WACO, Texas — Long-time Waco attorney, Susan Kelly announced her candidacy for the 19th District Judge seat at the McLennan County Courthouse Tuesday.
Kelly kicked off her campaign to succeed judge Ralph Strother, who's been the 19th district judge for 20 years and will retire at the end of his term in 2020.
The 19th district court handles serious crimes, such as murder, aggravated assaults, sex crimes, and drug offenses.
Strother has tried many cases including the Twin Peaks shooting, Shawn Oakman the former Baylor Football player who was accused of rape, and the Jacob Anderson trial, an ex-Baylor fraternity president who was accused of rape.
Kelly has been a private-practice attorney in Waco for 21 years and she's president of the Waco-McLennan County Bar Association.
"I started as a baby prosecutor, from traffic tickets, to murder cases, and I handled a lot of serious sex crime cases and prosecuted those," Kelly said. "I really believe in justice, and my slogan is 'Justice for all, and I do mean all.'"
She also said her instinct for fairness and experience in law makes her an ideal candidate for the bench.
"I have a fundamental sense of fairness," she said. "I may not have sense for a lot of things, but I know when something is not fair. And you put that with my 33 years of experience, and I think that makes me qualified to be judge of the 19th District Court."
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