September 15, 2025 • 31 mins
For Questions or Comments Send us a Text Message
What happens when you get a traffic ticket in a rural area, need to evict a non-paying tenant, or find yourself in a dispute over a home renovation gone wrong? The Justice of the Peace court might be your destination, yet many residents don't understand this crucial part of our legal system.
In this revealing conversation, Steven Killfoil sits down with Vince Handler, candidate for Justice of the Peace in Precinct 5 of Denton County, to unpack the surprising scope and significance of this "neighborhood court." Handler, a 20-year Air Force veteran and experienced attorney, explains how these courts handle everything from small claims lawsuits up to $20,000 to eviction proceedings and criminal matters that don't involve jail time.
The discussion takes us beyond the basics as Handler shares his vision for transforming the role from a mere adjudicator to a true community resource. Unlike many judges who are rarely seen outside the courtroom, Handler describes plans to bring legal education to high school students, conduct mock court sessions, and provide regular updates to local governments about trends affecting the community.
Covering the unique challenges of Precinct 5—which spans the entire northern half of Denton County and encompasses both rural areas and rapidly growing communities—Handler outlines his three guiding principles: fairness, upholding the law, and increasing efficiency. He addresses the concerning backlog of cases that can leave citizens waiting months or even years for resolution and offers concrete strategies for improvement.
Perhaps most surprising is the revelation that Texas doesn't require Justices of the Peace to have legal training—a provision dating back to 1876 when rural counties often lacked licensed attorneys. Handler contrasts this minimal requirement with his own extensive legal background and explains why proper judicial experience matters for fair and effective outcomes.
Whether you're a longtime resident or new to the area, this conversation offers valuable insights into a court system that statistically, you're more likely to encounter than any other. Join us for this enlightening discussion about justice at its most accessible level and discover why Handler views this position as "not just a job, but a calling."
Order your copy today of "Achieve Optimal Brain Health with Nutrition," by Stefan McDermott.
https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0DYWMB929
www.stefanmcdermott.com
Would you like Santa Claus and Mrs. Claus to come to your home or office? Contact The Santa Steven at Steven@theSantaSteven.com or book a party on https://www.gigsalad.com/the_santa_steven_aubrey or call 469-230-5956 for more information.
Mark as Played
Transcript
Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
Steven Killfoil (00:04):
Crossroads.
Podcast.
We'll be right back, but thosewho want to be in the know.
(01:03):
Who's your daddy?
Good morning Crossroads.
Hello everybody and welcome toCommunity Conversations.
I'm your host, stephen Kilfoyle.
Today we're sitting down withsomeone who's stepping forward
to serve the people of DentonCounty County.
My guest is Vince Handler,candidate for Justice of the
(01:25):
Peace in Precinct 5, whichcovers Crossroads, Texas.
We'll talk about what the roleof a Justice of the Peace
actually is, how it impacts ourcommunity and what Vince hopes
to accomplish if elected.
Vince, thank you for joining metoday.
Vince Handler (01:47):
Thank you, steve, I really appreciate it.
Steven Killfoil (01:50):
It's great to be here with you.
Well, I'm glad you come on theshow.
So let's start out with thebasics.
So a lot of folks hear thisterm justice of the peace but
may not fully understand whatthe position actually entails.
So, vance, could you explainwhat the roles and
responsibilities of a Justice ofthe Peace are?
Vince Handler (02:12):
Sure, in fact this is very common.
When I felt the calling to runto be elected as Justice of the
Peace, I started askingquestions of the community, my
neighbors and friends do youeven know what Justice of the
Peace does?
And a lot of them had somepreconceptions.
What I realized early on?
That I had a big role to playin educating the voters.
(02:35):
And so, to answer your question, the Justice of the Peace in
Texas is actually it's the firstlevel court in the whole system
.
Justice of the Peace is yourlocal neighborhood court and the
constitution, the whole system.
Justice of the Peace is yourlocal neighborhood court and the
constitution and some laws giveJustice of the Peace certain
jurisdiction.
In Denton County we have sixJustice of the Peace divided up
into geographic areas.
(02:56):
Justice of the Peace, precinct5, the current judge, judge Mike
Oglesby.
He's actually retiring at theend of his current term and he
had called me up a couple ofyears ago and encouraged me to
run and to get elected.
But geographically this just ofthe piece covers the entire
northern half of Denton Countyup to the Cook County line and
east to west, from Wise Countyline over to Collin County line
(03:16):
and jurisdiction wise.
This court handles small claims,such as lawsuits that are
involving damages in the amountof $20,000 or less, such as
lawsuits that are involvingdamages in the amount of $20,000
or less.
So in that you've got a lot ofbreach of contract, some debt
claims.
If you get sued and the amountthat you're being sued for is
$20,000 or less, good chanceyou're going to be in Justice
(03:37):
Peace Court.
Or if you want to sue somebodywho, like a contractor who
didn't do something right onyour house, and if the value is
$20,000 or less, it's going tobe Justice Peace Court.
So that's one of them.
Justice of the Peace Court isthe exclusive jurisdiction for
all evictions.
If you're a landlord or you ownan apartment complex, in order
to evict a tenant who isviolating the lease or not even
paying the rent, it must gothrough the Justice of the Peace
(03:58):
Courts.
