Justice in Odessa

Texas Supreme Court Justice Phil Johnson said parental rights, energy and water rights will be important issues facing the court in the coming years.

Johnson, 63, visited Odessa Thursday. The Republican candidate was appointed by Texas Gov. Rick Perry in 2005 and elected to finish out the term a year later. He's now seeking his first full six-year term against Democrat Linda Yañez.

While he anticipated an appeal of at least one custody case resulting from the April raid on the Fundamentalist Church of Latter-day Saints polygamist compound in Eldorado during the next term, Johnson said it's important not to legislate from the bench.

He said the state's highest court's main duties are making sure proper procedure is followed.

"Typically, our job is, quite frankly, not as difficult and as dramatic as a trial judge and jury," he said.

Johnson graduated from Texas Tech University law school in 1975 and served as an attorney in Lubbock from 1975 to 1998. He was elected to the Seventh Court of Appeals in Amarillo in 1998.

Johnson said his background helps him understand issues important to West Texans such as energy. But he doesn't expect to see many cases in that area - as long as the price of oil doesn't drop too much.

"When people are making money and the price of oil goes up, people are too busy to be making litigation," he said.

"It just makes it better for this part of the state to be included - having a seat at the table, so to speak," he said.

Yañez, Johnson's opponent, has taken the Supreme Court to task in media reports, claiming that all-Republican bench has voted unanimously 90 percent of the time.

Johnson said the percentage was closer to 75 percent, and that the 13th Court of Appeals, on which Yañez serves, voted unanimously even more.

Efforts to reach Yañez were unsuccessful Thursday.