Peter Kelly (Texas)

Peter M. Kelly

Democratic Party

Prior offices

Texas First District Court of Appeals Place 9

Successor: Susanna Dokupil

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Elections and appointments

Last election

March 5, 2024

Education

Bachelor's

Harvard University

Law

University of Texas

Personal

Birthplace

Knoxville, Tenn.

Religion

Unitarian

Profession

Attorney

Contact

Personal Facebook

Personal LinkedIn

Peter M. Kelly (Democratic Party) was a judge for Place 9 of the Texas First District Court of Appeals. He assumed office in 2019. He left office on December 31, 2024.

Kelly (Democratic Party) ran for re-election for the Place 9 judge of the Texas First District Court of Appeals. He lost in the Democratic primary on March 5, 2024.

Biography

Peter Kelly was born in Knoxville, Tennessee. He earned a B.A. in history from Harvard University in 1985 and a J.D. from the University of Texas School of Law in 1990. Kelly’s career experience includes working as a partner with Kelly, Durham & Pittard, LLP and as an appellate justice. He has been affiliated with the following organizations:

• Member, Texas Supreme Court Advisory Committee
• Committee chair, member, and board member; Texas Trial Lawyers Association
• President, Houston Trial Lawyers Association
• Trustee, Texas Supreme Court Historical Society
• Life fellow, Texas Bar Foundation
• Co-author, appellate advocate; State Bar of Texas Appellate Section
• Member, Houston Bar Association
• Member, Bar Association of the Fifth Circuit
• American Bar Association
• American Association for Justice
• University of Texas School of Law Dean's Roundtable
• Fellow, American Bar Foundation and Texas Bar Foundation
• Director, Texas Appleseed

Elections

2024

See also: Texas intermediate appellate court elections, 2024

General election

General election for Texas First District Court of Appeals Place 9

Susanna Dokupil defeated Amber Boyd-Cora in the general election for Texas First District Court of Appeals Place 9 on November 5, 2024.

		Candidate	%	Votes
✔		Susanna Dokupil (R)	52.9	1,169,396
		Amber Boyd-Cora (D)	47.1	1,042,195

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	There were no incumbents in this race. Source	Total votes: 2,211,591
= candidate completed the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection survey.
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Democratic primary election

Democratic primary for Texas First District Court of Appeals Place 9

Amber Boyd-Cora defeated incumbent Peter M. Kelly in the Democratic primary for Texas First District Court of Appeals Place 9 on March 5, 2024.

		Candidate	%	Votes
✔		Amber Boyd-Cora	59.9	122,863
		Peter M. Kelly	40.1	82,230

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	Incumbents are bolded and underlined. The results have been certified. Source	Total votes: 205,093
= candidate completed the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection survey.
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Republican primary election

Republican primary for Texas First District Court of Appeals Place 9

Susanna Dokupil advanced from the Republican primary for Texas First District Court of Appeals Place 9 on March 5, 2024.

		Candidate	%	Votes
✔		Susanna Dokupil	100.0	264,928

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	There were no incumbents in this race. The results have been certified. Source	Total votes: 264,928
= candidate completed the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection survey.
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Endorsements

Ballotpedia did not identify endorsements for Kelly in this election.

2020

See also: Texas Supreme Court elections, 2020

General election

General election for Texas Supreme Court Place 8

Incumbent Brett Busby defeated Gisela Triana and Tom Oxford in the general election for Texas Supreme Court Place 8 on November 3, 2020.

		Candidate	%	Votes
✔		Brett Busby (R)	53.4	5,847,135
		Gisela Triana (D)	44.1	4,826,674
		Tom Oxford (L)	2.5	274,959

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	Incumbents are bolded and underlined. The results have been certified. Source	Total votes: 10,948,768
= candidate completed the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection survey.
If you are a candidate and would like to tell readers and voters more about why they should vote for you, complete the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection Survey.
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Democratic primary election

Democratic primary for Texas Supreme Court Place 8

Gisela Triana defeated Peter M. Kelly in the Democratic primary for Texas Supreme Court Place 8 on March 3, 2020.