There's like over 200 criminallaws that fall under the Justice
of the Peace Court jurisdiction, 200 criminal laws that fall
under the Justice of the PeaceCourt jurisdiction, including
traffic tickets, anything thatwould be a non-criminal excuse
me, a matter that would not endup being jail time.
If it doesn't involve jail time, then it would fall into the
Justice of the Peace Court.
So it's going to be traffictickets, it could be dangerous
(04:18):
animal, it could be animal abuse.
Justice of the Peace Court alsohas jurisdiction over truancy
or parental contribution totruancy.
So to make sure that thesestudents are getting to class
and getting their education.
If that becomes a problem thenthe school district can bring
them before Just the Peace andhandle it that way.
Steven Killfoil (04:35):
Oh yeah, and on the nice side of things,
Justices of the Peace are alsoable to perform marriages.
Vince Handler (04:42):
And that is what a lot of people will say.
First is that, oh, just thepeace does marriages.
Well, yes, any judge canactually do that.
It's common to hear that justthe peace might do marriages as
well.
It's actually just a side gig,if you can call it that a side
gig, that just the peace can do,and some of them do that, but
other judges can do that as well.
(05:02):
It's just commonly known thatjustice of the peace do also do
marriages.
Steven Killfoil (05:06):
Yeah, when I brought Madalina over from
Romania back in 2006, it was ajustice of the peace who
performed our first unionbecause we were kind of poor and
couldn't afford to do a churchwedding.
We had to wait a couple ofyears before we got the wedding,
church wedding but it was nice.
He was a great guy down inCorpus Christi in Nueces County.
(05:29):
Yeah, in fact, Justice of thePeace does not have jurisdiction
over family law.
So, yes, a Justice of the Peacecould marry you, but they would
not be able to help getinvolved in a lawsuit involving
a divorce.
Right, yeah, that's a whole other court.
Vince Handler (05:43):
That's right.
Steven Killfoil (05:44):
okay.
Well, so in many ways, theJustice of the Peace is the most
direct form of the court systemthat touches everyday people's
lives.
Vince Handler (05:54):
That's correct.
It's the lowest, it's the firstlevel of court in the system and
it's also the highest volume.
It's also the highest volume.
So statistically, our communityhas a statistically higher
chance of being in a Justice tothe Peace Court for a lawsuit
than they would have in anyother higher courts.
The family law courts, ofcourse, will handle family law
(06:17):
matters.
The criminal courts thatinvolve jail time will handle
those, but Justice to the PeaceCourt is definitely the highest
volume.
There is literally thousands ofcases that go through.
Justice to the Peace Corps isdefinitely the highest volume.
There is literally thousands ofcases that go through just the
Peace Corps.
And one of the things managingthat caseload is definitely a
factor that some prior judgeshave had an issue with as well.
Steven Killfoil (06:33):
Oh yeah.
Well, I remember when we firstmoved here there was a law
enforcement officer who wasnotorious for ticket writing and
he was good at it and he wasjustified 100 percent and it
wouldn't matter anything.
My father is a retiredpoliceman, so I have total
respect for all law enforcementofficers.
(06:54):
But I got tickled.
I'd go to some of these uhmeetings with the chamber of
commerce and I'd hear theseladies complaining well, this
officer wrote me a ticket againand I was like again.
And they said, yeah, thisparticular officer boy, he sits
there in the parking lot and hejust waits.
And I'm like, well, they brokethe law, he has every right to
(07:17):
cite him a ticket.
And she says, well, you're notvery sympathetic.
And I said, no, I'm not.
If you break the law, I saidwhat do you want him to do?
Spank you on the wrist and tellyou bye?
No, I said, if that signclearly says do not turn left
onto highway 380, don't do it.
And if you do it, then well,expect to get that ticket
(07:37):
absolutely yeah, it was funny.
I bet the previous judge wouldprobably tell you, yeah, when
that officer was writing tickets.
It was a lion's share of courtcomplaints that I got, but hey,
they were justified, everysingle one of them.
Vince Handler (07:54):
And some of these tickets.
If it's written by a municipalpolice department it might go
through that municipal court.
But northern Denton County hasa lot of unincorporated areas.
So if DPS writes a ticket or ifthe sheriff's department writes
a ticket, they're gonna have togo through Justice of the Peace
court yeah, yeah, it's, wow,it's amazing.
Steven Killfoil (08:13):
So let's get a little more specific.
If you're elected, what willyour duties look like here in
Cross Roads and Precinct 5.
?
Vince Handler (08:23):
So the court is physically located in Cross
Roads but, as I mentioned, itcovers the northern half of
Denton County, south to aboutUniversity.
If you look at a map, that'sessentially the cutoff, except
it does go a little bit furthersouth into Oak Point and
portions of Little Elm, but itdoes cover a lot of area and
therefore, therefore, you've gota mix of a dense population but
(08:47):
you also have a lot of ruralpopulation, and so you're going
to have a lot of different typesof cases that go through the
justice of the peace court,specifically in precinct five.
So the role of the judge is toactually let me say this what I
will be doing as judge if theLord blesses me with being
elected number one is be fairand impartial Whatever comes
(09:09):
before me as a just of the peace.
