David Marcel Fleischer (born December 6, 1974) is an American judge of the Harris County Criminal Court in

Texas Texas ( , ; or ) is the most populous U.S. state, state in the South Central United States, South Central region of the United States. It borders Louisiana to the east, Arkansas to the northeast, Oklahoma to the north, New Mexico to the we ...

. He was first elected to the position in 2018, running as a

Democrat Democrat, Democrats, or Democratic may refer to: Politics *A proponent of democracy, or democratic government; a form of government involving rule by the people. *A member of a Democratic Party: **Democratic Party (Cyprus) (DCY) **Democratic Part ...

, and won reelection in 2022. Fleischer is popular online for his unique style of holding defendants accountable while offering guidance.

Biography

Fleischer was born on December 6, 1974, in

Houston Houston ( ) is the List of cities in Texas by population, most populous city in the U.S. state of Texas and in the Southern United States. Located in Southeast Texas near Galveston Bay and the Gulf of Mexico, it is the county seat, seat of ...

, Texas. He is a first-generation American whose parents immigrated from

Santiago Santiago (, ; ), also known as Santiago de Chile (), is the capital and largest city of Chile and one of the largest cities in the Americas. It is located in the country's central valley and is the center of the Santiago Metropolitan Regi ...

, Chile, to Houston in 1973. He graduated from the

University of Houston The University of Houston (; ) is a Public university, public research university in Houston, Texas, United States. It was established in 1927 as Houston Junior College, a coeducational institution and one of multiple junior colleges formed in ...

and

Cooley Law School Cooley Law School (Cooley) is a private law school in Lansing, Michigan, and Riverview, Florida. It was established in 1972. At its peak in 2010, Cooley had over 3,900 students and was the largest US law school by enrollment; as of the spring o ...

. Fleischer has been a lawyer in Texas since 2004 and was a criminal defense attorney before running for public office. In 2018, Fleischer ran for Harris County Criminal Court at Law No. 5 after incumbent Margaret Harris declined to run for reelection. He focused his campaign on reforming the court and ensuring that all defendants are treated fairly and equally. In the Democratic primary, he faced two challengers and received 50% of the vote, moving on to the general election. In the general election, Fleischer defeated Republican Xavier Alfaro 55.13% to 44.87%. Once in office, Fleischer worked with other reform judges to settle lawsuits that ruled the bail practices in Harris County were unconstitutional. Under the enacted bail reform, there was a significant reduction of people denied a bond for misdemeanor offenses as well as defendants not being jailed for being late to court or testing positive for marijuana. Fleischer ran for re-election in 2022 and faced two District Attorney challengers, a Democrat and a Republican. In the March primary election, Fleischer defeated challenger Carlos Aguayo 53.48% to 46.52%. In the general election, he faced Elizabeth Buss who had criticized the county's progressive judges for the increase in violence. Fleischer defended the county's bail reform, saying, "We put in a lot of work o showthat any fear that someone might have had about bail reform is just nonsensical in the misdemeanor arena." In the November election, Fleischer narrowly defeated Buss, 50.15% to 49.85%. In 2024, Fleischer received national attention for his viral videos for his blunt commentary while ruling on cases, while also providing guidance and compassion for defendants. He has also received praise for his stance on racial justice and for dismissing cases involving potential

racial profiling Racial profiling or ethnic profiling is the offender profiling, selective enforcement or selective prosecution based on race or ethnicity, rather than individual suspicion or evidence. This practice involves discrimination against minority pop ...

by law enforcement. Some defense attorneys have criticized Fleischer for "playing to the camera" when live streaming his cases.

Personal life

Fleischer is married and has three children with his wife. His mother is

Jewish Jews (, , ), or the Jewish people, are an ethnoreligious group and nation, originating from the Israelites of History of ancient Israel and Judah, ancient Israel and Judah. They also traditionally adhere to Judaism. Jewish ethnicity, rel ...

References

External links

Ballotpedia
{{DEFAULTSORT:Fleischer, David Texas state court judges Lawyers from Houston Living people 21st-century American judges 21st-century American lawyers American people of Chilean descent University of Houston alumni Western Michigan University Cooley Law School alumni Year of birth missing (living people) Texas Democrats