		Candidate	%	Votes
✔		Gisela Triana	72.0	1,251,611
		Peter M. Kelly	28.0	485,697

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	There were no incumbents in this race. The results have been certified. Source	Total votes: 1,737,308
= candidate completed the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection survey.
If you are a candidate and would like to tell readers and voters more about why they should vote for you, complete the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection Survey.
Do you want a spreadsheet of this type of data? Contact our sales team.

Republican primary election

Republican primary for Texas Supreme Court Place 8

Incumbent Brett Busby advanced from the Republican primary for Texas Supreme Court Place 8 on March 3, 2020.

		Candidate	%	Votes
✔		Brett Busby	100.0	1,692,583

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	Incumbents are bolded and underlined. The results have been certified. Source	Total votes: 1,692,583
= candidate completed the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection survey.
If you are a candidate and would like to tell readers and voters more about why they should vote for you, complete the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection Survey.
Do you want a spreadsheet of this type of data? Contact our sales team.

Libertarian convention

Libertarian convention for Texas Supreme Court Place 8

Tom Oxford advanced from the Libertarian convention for Texas Supreme Court Place 8 on August 3, 2020.

		Candidate
✔		Tom Oxford (L)

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	There were no incumbents in this race. The results have been certified. Source
= candidate completed the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection survey.
If you are a candidate and would like to tell readers and voters more about why they should vote for you, complete the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection Survey.
Do you want a spreadsheet of this type of data? Contact our sales team.

2018

See also: Texas intermediate appellate court elections, 2018

General election

General election for Texas First District Court of Appeals Place 9

Peter M. Kelly defeated incumbent Jennifer Caughey in the general election for Texas First District Court of Appeals Place 9 on November 6, 2018.

		Candidate	%	Votes
✔		Peter M. Kelly (D)	51.8	894,209
		Jennifer Caughey (R)	48.2	833,319

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	Incumbents are bolded and underlined. The results have been certified. Source	Total votes: 1,727,528
= candidate completed the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection survey.
If you are a candidate and would like to tell readers and voters more about why they should vote for you, complete the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection Survey.
Do you want a spreadsheet of this type of data? Contact our sales team.

Democratic primary election

Democratic primary for Texas First District Court of Appeals Place 9

Peter M. Kelly advanced from the Democratic primary for Texas First District Court of Appeals Place 9 on March 6, 2018.

		Candidate
✔		Peter M. Kelly

---

	There were no incumbents in this race. The results have been certified.
= candidate completed the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection survey.
If you are a candidate and would like to tell readers and voters more about why they should vote for you, complete the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection Survey.
Do you want a spreadsheet of this type of data? Contact our sales team.

Republican primary election

Republican primary for Texas First District Court of Appeals Place 9

Incumbent Jennifer Caughey advanced from the Republican primary for Texas First District Court of Appeals Place 9 on March 6, 2018.

		Candidate
✔		Jennifer Caughey

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	Incumbents are bolded and underlined. The results have been certified.
= candidate completed the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection survey.
If you are a candidate and would like to tell readers and voters more about why they should vote for you, complete the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection Survey.
Do you want a spreadsheet of this type of data? Contact our sales team.

2016

See also: Texas judicial elections, 2016

Kelly filed paperwork with the Texas Board of Elections to challenge incumbent Justice Tracy E. Christopher for her seat on the Fourteenth District Court of Appeals in Texas. He was the only challenger to file before the deadline. He was therefore unopposed in the March 1 Democratic primary and faced Christopher in the November general election.

Election results

November 8 general election

Incumbent Tracy E. Christopher defeated Peter M. Kelly in the general election for the Texas Fourteenth District Court of Appeals, Place 9.

Texas Fourteenth District Court of Appeals, Place 9, 2016
Party		Candidate	Vote %	Votes
	Republican	Tracy E. Christopher Incumbent	52.43%	966,844
	Democratic	Peter M. Kelly	47.57%	877,132
Total Votes (100% reporting)				1,843,976
Source: Texas Secretary of State Official Results

March 1 primary election

Texas Fourteenth District Court of Appeals, Seat 9, Democratic Primary, 2016
Party		Candidate	Vote %	Votes
	Democratic	Peter M. Kelly  (unopposed)	100.00%	199,378
Total Votes (100% Reporting)				199,378
Source: Texas Secretary of State Official Results

Campaign themes

2024

Ballotpedia survey responses

See also: Ballotpedia's Candidate Connection

Peter M. Kelly did not complete Ballotpedia's 2024 Candidate Connection survey.