I owe it to our neighbors, Iowe it to our community to take
a look at the facts of the caseand determine what is the proper
outcome.
And that leads into my secondtenet.
My priority is to uphold thelaw.
A good judge will take the lawand apply it to the facts of the
case, and each case can be alittle bit different.
(09:32):
So, whatever the facts of thatcase are as a judge, take a look
at the law and apply it to thefacts and then make a decision.
The last thing, the last of mythree priorities there are other
priorities as well, but thelast of my three main priorities
is to increase the court'sefficiency.
There's so many cases going inand out of that court and there
have been opportunities toincrease the efficiency.
Nobody wants their case to justlag there and stay there for
(09:56):
sometimes a year or two years.
Some of these cases just sitthere and a good judge will
manage that docket to get peoplepeople's cases resolved as fast
as possible.
If we can resolve it in lessthan a month, let's resolve it
in less than a month.
We shouldn't have these casessitting out there for a year or
more.
So those are the three thingsthat a judge is expected to do,
(10:18):
and I'll be bringing a lot of myprevious career as an attorney
understanding how to do thatefficiently, and I've had other
jobs in the past.
I was a 20-year Air Forceveteran.
There's a lot of things I'velearned as far as getting the
mission done, doing anefficiency, finding the, doging,
the office, because not only isthere a judge there but there's
(10:38):
a staff behind him of five orsix clerks and they have to be
properly trained and be able togive good customer service to
anybody who has a court case inthat court.
So finding the efficienciesthere, increasing the efficiency
, so they would help out ourcommunity if they find
themselves in just the PeaceCourt, definitely.
Steven Killfoil (10:57):
Well, besides the obvious, you're having a
large mixture of heavilypopulated and rural area.
What makes Precinct 5 uniquecompared to other areas of
Denton County?
Vince Handler (11:08):
The caseload, the types of cases that the other
precincts see are going todepend on their population.
For example, justice PeacePrecinct 3 in Louisville,
because that is more heavilypopulated, especially with
apartment complexes, a highercrime level than you would see
in northern part of the county,their caseload is going to be a
(11:30):
little bit different.
All the Justice of the Peace inDenton County handle the same
types of cases but in Justice ofthe Peace, precinct 5, you're
going to have a little bit moretraffic tickets because the DPS
and the sheriffs are more activein that part of the
unincorporated areas of thecounty.
But that doesn't mean that youdon't have a lot of the other
types of cases as well.
As the population grows because, yes, there's rural parts of
(11:53):
the county around Sanger andPilot Point and Crossroads and
Aubrey.
You have rural parts but youalso have a lot of growth and
some of this growth is includingapartment complexes and these
apartment complexes willsometimes have tenants that are
not paying rent and the onlyavenue that they have to be able
to address a non-paying tenantis to go through the Justice of
(12:14):
the Peace Court.
So as these apartment complexesget built we're starting to see
the evictions.
More evictions get filed inJustice of the Peace Court,
precinct 5.
We're seeing more debt claimsget filed in Justice of the
Peace Precinct 5, especiallywhen, after COVID, we saw a
spike in people not being ableto pay credit card bills, for
example.
So some of it's going to dependon the economy, but we are
(12:34):
actually seeing a very bigincrease in the amount of cases
that Justice Peace Precinct 5 is.
So basically, to answer yourquestion, precinct 5 is just
catching up with the otherprecincts because of the
population growth.
But there's still a lot of therural area that deals with abuse
of animals.
If somebody is found out to beabusing the horses on the ranch,
that's going to go through justthe Peace Corps.
Steven Killfoil (13:01):
So there, are definitely some things that
straddle both sides of a ruralarea, plus a very populous area
as well.
Yeah, definitely, you have anunusual mixture in District 5,
clearly.
Vince Handler (13:08):
Exactly.
Steven Killfoil (13:10):
It's amazing.
So, vince, when people run foroffice, it's not just about the
job description, right, it'salso about personal goals and
priorities.
What are some of yours if youbecome the Justice of the Peace?
Vince Handler (13:26):
Justice of the Peace is to be elected, you do
have to win the primary for yourparty before you go into the
general election.
So for considering partypolitics, I am a conservative,
I'm a Republican, and what thatdoes is it forms the foundation
of how I think, how I view theseparation between the executive
branch such as the policeofficers writing a ticket versus
(13:48):
the judicial branch.
How does a judge apply the law?
And so my conservative thinkingis what forms how I'm going to
apply the law?
Follow the law, apply the lawto the facts, the case to come
up with a proper decision.
Now, once I'm a judge, there isno politics, but, just like my
faith in God forms a foundationof how I think, being a judge I
(14:13):
have to apply the law.
Regardless of what I mightthink of the law as a
conservative, regardless of whatI might think of myself as a
God-fearing individual, I haveto apply the law, and that's key
to a conservative way ofthinking is to apply the law as
it was written by a legislature.
The judges have no business inwhat commonly is termed
(14:39):
legislating from the bench.
Judges have to apply the lawand if you want the law changed,
if you don't like the law.
We have to talk with ourlegislatures and lobby them to
actually change the law ourlegislatures and lobby them to
actually change the law.
Some of the eviction laws werejust recently changed because
there needed some cleaning.
