Republican John Messinger faces Democrat Holly Taylor in the Nov. 3, 2026, election for Place 9 on the Texas Court of Criminal Appeals, according to the state’s certified ballot.
Experience
Messinger’s campaign biography describes work at the McLennan County district attorney’s office before joining the Office of the State Prosecuting Attorney in 2011. He points to extensive briefing and oral argument in criminal appeals.
In a questionnaire submitted to Texas Judges, he lists a law degree from Baylor University in 2006.
Judicial approach
Messinger says courts should enforce the law as written rather than decide cases from judges’ personal preferences. He cites his record as an appellate prosecutor as evidence of that approach. Those statements are campaign arguments, not independent assessments of his future judicial performance.
What the court does
The Court of Criminal Appeals is Texas’s highest criminal court. It receives death-penalty appeals directly, may review other criminal appeals and considers felony post-conviction habeas corpus matters.
Its rulings can affect convictions, sentences and the application of legal protections statewide. A judge decides cases with other members of the court rather than passing criminal laws or independently setting public-safety budgets.
This profile draws on the certified ballot, official court information, Messinger’s campaign biography and his published questionnaire.
The Flower Mound Times did not receive a direct questionnaire response from the candidate and does not endorse candidates.
