About this office
The District Judge is the judge who signs the divorce, decides custody cases, and hands down the sentence in every felony case tried in Hays County — from burglary to murder. When people say "the judge," in the cases that change lives, this is usually who they mean — and that's who your vote is for.
Candidates
Cassie Benoist-TempletonFor twelve years Benoist-Templeton has been the prosecutor in Caldwell County who takes on crimes against women and children. She wants to be the judge who hears those cases.
About Cassie
She grew up in Galveston County — her mother taught special ed, her father was a deputy sheriff — and came to Texas State for a criminal-justice degree before law school at Oklahoma City University. She sits on the board of the Scheib Center for mental-health services, has been a League of Women Voters director, and coaches youth softball. Her two priorities for the bench: grow the drug court, and clear the civil backlog.
Paul StillStill has never been a judge. He's spent 12 years as a prosecutor in Harris County and then a staff attorney at the state's top criminal court, and wants to move to the bench that tries Hays County's felonies, divorces and custody cases.
About Paul
He's board-certified in criminal appeals and says his time in both trial and appellate courts is what qualifies him. His site gives no civil or family-law experience — the other half of what this court does. He lives in Hays County with his family.