Some of the laws allowedsquatters and it was very
difficult for some of thesepeople who own houses but they
(14:59):
couldn't get the person in theirhouse out of it, so that had to
go to legislature Before thelegislature changed the law.
In fact I think it just tookeffect September 1st.
Before the legislature changedthe law, it was difficult for
the police to do certain things,to at least be able to pull
people out of the house becausethere was no lease to enforce.
(15:20):
And then the judges are likewell, if there's no lease, how
can I apply the law?
And so all this stuff isintertwined.
But each person has a role.
The legislature has a role, thejudges have a role.
So being able to find thesolution that's best under the
law for the community, that'sthe role of the judge.
Some of my other personal goalsand priorities would be to, as I
(15:43):
stated before, find theefficiencies in the court, be
able to reduce the time.
I don't know the details of howthe current court's backlog is.
I'm hearing that there is somebacklog, but that could be for a
reason, a variety of reasons.
But one of the things I canbring to the table, if elected
as just the piece, is to findefficiencies and to be able to
(16:05):
improve how cases are handled,how cases are scheduled to be on
the docket.
Some of these cases keep ongetting pushed down the road
because somebody's not ready,somebody's not ready, and so
there's only a certain limitthat judges should be able to
give somebody to get ready fortheir case.
If they filed their lawsuit,they should be ready to go, and
(16:26):
if they're not ready to go, youknow why.
Have a judge figure that outwith litig, go.
And if they're not ready to go,you know why.
Have a judge figure that outwith litigants and then.
But there's a certain point towhere you have to say you know,
enough's enough.
If you're not ready to havethis lawsuit, then we dismiss
the case.
But that's all going to dependon each individual case, so some
form of accountability.
So, yeah, there's someaccountability involved when it
(16:46):
comes to following the rules,because there are rules in
Justice Peace Corps.
What's kind of unique aboutJustice Peace Corps in Texas is
that there are certain rulesthat don't apply as they would
apply in higher level courts.
The rules of evidence areusually not a factor, and that
would.
That allows the judge to beable to talk with the litigants
(17:08):
in a more conversational matter.
There is no court reporterjotting down every word, so you
can have a conversation and kindof figure out what's the best
solution.
Some of the rules that do applyin just the peace court one of
them mandates the judge to kindof help develop the case, and
what that means is that if thereis a litigant in there that
doesn't have the means to affordan attorney, well, this is the
(17:30):
people's court, this is yourneighborhood court, this is what
it's designed to be is forsomebody to be able to go in
there at a low cost, without anattorney, and get a resolution
to whatever lawsuit that theyfind themselves in.
And if these are not attorneys,they may not know the law very
well, and it's up to the judge,who knows the law very well, to
be able to fish out what factsneed to be discussed.
(17:52):
And if a good judge that knowsthe law is seeing that there's a
piece of information that theyneed to know in order to be able
to make a good decision, thatjudge is required to help them
not help them win or lose theircase, but help them develop
their case a little bit and askthe proper questions.
One of the things that I seefrustrating, especially with
judges that are just with pieces, that are not licensed
(18:16):
attorneys, is that they may havesome basic training that the
state of Texas does if you getelected.
It's like two weeks of trainingfor somebody who's not a lawyer
.
That's all the training thatthey get, and then January 1st
they're on the bench handlingevictions and cases worth up to
$20,000.
And that's kind of scary.
And so most people understandthat yeah, you don't have to be
(18:38):
a judge and that might besurprising to some people you
don't have to be a lawyer to bea just the peace in Texas.
And the reasoning behind that isback in 1876, when they were
developing the TexasConstitution, they put in the
requirement that if you want tobe just a piece, you just have
to be elected.
They didn't put a requirementin there that you had to be a
licensed attorney.
The thinking back then was wehave some rural counties with
(18:59):
hardly anybody in them and theremay not be a licensed attorney
in that county.
And if you had to have alicensed attorney be a judge to
handle your $200 case thatsomebody stole from your general
store, you'd have to wait acouple days for a judge from a
neighboring county to get on hishorse to come out and have that
(19:20):
court hearing.
Steven Killfoil (19:21):
Yeah, and that was a lot longer than rush hour
traffic today, absolutely.
Vince Handler (19:24):
So times have changed right and so now people
expect their judges to belawyers, and when they find out
that their judge is not a lawyer, it's kind of surprising and
it's scary.
Now, luckily, we have had acouple of good non-lawyer JPs in
Denton County, but they didn'tstart off that way, necessarily
knowing everything they need toknow.
I come as a finish pack.
(19:45):
I've had 15,000, I think now ofcases in Justice of the Peace
Courts.
I've got the experience to beable to say you know what?
There's a piece of informationmissing here that the judge
needs to ask the other side,otherwise they won't be able to
make a good decision.
So having that conversation,knowing the law, knowing the law
very, very well, is what makesa good judge, definitely.
Steven Killfoil (20:09):
Well, one of the things people want to know
is how will you be involved inthe community outside of the
courtroom?
Vince Handler (20:17):
That's a very good question, and some of the
people who apply to actually runfor and campaign for getting
elected as just the piece,they're just looking for a job.
A lot of times it's retireesthat say, hey, you don't need a
law degree, well, let me go be aJP, and they see that as a good
(20:38):
opportunity to have a job forfour years, which is how long
the term is.