2020

Peter M. Kelly completed Ballotpedia's Candidate Connection survey in 2020. The survey questions appear in bold and are followed by Kelly's responses. Candidates are asked three required questions for this survey, but they may answer additional optional questions as well.

Expand all | Collapse all

Who are you? Tell us about yourself.

Prior to becoming a Justice on the First Court of Appeals, for twenty years I focused almost entirely on plaintiff-side civil appeals, representing injured individuals against corporations and insurers. I have appeared in every intermediate court of appeals, and argued numerous times before the Texas Supreme Court and the Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals. I have also served as chair of the Amicus Committee of the Texas Trial Lawyers Association for fifteen years, and from that office have weighed in on nearly every case of significance to injured Texans. I understand the appellate process, the interplay of public policy and statutory interpretation, and the development of common law principles of equity and fairness.

Please list below 3 key messages of your campaign. What are the main points you want voters to remember about your goals for your time in office?

• Ensure a broader range of legal and social viewpoints are reflected in the court's opinions.
• Restore the jury to its rightful place in our legal system as the conscience of the community.
• Expand the court's efforts to afford access to justice for all Texans, regardless of financial wherewithal.

What areas of public policy are you personally passionate about?

Any type of inequality before the law; in particular systematic economic oppression of consumers and workers.

Who do you look up to? Whose example would you like to follow, and why?

United States Supreme Court Justice (and Nuremberg prosecutor) Robert Jackson. A superb writer, he never lost sight of the humanity of the parties before him, and always understood that even the most arid legal principles had direct, personal effects on individuals.

What qualities do you possess that you believe would make you a successful officeholder?

Curiosity, patience, and a string sense of equity

What legacy would you like to leave?

To be a fair and compassionate judge that changed the law for the better

What is the first historical event that happened in your lifetime that you remember? How old were you at the time?

Assassination of Martin Luther King, Jr. I was almost 5.

What was your very first job? How long did you have it?

Counselor and then a program director at Bear Creek Boy Scout Camp, Hunt, Texas (affiliated with the San Antonio area council), for 3 consecutive summers.

What is your favorite book? Why?

The Recognitions, by William Gaddis. A meditation on art and artifice, beautifully written. (Tomorrow it might be Faulkner--it changes with my mood).

If you could be any fictional character, who would you want to be?

Shakespeare's Henry V

What was the last song that got stuck in your head?

Two Nice Girls' version of Sweet Jane

What is something that has been a struggle in your life?

Learning to not be swept away by my own arguments

Note: Ballotpedia reserves the right to edit Candidate Connection survey responses. Any edits made by Ballotpedia will be clearly marked with [brackets] for the public. If the candidate disagrees with an edit, he or she may request the full removal of the survey response from Ballotpedia.org. Ballotpedia does not edit or correct typographical errors unless the candidate's campaign requests it.

Campaign finance summary

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Note: The finance data shown here comes from the disclosures required of candidates and parties. Depending on the election or state, this may represent only a portion of all the funds spent on their behalf. Satellite spending groups may or may not have expended funds related to the candidate or politician on whose page you are reading this disclaimer. Campaign finance data from elections may be incomplete. For elections to federal offices, complete data can be found at the FEC website. Click here for more on federal campaign finance law and here for more on state campaign finance law.

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Peter M. Kelly campaign contribution history

Year	Office	Status	Contributions	Expenditures
2024*	Texas First District Court of Appeals Place 9	Lost primary	$157,799	$126,774
Grand total			$157,799	$126,774
Sources: OpenSecrets,  Federal Elections Commission ***This product uses the openFEC API but is not endorsed or certified by the Federal Election Commission (FEC).
* Data from this year may not be complete

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Footnotes

Political offices
Preceded by -	Texas First District Court of Appeals Place 9 2019-2024	Succeeded by Susanna Dokupil (R)