Staci Williams
Democratic · TX · Judge, 101st District Court, Dallas County
Staci Williams has been a Dallas County civil district judge since 2015 and earlier was a Dallas municipal judge and counsel to the U.S. Senate Judiciary Committee. She stresses fair, efficient courts and runs a Citizens' Civil Academy that teaches the public about civil courts.
Where Staci Williams stands, based on their records
Supports
Civil Rights (1 record)
Track record
Track record — Civil Rights
Civil Rights · 1 support
Published a July 17, 2020 statement supporting Black Lives Matter as a social justice movement. She criticized State Bar President Larry McDougal’s treatment of a Black Lives Matter shirt as electioneering and the Texas Supreme Court’s lack of a public response.
July 17, 2020Supports Civil Rights
Source: judgestaci.com
Track record — General
General · 4 records
Ordered Dallas County polling hours extended from 7 p.m. to 9 p.m. on March 3, 2026, citing voter confusion and a crashed election website. The Texas Supreme Court stayed the order that evening and required ballots from voters outside the line at 7 p.m. to be separated. It dismissed the challenge as moot on March 27, without a final decision on the merits.
March 27, 2026
Source: search.txcourts.gov
Founded the Citizens’ Civil Academy in September 2015 to teach residents how civil courts work. In a December 2021 interview, she reported more than 400 graduates and classes at over 12 Dallas County locations. The program was free to participants.
December 29, 2021
Source: attorneyatlawmagazine.com
Created Coffee and Bagels with the 101st District Court, an attorney seminar about court operations with guest speakers on legal topics. In her December 29, 2021 interview, she reported converting it into a periodic newsletter on civil-court procedures during COVID-19.
December 29, 2021
Source: attorneyatlawmagazine.com
Received Dallas City Council approval on February 13, 2013 for a settlement of up to $75,000 in her federal lawsuit challenging her non-reappointment as a municipal judge. The suit alleged discrimination, harassment and retaliation. The official minutes record final approval by an 11–4 vote.
February 13, 2013
Source: citysecretary2.dallascityhall.com
Track record — Legal Competence
Legal Competence · 5 unfavorable
Had her order voiding a third party’s property lien, a claim securing a debt, corrected on October 2, 2025 (In re Hefflefinger Partnership). The Dallas Court of Appeals held that she exceeded the limits of a judgment-collection proceeding by deciding the third party’s ownership rights. It directed her to vacate the order. The docket records receipt of a trial-court order the next day.
October 2, 2025Unfavorable on Legal Competence
Source: search.txcourts.gov
Had her refusal to schedule a timely hearing corrected by the Dallas Court of Appeals on March 11, 2024 (In re Lozovyy). Her court cited a full docket after repeated hearing requests under a state law for dismissing certain speech-related lawsuits. The appeals court ordered a hearing within the law’s deadlines. She signed a compliance order that day setting the hearing for March 13, 2024.
March 11, 2024Unfavorable on Legal Competence
Source: search.txcourts.gov
Had her discovery order corrected on May 10, 2022 (In re Dallas County and Constable Bill Gipson). She ordered evidence gathering before hearing the government defendants’ challenges to the court’s authority to hear the suit. The Dallas Court of Appeals directed her to vacate that order and hear those challenges first. Her August 30, 2022 amended order reported vacating the discovery order and granting those challenges on July 22.
May 10, 2022Unfavorable on Legal Competence
Source: search.txcourts.gov
Issued findings after taking over a case tried by her predecessor. On May 12, 2017, the Texas Supreme Court held that she lacked authority to make those findings (AD Villarai v. Pak). It directed that the former judge be asked to supply them. The former judge later supplied findings, and the appeals court decided the merits in May 2018.
May 12, 2017Unfavorable on Legal Competence
Source: search.txcourts.gov
Had her dismissal of the State Fair of Texas’s public-records lawsuit reversed on August 2, 2016 (State Fair of Texas v. Riggs & Ray). The Dallas Court of Appeals held that the fair could seek a ruling on its public-information duties and that dismissal under the free-speech lawsuit statute was improper. It returned the case for further proceedings.
August 2, 2016Unfavorable on Legal Competence
Source: search.txcourts.gov
Track record — Candidate Ethics
Candidate Ethics · 1 record
Received a $2,500 civil penalty for campaign disclosure violations in a final Texas Ethics Commission order executed on October 16, 2025. Amended reports revealed $127,566.24 in contributions and $314,169.68 in expenditures omitted from original reports. The commission considered her corrected reports and a fundraising-page bot attack. She neither admitted nor denied the findings. The commission found no reason to believe she intended concealment.
October 16, 2025
Source: ethics.state.tx.us
Past race Staci Williams ran in:
- District Judge, 101st Judicial District · November 3, 2026 · Dallas County, Texas · incumbent