When I was called by thecurrent judge and asked to
consider running for just thepiece, first thing I did was I
went back to my wife and I toldher about it and we started
praying is this an opportunitythat God is opening up for us?
And I've been talking with alot of the other judges that I'm
(21:00):
commonly in front of, tellinghim that there's an opportunity
where the current judge is goingto be retiring, and they've all
encouraged me to do it.
They see me as somebody whowould do a really good job as a
judge.
So I know that I can do a goodjob as a judge.
I've got the experience, I'vegot the legal background, I've
got the discipline, theefficiency to run a good court.
(21:21):
But that's not what I think isthe limit of what God's calling
me to do.
I feel like God is calling meto become a really good judge
for the community.
And then there's a lot more,and what I mean by that is I
feel I'm being called to use therole of Adjust to the Peace as
a segue into giving back to thecommunity in ways that to some
(21:42):
point I've already been doing,but to supercharge it.
One of the ways I can give backto the community is to take the
role of a judge and, for example, routinely go into the high
schools and talk to the seniors,take over a class and say you
know what.
You guys are going to begraduating soon, going off to
college, you might be enteringinto a lease contract.
(22:03):
Let me teach you what a leasecontract is about and the laws
that apply to the lease contractthat you're going to be signing
your name to.
Not very many people, not verymany of our students, are being
taught that as they go off tocollege, you're going to be
signing your name on a contract.
How does that affect you?
How does it affect your rights?
And be able to go in and givethat sort of education, be able
(22:23):
to have the students come intothe courtroom and not just on a
field trip to say, hey, this iswhat a court looks like.
But to be more involved in like, how do we handle, how does the
legal system work, and havemoot court, have made up
controversies for the studentsto work out and see how the
system protects their rights andhow their system can help them
(22:44):
effectuate their rights whenthey find themselves in sort of
a lawsuit.
Most of the judges that I'vebeen in front of, I see them in
court, but I don't see themanywhere else.
I want to be a judge that wantsto go out back into the
community routinely and givewhat I would term as state of
the court you hear it, as stateof the union.
You know, just say, hey, this iswhat we've been doing.
(23:06):
And so, as a judge, I want tobe able to come back to, for
example, the Crossroads Counciland be able to say, hey, you
know what, I've been a judge forsix months.
This is our backlog or lack ofbacklog or whatever the current
situation is, and this is whatwe're doing about it.
This is the trends that we'reseeing in the court being able
to go to the town councilmeetings, the city council
meetings, the school boards whenthey have to deal with truancy
(23:27):
issues.
Hey, this is what I'm seeing asa judge.
This is the program that I'mgoing to implement to kind of
help everybody in their piece ofwhat they're interested in, and
so I see myself giving back tothe community in ways that will
be innovative and put Just thePeace Precinct 5 in Denton
County on the map for otherjustice pieces to emulate Peace.
Steven Killfoil (23:47):
Precinct 5 in Denton County on the map for
other justice of the peace's toemulate.
Yeah, so you see the justice ofthe peace not just as a legal
role but as a community anchor.
Vince Handler (24:01):
It's a calling to do something for the community.
Steven Killfoil (24:02):
It's not just a job, it's a calling.
I agree, I agree that's amazing.
Well, Vince, I want to thankyou so much for joining me today
.
It's been a great conversation,and I know our listeners in
Denton County will appreciatehearing your thoughts on the
Justice of the Peace role.
But before we wrap up, wherecan people learn more about your
campaign and get in touch withyou?
(24:23):
And get in touch with you.
Vince Handler (24:24):
Absolutely so.
The my website is handler forjudgecom.
H a, n, d, l E R F O R judge, jU D G, ecom.
Handler for judgecom.
And you find out a little bitmore about my family, about my
background as a 20 year airforce veteran, my law
enforcement background I was aspecial agent for a while and
(24:47):
did major criminalinvestigations A little bit
about my faith and a lot aboutmy community service and also my
legal background, where I wentto law school at Baylor.
It's an awesome law school, veryprestigious law school in Texas
, and that's where I get a lotof my education for being able
(25:08):
to operate in a courtroom that'sextremely efficient, very
thorough.
So handlerforjudgecom is onelocation.
In addition, I do have acampaign launch reception that
I'm holding on September 23rd.
That's actually going to beheld in Aubrey from 530 to 730
at Equine Instincts.
Held in Aubrey from 530 to 730at Equine Instincts.
That is a art gallery thatrecently opened up on Main
(25:31):
Street 216 South Main Street andall the listeners are welcome
to come.
Some free food and drink, beable to get to know a little bit
about me, meet me in person andthen mingle and have a good
time.
Steven Killfoil (25:41):
Great, all right, and to our listeners out
there, thank you for tuning into Community Conversations.
Now for a few quickannouncements.
Remember to go to Amazon andget your copy of Stefan
McDermott's book Achieve OptimalBrain Health with Nutrition a
really powerful and simple tofollow guide on improving your
(26:03):
brain health.
Christmas is just 101 days away, and now for a commercial
announcement from our man fromthe North Pole, the Santa Steven
.
He's coming soon.
(26:30):
You better watch out, you betternot cry, you better not fight.
I'm telling you why.
