For use by Stonewall Democrats of Dallas 2014 Judicial Candidate Questionnaire: (Note: Judicial candidates are asked to ONLY

answer the Judicial Candidate questionnaire, and NO the Count! or "tate Le#el questionnaire$% 1& 'h! are !ou seekin( the endorse)ent *ro) "tonewall +e)ocrats o* +allas, I am pleased to have been endorsed by Stonewall Democrats of Dallas (SDD) in my last two judicial campaigns, and, once again, see the SDD!s endorsement because SDD spea s for a community that is an important constituency with the Democratic "arty, both in terms of the community it represents and the values of liberty # human rights it espouses$ 2& 'hat are !our -lans to -artici-ate in a coordinated ca)-ai(n in the (eneral election, I have been an active participant in the coordinated campaign for the general election in my last two judicial campaigns, and I have every intention of doing so again, even though I am unopposed in the Democratic "rimary and the %eneral &lection$ .& 'ill !ou use the "tonewall +e)ocrats o* +allas endorse)ent in or on: a% !our we/site /% !our ca)-ai(n literature and )ailers c% !our social )edia assets ( witter, 0ace/ook, etc&% d% !our ca)-ai(n ad#ertise)ents 'es to all of the above$ 4& 'hen elected, how will !ou recruit, retain, and create a *riendl! en#iron)ent *or L12 and L12 3*riendl! sta**, (o my nowledge, I am the only )udge in the %eorge *llen +ourthouse that has a written # publically posted non,discrimination policy of any type, and this policy includes se-ual orientation and gender identity$ )udges have two staff members. a court reporter and a court coordinator$ /y court reporter is very 0%1( friendly 2 her youngest son is gay$ /y court coordinator is retiring shortly, and I am currently considering candidates to replace her, including members of the 0%1( community$

4& 'ould !ou /e willin( to a--oint a liaison to )eet with the L12 co))unit! on a on(oin( /asis, 5* not, wh!, 3hile having an official liaison for legislative # e-ecutive officials is a great idea, with all due respect, it is not a good idea for judicial officials, and would be counterproductive$ )udges are ethically prohibited from discussing the merits of cases outside court proceedings$ (herefore, there would be little to discuss$ (he harm is that in having an official liaison, we could and would be setting up a scenario to be recused from cases involving issues of concern to the 0%1( community$ 4or e-ample, ta e the following hypothetical scenario (which is not far, fetched). a same,se- married couple (married in +* for e-ample) resides in (5$ (ragically, one spouse is illed in a car accident, and the surviving spouse files a wrongful death claim see ing compensation$ (he Defendant files a /otion for Summary )udgment claiming that the "laintiff has no standing to bring the claim because (5 law does not recogni6e same,se- marriages, and, therefore, the "laintiff is not a spouse of the decedent$ (he "laintiff responds that (5 law is unconstitutional in this regard$ 7ow, the issues of same,se- marriage and interstate recognition thereof are s8uarely before the +ourt$ If the +ourt were to have an 944I+I*0 liaison to an 0%1( organi6ation, there is a high probability that the )udge would be recused$ :ecusal decisions are made by the :egional *dministrative )udge (a :ic "erry appointee) or a retired )udge she selects (the overwhelming number of such retired judges are conservative republicans)$ I suspect that SDD would not li e to see me and;or many members of the Dallas +ounty judiciary recused from such a case$ I am always open to having informal discussions with SDD members on issues not related to the merits of matters before the +ourt, but, for the reasons stated above, having an 944I+I*0 liaison would li ely be counterproductive$ 6& 7nderstandin( that ad)inistrati#e )atters can take u- a si(ni*icant -ercenta(e o* !our work da!, what are so)e ideas *or -olicies or -rocedures that !ou think !ou can i)-ro#e court o-erations *or the court which !ou are seekin( o**ice, 'hat are the )ost i)-ortant -olicies or -rocedures !ou8#e identi*ied as needin( i)-ro#e)ent, 3hen I too office, one of my chief goals was to reduce the enormous bac log that had accumulated in the <=>rd )udicial District +ourt (which had the largest bac log at around ?@A more than the average)$ :oughly >@ months after ta ing office, the +ourt became the least bac logged +ourt, and remains among the most efficient still to this day$ (o achieve this, I implemented several policies and procedures to ensure that cases have settings and do not linger on the doc et$ I plan to continue implementing these procedures$ +oncerning areas needing improvement, none of us is perfect, and there is always room for improvement, so I will strive to wor even harder to ensure everyone gets a fair # e-peditious hearing$

I, )udge +arl %insberg of the <=>rd )udicial District +ourt, am see ing an endorsement from the Stonewall Democrats of Dallas$

Signed.

Date.

December <B, ?@<>