Republican Kevin Patrick Yeary faces Democrat Audra Riley in the Nov. 3, 2026, election for Place 4 on the Texas Court of Criminal Appeals, according to the state’s certified ballot.
Experience and judicial approach
Yeary was elected to the court in 2014. His campaign biography describes earlier work as a court briefing attorney, civil litigator, criminal defense attorney and appellate prosecutor in Dallas, Harris and Bexar counties. He earned his undergraduate and law degrees at St. Mary’s University.
On his campaign website, Yeary emphasizes judicial restraint and the separation of powers. He argues that judges should apply constitutions and statutes rather than make policy through court decisions. That is his stated philosophy, not a promise of a particular ruling.
What the court does
The Court of Criminal Appeals is Texas’s highest criminal court. It receives death-penalty appeals directly and may review decisions from intermediate courts in other criminal cases. It also considers felony post-conviction habeas corpus matters.
Its decisions can determine whether convictions and sentences stand and how criminal-law protections apply across Texas. Judges decide legal disputes with their colleagues; they do not pass criminal statutes or independently set criminal-justice budgets.
This profile uses the certified ballot, official court information and Yeary’s published campaign statements.
The Flower Mound Times did not receive a direct questionnaire response from the candidate and does not endorse candidates.