Santa Claus is coming to town,Gather round.
He's making a list, Checking ittwice.
He's gonna find out who'snaughty and nice.
Santa Claus is coming to town.
This holiday season, bring themagic of Christmas right to your
(26:54):
doorstep with the Santa Stephen.
Imagine the joy on your child'sface when Santa and Mrs Claus
step into your home for apersonal visit and Mrs Claus
step into your home for apersonal visit.
Stories, laughters, photos andmemories to last a lifetime.
Ho, ho, ho, merry Christmas.
(27:19):
And don't forget, we even bringsweet holidays cheer for
parents too.
Hosting a party, big or small,the Santa Stephen brings the
holiday sparkle.
From the family gatherings tocorporate events.
We spread joy in every setting.
One-on-one with your little oneor a crowd of excited children,
(27:43):
the Santa Steven makes everymoment magical.
Bring holiday spirit to yourcommunity.
Parades, festivals and treelighting ceremonies grow
brighter with the Santa Steven,Santa, Santa Santa.
(28:06):
And for the sweetened surprise,your child can receive a
personalized letter straightfrom Santa's desk, signed,
sealed and delivered with atouch of Christmas magic.
Every letter is filled withlove, joy and just a sprinkle of
North Pole sparkle joy and justa sprinkle of North Pole
(28:30):
sparkle, Whether it's your home,your office, your school or
your town.
Let the Santa Stephen make thisholiday unforgettable.
Ho, ho, ho, We'll see you thisChristmas.
Because every family and everybusiness deserves a little extra
holiday magic.
(28:51):
The Santa Steven, whereChristmas comes to life.
You better watch out, you betternot cry, you better not pout.
I'm telling you why.
Santa claus is coming to time.
(29:12):
the big fat man with the longwhite beard, he's coming to town
to book an event, party or someone-on-one time with the Santa
Steven, call 469-230-5956 oremail steven at
(29:37):
thesantastevencom.
That's S-T-E-V-E-N atthesantastevencom, and we hope
you have a very wonderfulholiday season, stay informed,
stay engaged and, as always,let's keep building stronger
(30:00):
communities together.
I'm steven kilfoyle until nexttime.
I'll see you at the topCrossroads Podcast.
(31:10):
We'll be you next time, butthose who want to be it know
who's your daddy.
Crossroads.
Podcast.
We'll be right back, but thosewho want to be in the know.
(01:03):
Who's your daddy?
Good morning Crossroads.
Hello everybody and welcome toCommunity Conversations.
I'm your host, stephen Kilfoyle.
Today we're sitting down withsomeone who's stepping forward
to serve the people of DentonCounty County.
My guest is Vince Handler,candidate for Justice of the
(01:25):
Peace in Precinct 5, whichcovers Crossroads, Texas.
We'll talk about what the roleof a Justice of the Peace
actually is, how it impacts ourcommunity and what Vince hopes
to accomplish if elected.
Vince, thank you for joining metoday.
Vince Handler (01:47):
Thank you, steve, I really appreciate it.
Steven Killfoil (01:50):
It's great to be here with you.
Well, I'm glad you come on theshow.
So let's start out with thebasics.
So a lot of folks hear thisterm justice of the peace but
may not fully understand whatthe position actually entails.
So, vance, could you explainwhat the roles and
responsibilities of a Justice ofthe Peace are?
Vince Handler (02:12):
Sure, in fact this is very common.
When I felt the calling to runto be elected as Justice of the
Peace, I started askingquestions of the community, my
neighbors and friends do youeven know what Justice of the
Peace does?
And a lot of them had somepreconceptions.
What I realized early on?
That I had a big role to playin educating the voters.
(02:35):
And so, to answer your question, the Justice of the Peace in
Texas is actually it's the firstlevel court in the whole system
.
Justice of the Peace is yourlocal neighborhood court and the
constitution, the whole system.
Justice of the Peace is yourlocal neighborhood court and the
constitution and some laws giveJustice of the Peace certain
jurisdiction.
In Denton County we have sixJustice of the Peace divided up
into geographic areas.
(02:56):
Justice of the Peace, precinct5, the current judge, judge Mike
Oglesby.
He's actually retiring at theend of his current term and he
had called me up a couple ofyears ago and encouraged me to
run and to get elected.
But geographically this just ofthe piece covers the entire
northern half of Denton Countyup to the Cook County line and
east to west, from Wise Countyline over to Collin County line
(03:16):
and jurisdiction wise.
This court handles small claims,such as lawsuits that are
involving damages in the amountof $20,000 or less, such as
lawsuits that are involvingdamages in the amount of $20,000
or less.
So in that you've got a lot ofbreach of contract, some debt
claims.
If you get sued and the amountthat you're being sued for is
$20,000 or less, good chanceyou're going to be in Justice
(03:37):
Peace Court.
Or if you want to sue somebodywho, like a contractor who
didn't do something right onyour house, and if the value is
$20,000 or less, it's going tobe Justice Peace Court.
So that's one of them.
Justice of the Peace Court isthe exclusive jurisdiction for
all evictions.
If you're a landlord or you ownan apartment complex, in order
to evict a tenant who isviolating the lease or not even
paying the rent, it must gothrough the Justice of the Peace
(03:58):
Courts.
