We recommend Frank Aguilar in Democratic primary for the 228th District Court
Elmer Manzano is escorted in to Judge Frank Aguilar, Court 228, while his attorney Mario Madrid (right) leads him to the defense table Wednesday, Oct. 28, 2020, in Houston. Manzano is accused of killing a Houston Police Sgt. Harold Preston.
Steve Gonzales, Houston Chronicle / Staff photographerThere are those who believe Judge Frank Aguilar of the 228th District Court in Harris County is too quick to side with prosecutors’ arguments in court. But in a county whose criminal court judiciary turned over en masse four years ago, and where concerns about rising crime and lax bond decisions are widespread, we aren’t persuaded that Democrats would be wise to part company with a judge in their party with a tough approach to crime. Whether Aguilar wins or his opponent criminal defense lawyer Sam Milledge II does, the party’s nominee can expect that question of how judges handle bond in violent cases to be central to the November general election.
Those considerations aside, however, we believe Democrats should vote for Aguilar, 64, because he’s spent his first term on the bench learning to be a better judge — training the voters have paid for. His docket clearance rate has been 99 percent for cases in the previous 90 days, about average for all judges, and 86 percent for the previous year, a little better than average. He has about 10 percent fewer cases pending than average.
Perhaps most importantly, he’s handling one of the highest profile cases in recent memory — the murder trial of Gerald Goines, the former Houston police officer who led the disastrous raid on Harding Street as officers attempted to serve a no-knock warrant that police say Goines lied to get approved. The couple who owned the house were killed and several officers were injured. Goines’ conduct has led to wholesale review of thousands of cases, and his trial is being closely watched nationwide.
Aguilar gets generally high marks for keeping that trial on track, despite many delays caused by COVID and other obstacles. Tossing him out now without a compelling case strikes us as imprudent.
Milledge, 39, is an experienced criminal defense lawyer, working in both state and federal courts, and a strong proponent of bail reform. He’s garnered local endorsements and his modest fundraising totals are larger than Aguilar’s. Milledge promises he’d preside over the 228th with more efficiency.
We believe Milledge would make a good judge, but he has failed to make an urgent case for Democrats to unseat Aguilar. We recommend voters choose the incumbent.
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