneral.gov/about-office

https://www.texasmonthly.com/news/ken-paxton-corruption-accusations

10/06/2020

Now: The Texas Commission on Judicial Selection, Public Comment Session, Dallas, on whether Texas judges should continue to be elected or be seated by an appointment system.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pN9SQCBpWdg

10/04/2020

"As the state’s top law enforcement officer, Attorney General Paxton leads more than 4,000 employees in 38 divisions and 117 offices around Texas. That includes nearly 750 attorneys, who handle more than 30,000 cases annually – enforcing child support orders, protecting Texans against consumer fraud, enforcing open government laws, providing legal advice to state officials, and representing the state of Texas in court, among other things." texasattorneygeneral.gov/about-office

Article: https://www.texastribune.org/2020/10/03/texas-ken-paxton-bribery-investigation/

10/01/2020

"Notice of Public Hearing

Pursuant to Section 33.0055 of the Texas Government Code... the State Commission on Judicial Conduct will be conducting its biennial Public Hearing on Monday, October 5, 2020, at 9:00 a.m., virtually, via Zoom, 'to consider comments from the public regarding the commission’s mission and operations.'"

http://www.scjc.texas.gov/ -Ursula A. Hall

10/01/2020

"Harris County Clerk Christopher Hollins had set up 12 locations — 11 of them county clerk annex offices — throughout the 1,777-square-mile county to collect mail ballots. They offered residents an alternative to placing their ballots in the mail, amid concerns that the U.S. Postal Service would struggle to deliver ballots on time.

The county now will only be able to accept ballots only at its election headquarters at NRG Arena.

Hollins... said Harris County for weeks has advertised its dropoff locations.

'To force hundreds of thousands of seniors and voters with disabilities to use a single dropoff location in a county that stretches nearly 2,000 square miles is prejudicial and dangerous.'"

https://www.houstonchronicle.com/politics/texas/article/Abbott-mail-ballot-drop-off-harris-county-election-15612991.php
Ursula A. Hall

09/30/2020

The State of Texas v. Chris Hollins

Oral Argument, 10:00 a.m., today, "at Virtual"
"Published" on YouTube, Live: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC0gZPfa2qBYO7oJvt6TKixg

Issue: Whether it is "illegal" for Clerk Hollins to send mail-in ballot applications to all county voters because the action is beyond the clerk’s specified powers under the Texas Election Code and would cause irreparable harm if not stopped.

The trial court determined Clerk Hollins had authority to send unsolicited mail-in ballot applications because no statute forbids him from doing so. The appeals court denied the state’s interlocutory appeal, holding the state could not demonstrate irreparable harm.

09/26/2020

Join TDWHarris on Monday, September 28, 2020 at 6:30PM, for the first in its "Woman to Woman Series" -- a panel featuring Harris County's Judge Ramona Franklin, Judge Julia Maldonado, and Judge Ursula A. Hall.

https://www.facebook.com/events/251804059416602/

https://tdwharris.tdw.org/coming-events/

09/26/2020

2020: Justice Amy Coney Barrett, United States Supreme Court Nominee

https://www.nytimes.com/live/2020/09/26/us/trump-vs-biden

09/26/2020

"Less than three weeks before early voting begins in Texas, a U.S. district judge has blocked the state from eliminating straight-ticket voting as an option for people who vote in person this November.

In a ruling issued late Friday, U.S. District Judge Marina Garcia Marmolejo said the elimination of the voting practice would 'cause irreparable injury' to voters 'by creating mass lines at the polls and increasing the amount of time voters are exposed to COVID-19.'" -KHOU.com

https://www.khou.com/article/news/local/texas/federal-judge-blocks-texas-elimination-of-straight-ticket-voting/285-26a76985-5fcf-4814-b1d6-f1953b56236e?fbclid=IwAR0QJaNrSMcYqlBs9myYQnNPYSzmBGHaIwM4CHQC0T_iNEg8kiCPfnZIEjY
Ursula A. Hall

09/22/2020

Judicial Selection Public Hearing - San Antonio

Now: The Texas Commission on Judicial Selection, Public Comment Session, on whether Texas judges should continue to be elected or be seated by an appointment system.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YZu1SDPf9iU

09/16/2020

Texas Supreme Court again blocks Harris County from sending mail-in ballot applications to all voters

"Blocked again: The Texas Supreme Court has once again blocked Harris County from sending mail-in ballot applications to all its 2.4 million registered voters ahead of the November election. In a Tuesday order, the Supreme Court granted the Texas attorney general’s request to halt the county’s effort just before a separate order blocking the mailing was set to expire. The all-Republican court told Harris County to hold off on sending any unsolicited applications for mail-in ballots “until further order” and while the case makes its way through the appeals process.