There's like over 200 criminallaws that fall under the Justice
of the Peace Court jurisdiction, 200 criminal laws that fall
under the Justice of the PeaceCourt jurisdiction, including
traffic tickets, anything thatwould be a non-criminal excuse
me, a matter that would not endup being jail time.
If it doesn't involve jail time, then it would fall into the
Justice of the Peace Court.
So it's going to be traffictickets, it could be dangerous
(04:18):
animal, it could be animal abuse.
Justice of the Peace Court alsohas jurisdiction over truancy
or parental contribution totruancy.
So to make sure that thesestudents are getting to class
and getting their education.
If that becomes a problem thenthe school district can bring
them before Just the Peace andhandle it that way.
Steven Killfoil (04:35):
Oh yeah, and on the nice side of things,
Justices of the Peace are alsoable to perform marriages.
Vince Handler (04:42):
And that is what a lot of people will say.
First is that, oh, just thepeace does marriages.
Well, yes, any judge canactually do that.
It's common to hear that justthe peace might do marriages as
well.
It's actually just a side gig,if you can call it that a side
gig, that just the peace can do,and some of them do that, but
other judges can do that as well.
(05:02):
It's just commonly known thatjustice of the peace do also do
marriages.
Steven Killfoil (05:06):
Yeah, when I brought Madalina over from
Romania back in 2006, it was ajustice of the peace who
performed our first unionbecause we were kind of poor and
couldn't afford to do a churchwedding.
We had to wait a couple ofyears before we got the wedding,
church wedding but it was nice.
He was a great guy down inCorpus Christi in Nueces County.
(05:29):
Yeah, in fact, Justice of thePeace does not have jurisdiction
over family law.
So, yes, a Justice of the Peacecould marry you, but they would
not be able to help getinvolved in a lawsuit involving
a divorce.
Right, yeah, that's a whole other court.
Vince Handler (05:43):
That's right.
Steven Killfoil (05:44):
okay.
Well, so in many ways, theJustice of the Peace is the most
direct form of the court systemthat touches everyday people's
lives.
Vince Handler (05:54):
That's correct.
It's the lowest, it's the firstlevel of court in the system and
it's also the highest volume.
It's also the highest volume.
So statistically, our communityhas a statistically higher
chance of being in a Justice tothe Peace Court for a lawsuit
than they would have in anyother higher courts.
The family law courts, ofcourse, will handle family law
(06:17):
matters.
The criminal courts thatinvolve jail time will handle
those, but Justice to the PeaceCourt is definitely the highest
volume.
There is literally thousands ofcases that go through.
Justice to the Peace Corps isdefinitely the highest volume.
There is literally thousands ofcases that go through just the
Peace Corps.
And one of the things managingthat caseload is definitely a
factor that some prior judgeshave had an issue with as well.
Steven Killfoil (06:33):
Oh yeah.
Well, I remember when we firstmoved here there was a law
enforcement officer who wasnotorious for ticket writing and
he was good at it and he wasjustified 100 percent and it
wouldn't matter anything.
My father is a retiredpoliceman, so I have total
respect for all law enforcementofficers.
(06:54):
But I got tickled.
I'd go to some of these uhmeetings with the chamber of
commerce and I'd hear theseladies complaining well, this
officer wrote me a ticket againand I was like again.
And they said, yeah, thisparticular officer boy, he sits
there in the parking lot and hejust waits.
And I'm like, well, they brokethe law, he has every right to
(07:17):
cite him a ticket.
And she says, well, you're notvery sympathetic.
And I said, no, I'm not.
If you break the law, I saidwhat do you want him to do?
Spank you on the wrist and tellyou bye?
No, I said, if that signclearly says do not turn left
onto highway 380, don't do it.
And if you do it, then well,expect to get that ticket
(07:37):
absolutely yeah, it was funny.
I bet the previous judge wouldprobably tell you, yeah, when
that officer was writing tickets.
It was a lion's share of courtcomplaints that I got, but hey,
they were justified, everysingle one of them.
Vince Handler (07:54):
And some of these tickets.
If it's written by a municipalpolice department it might go
through that municipal court.
But northern Denton County hasa lot of unincorporated areas.
So if DPS writes a ticket or ifthe sheriff's department writes
a ticket, they're gonna have togo through Justice of the Peace
court yeah, yeah, it's, wow,it's amazing.
Steven Killfoil (08:13):
So let's get a little more specific.
If you're elected, what willyour duties look like here in
Cross Roads and Precinct 5.
?
Vince Handler (08:23):
So the court is physically located in Cross
Roads but, as I mentioned, itcovers the northern half of
Denton County, south to aboutUniversity.
If you look at a map, that'sessentially the cutoff, except
it does go a little bit furthersouth into Oak Point and
portions of Little Elm, but itdoes cover a lot of area and
therefore, therefore, you've gota mix of a dense population but
(08:47):
you also have a lot of ruralpopulation, and so you're going
to have a lot of different typesof cases that go through the
justice of the peace court,specifically in precinct five.
So the role of the judge is toactually let me say this what I
will be doing as judge if theLord blesses me with being
elected number one is be fairand impartial Whatever comes
(09:09):
before me as a just of the peace.
I owe it to our neighbors, Iowe it to our community to take
a look at the facts of the caseand determine what is the proper
outcome.
