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Tarrant County Courthouse
Tarrant County District Court Judge Mollee Westfall on Wednesday announced that she was stepping down to run for Tarrant County District Attorney.
Westfall, a Republican, will be vying to replace two-term incumbent Sharen Wilson, who last week announced she would not seek another term in 2022.
If elected, Westfall would become only the second woman elected as district attorney in Tarrant County.
In a statement announcing her plans, Westfall emphasized that she has been “a conservative judge in every sense of the word," adding that she has been “tough but fair, effective, and certain prosecution can lower the crime rate and save lives.”
“In a time where law enforcement is under attack and even being defunded in many places,” says Westfall in a statement released by her campaign, “I have spent less money operating my court while handling more cases.”
Those claims have yet to be independently verified by Fort Worth Inc.
Before her stint on the bench, Westfall worked for 10 years in the district attorney’s office as a prosecutor, including three years prosecuting defendants accused of sex offenses against children. In all, she tried more than 60 felony jury trials to verdict. Among those was Jake Aaron Strickland, who was the first defendant in Tarrant County to be prosecuted and convicted for murder in a fatality involving driving while intoxicated. Strickland was sentenced to 35 years in prison.
In 2006, Westfall ran successfully against an 11-year incumbent to win the seat on the bench in the 371st District Court. In winning, she became only the fourth woman ever elected as a Tarrant County criminal district court judge.
Earlier this year, Westfall became involved in the scandal in the Tarrant County Medical Examiner's office. In a 51-page finding, Westfall asserted that chief medical examiner Nizam Peerwani made 10 “false, inaccurate or misleading” statements in his testimony in the capital murder trial of Tilon Lashon Carter. Carter had been convicted and sentenced to death for his role in the murder and robbery of James Tomlin.
Westfall recommended that Carter receive a new trial.
The deadline for candidates to file for the March 1 primary elections is Dec. 13.