A state district judge had ruled Friday that the county could move forward with its plan. Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton, whose office claimed in court that the mailing of the applications would confuse voters, quickly appealed that ruling to the state’s 14th Court of Appeals. Paxton kicked the request up to the Supreme Court after the appeals court declined his request to block the lower court's ruling and instead set an expedited schedule to consider the appeal. Read the full story by the Tribune’s Alexa Ura." - "The Brief," by Elvia Limón, Texas Tribune

Ursula

The Supreme Court granted the Texas attorney general’s request to temporarily halt the county’s mailing of applications while the case is appealed. A separate order blocking the effort was set to end this week.

09/16/2020

International Democracy Day: Date, Significance & History amid 2020 Covid spotlight - Republic World

"Democracy has an important role to play in helping us confront COVID-19. Because of that, it’s more important than ever that we keep protecting and promoting our democratic traditions and values - and supporting democracy around the world. #DemocracyDay" -Prime Minister, Canada, Justin Trudeau https://twitter.com/JustinTrudeau/status/1305854110814662657
Ursula

On Tuesday, International Day of Democracy will be observed around the world to promote and uphold democratic principles, including respect for human rights.

09/03/2020

'Hear discussion of the upcoming elections, judicial candidates and other bench matters...

Here: https://www.facebook.com/jerri.p.beasley/videos/10224384269857502/

#KingsAndQueens
#BeyondMeasure
#QueenJerri P Beasley
#KCOHRadio
#benhalllegalhour
#BenchTalk

Ursula

08/26/2020

Federal court resumes in Baltimore with a post-COVID-19 look that includes masks, shields, dividers and multiple rooms

"Normalcy" by inches: "Maryland’s state courts also are inching back toward normalcy, although jury trials remain more than a month away..."

-Ursula

The first federal court criminal trial in five months in Baltimore began Monday in a reconfigured courtroom environment meant to minimize exposure to the coronavirus.

08/21/2020

National Unity, Honorable Barbara Jordan, DNC 1976

"We are a people in a quandry about the present. We are a people in search of our future. We are people in search of a national community. We are a people trying not only to solve the problems of the present, but we are attempting on a larger scale to fulfill the promise of America" - Barbara Jordan, July 12, 1976

"On July 12, 1976, Barbara Jordan, a member of the U.S. House of Representatives, became the first African American woman to deliver the keynote address to the Democratic National Convention. [A Democrat, in 1966, she was the first Black woman to be elected to the Texas Legislature, the first African American elected to the Texas Senate after Reconstruction and the first Southern African-American woman elected to the United States House of Representatives.] Although Jordan retired from politics just three years later to join the faculty at the LBJ School of Public Affairs, the message of her 1976 speech still resonates today." - https://lbj.utexas.edu/news/2012/lbj-professor-barbara-jordans-landmark-speech-1976-democrati

08/20/2020

https://www.uscourts.gov/news/2020/08/20/courts-restore-operations-covid-19-creates-new-normal Ursula

08/18/2020

The Untold Stories Of The Key To Women’s Economic, Social And Political Power—100 Years Ago Today

"The 19th Amendment, ratified a century ago on Aug. 18, 1920, is often hailed for granting American women the right to vote. And yet most Black women would wait nearly five decades more to actually exercise that right." - Olivia V. Waxman, https://time.com/5876456/black-women-right-to-vote/

Ursula A. Hall

None of women's remarkable accomplishments would have happened without the untold stories of the courage of the women who fought, marched, organized, protested, and risked their lives insisting on women being granted the right to vote, which was finally granted 100 years ago today.

08/18/2020

State Bar of Texas

The State Bar of Texas

"The mission of the State Bar of Texas is to support the administration of the legal system, assure all citizens equal access to justice, foster high standards of ethical conduct for lawyers, enable its members to better serve their clients and the public, educate the public about the rule of law, and promote diversity in the administration of justice and the practice of law."

Ursula A. Hall