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Dale Tillery

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Dale Tillery
Judge of the 134th Texas District Court for Dallas County
Incumbent
Assumed office
2011
Member of the Texas House of Representatives
from the 105th district
In office
1995–2003
Preceded byAl Granoff
Succeeded byLinda Harper-Brown
Personal details
Born (1957-02-17) February 17, 1957 (age 67)
Dallas County, Texas
Political partyDemocratic
SpouseMelanie
Residence(s)Dallas, Texas
Alma materUniversity of North Texas (B.A.)
Texas Tech University (J.D.)
ProfessionAttorney

Dale B. Tillery (born February 17, 1957) is an American judge, politician, and lawyer and currently serves as the judge of the 134th Judicial District Court in Dallas County. He was first elected to the bench in 2010.

Political career

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Tillery was elected to the Texas House of Representatives in 1994 to replace the retiring Al Granoff. During his freshman term, his interests were focused on juvenile crime and public education; he passed legislation to help police departments crack down on gang activity.[1] His interests also included pensions and investments; during his final term, he served as chairman on the House Committee on Pensions and Investments.[2] As chairman, he sponsored legislation[3] to tap a then-$6.5 billion surplus in the state teachers’ pension fund to increase pensions for retired teachers by up to 10 percent.[4] The legislation increased the retirement multiplier to achieve the increases.[5] Supporters of the legislation noted that it was necessary to increase the retirement “maintain[] a rough parity” between older and newer retirees because “older retirees … worked for extremely low wages in the 1960s or 1970s[.]”[6] Teacher pensions have not been adjusted for inflation since 2001.[5]

Tillery authored[7] the 2001 amendment to the Texas Constitution to "require the governor to call a special legislative session to appoint presidential electors if the governor thought that a final determination of the Texas vote wouldn't be made before the federal deadline for certifying electors.”[8] The amendment was authored in response to the uncertainty over the counting of Florida's electoral votes in the 2000 Presidential election, including whether the state legislature was authorized to appoint a slate of electors if the counting was not completed before the deadline for the electors to meet.[9][8] Tillery said his measure resolved that legal uncertainty and “ensure[d] that Texans will appoint Texas presidential electors, not the United States Congress."[8] The amendment was adopted by 62 percent of Texas voters voting in the constitutional amendments election.[10]

He did not seek re-election in 2002; the GOP-led Legislative Redistricting Board paired[11] him with fellow Democrat Terri Hodge.[12]

Judicial career

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After serving in the Legislature, Tillery practice law privately in Dallas. In 2010, he won the Democratic nomination for judge of the 134th District Court for Dallas County in a runoff over former judge David Kelton. He won the general election that fall and took office Jan. 1, 2011.

As a judge, Tillery has presided over several high-profile cases in Dallas County. He was the judge presiding in the lawsuit filed by former exotic dancer Jana Weckerly against Dallas Cowboys owner Jerry Jones that ended in a sealed settlement.[13] He also presided over the multi-million dollar litigation between a Dallas hedge fund and Credit Suisse over the bankrupt Lake Las Vegas development; after a jury found Credit Suisse fraudulently inflated property appraisals in the development and awarded the hedge fund $40 million, Tillery ordered the financial services company to pay an $211.9 million in damages and restitution and $75.6 million in prejudgment damages and interest as penalty for the fraud.[14] Tillery's order was upheld on appeal.[15]

Tillery is certified as a specialist in Civil Trial Law and Personal Injury Trial Law by the Texas Board of Legal Specialization.[16]

References

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  1. ^ Endorsements: Here Are Our Preferences, Dallas Morning News 30A (Oct. 18, 1996)
  2. ^ Library, Texas Legislative Reference. "Legislative Reference Library | Legislators and Leaders | Member profile". www.lrl.state.tx.us. Retrieved 2018-03-28.
  3. ^ "Texas Legislature Online - 77(R) History for SB 273". www.capitol.state.tx.us. Retrieved 2018-03-28.
  4. ^ Kathryn A. Wolfe, Teachers Get Health Insurance, Hous. Chron. A37 (May 26, 2001).
  5. ^ a b Teachers Retir. Sys. of Tex., History of Benefit Changes at 11 (Dec. 2016).
  6. ^ House Res. Org., Bill Analysis for S.B. 273 at 6 (May 18, 2001).
  7. ^ "77(R) HJR 45 Enrolled version - Bill Text". www.capitol.state.tx.us. Retrieved 2018-03-28.
  8. ^ a b c Clay Robison, Measure Would Ensure Texas Chooses Electors, Hous. Chron. A33 (Oct. 21, 2001).
  9. ^ Tex. Legis. Coun., Analyses of Proposed Constitutional Amendments at 35 (Sept. 2001).
  10. ^ "2001 Const. Amend. Elec. Summary Rpt." in Sect. of St. of Tex., Historical Election Results (2018)
  11. ^ "Between the Lines". Texas Monthly. 2013-01-20. Retrieved 2018-03-28.
  12. ^ Sam Attlesey, New Maps Could Give GOP Large Majority in Both Houses, Dallas Morning News 1A (July 25, 2001).
  13. ^ Candace Carlisle, Lawsuit Against Dallas Cowboys Owner Jerry Jones Filed by Former Exotic Dancer Dismissed, Dallas Bus. J. (Oct. 16, 2014).
  14. ^ Lance Murray, Judge Orders Credit Suisse to Pay Highland Capital $287.5M in Suit Over Loans, Dallas Bus. J. (Sept. 8, 2015).
  15. ^ Miller, John. "Credit Suisse to fight on after setback in Lake Las Vegas resort case". U.S. Retrieved 2018-03-28.
  16. ^ "Attorney Profile". www.tbls.org. Retrieved 2018-03-28.
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