And that leads into my secondtenet.
My priority is to uphold thelaw.
A good judge will take the lawand apply it to the facts of the
case, and each case can be alittle bit different.
(09:32):
So, whatever the facts of thatcase are as a judge, take a look
at the law and apply it to thefacts and then make a decision.
The last thing, the last of mythree priorities there are other
priorities as well, but thelast of my three main priorities
is to increase the court'sefficiency.
There's so many cases going inand out of that court and there
have been opportunities toincrease the efficiency.
Nobody wants their case to justlag there and stay there for
(09:56):
sometimes a year or two years.
Some of these cases just sitthere and a good judge will
manage that docket to get peoplepeople's cases resolved as fast
as possible.
If we can resolve it in lessthan a month, let's resolve it
in less than a month.
We shouldn't have these casessitting out there for a year or
more.
So those are the three thingsthat a judge is expected to do,
(10:18):
and I'll be bringing a lot of myprevious career as an attorney
understanding how to do thatefficiently, and I've had other
jobs in the past.
I was a 20-year Air Forceveteran.
There's a lot of things I'velearned as far as getting the
mission done, doing anefficiency, finding the, doging,
the office, because not only isthere a judge there but there's
(10:38):
a staff behind him of five orsix clerks and they have to be
properly trained and be able togive good customer service to
anybody who has a court case inthat court.
So finding the efficienciesthere, increasing the efficiency
, so they would help out ourcommunity if they find
themselves in just the PeaceCourt, definitely.
Steven Killfoil (10:57):
Well, besides the obvious, you're having a
large mixture of heavilypopulated and rural area.
What makes Precinct 5 uniquecompared to other areas of
Denton County?
Vince Handler (11:08):
The caseload, the types of cases that the other
precincts see are going todepend on their population.
For example, justice PeacePrecinct 3 in Louisville,
because that is more heavilypopulated, especially with
apartment complexes, a highercrime level than you would see
in northern part of the county,their caseload is going to be a
(11:30):
little bit different.
All the Justice of the Peace inDenton County handle the same
types of cases but in Justice ofthe Peace, precinct 5, you're
going to have a little bit moretraffic tickets because the DPS
and the sheriffs are more activein that part of the
unincorporated areas of thecounty.
But that doesn't mean that youdon't have a lot of the other
types of cases as well.
As the population grows because, yes, there's rural parts of
(11:53):
the county around Sanger andPilot Point and Crossroads and
Aubrey.
You have rural parts but youalso have a lot of growth and
some of this growth is includingapartment complexes and these
apartment complexes willsometimes have tenants that are
not paying rent and the onlyavenue that they have to be able
to address a non-paying tenantis to go through the Justice of
(12:14):
the Peace Court.
So as these apartment complexesget built we're starting to see
the evictions.
More evictions get filed inJustice of the Peace Court,
precinct 5.
We're seeing more debt claimsget filed in Justice of the
Peace Precinct 5, especiallywhen, after COVID, we saw a
spike in people not being ableto pay credit card bills, for
example.
So some of it's going to dependon the economy, but we are
(12:34):
actually seeing a very bigincrease in the amount of cases
that Justice Peace Precinct 5 is.
So basically, to answer yourquestion, precinct 5 is just
catching up with the otherprecincts because of the
population growth.
But there's still a lot of therural area that deals with abuse
of animals.
If somebody is found out to beabusing the horses on the ranch,
that's going to go through justthe Peace Corps.
Steven Killfoil (13:01):
So there, are definitely some things that
straddle both sides of a ruralarea, plus a very populous area
as well.
Yeah, definitely, you have anunusual mixture in District 5,
clearly.
Vince Handler (13:08):
Exactly.
Steven Killfoil (13:10):
It's amazing.
So, vince, when people run foroffice, it's not just about the
job description, right, it'salso about personal goals and
priorities.
What are some of yours if youbecome the Justice of the Peace?
Vince Handler (13:26):
Justice of the Peace is to be elected, you do
have to win the primary for yourparty before you go into the
general election.
So for considering partypolitics, I am a conservative,
I'm a Republican, and what thatdoes is it forms the foundation
of how I think, how I view theseparation between the executive
branch such as the policeofficers writing a ticket versus
(13:48):
the judicial branch.
How does a judge apply the law?
And so my conservative thinkingis what forms how I'm going to
apply the law?
Follow the law, apply the lawto the facts, the case to come
up with a proper decision.
Now, once I'm a judge, there isno politics, but, just like my
faith in God forms a foundationof how I think, being a judge I
(14:13):
have to apply the law.
Regardless of what I mightthink of the law as a
conservative, regardless of whatI might think of myself as a
God-fearing individual, I haveto apply the law, and that's key
to a conservative way ofthinking is to apply the law as
it was written by a legislature.
The judges have no business inwhat commonly is termed
(14:39):
legislating from the bench.
Judges have to apply the lawand if you want the law changed,
if you don't like the law.
We have to talk with ourlegislatures and lobby them to
actually change the law ourlegislatures and lobby them to
actually change the law.
Some of the eviction laws werejust recently changed because
there needed some cleaning.
Some of the laws allowedsquatters and it was very
difficult for some of thesepeople who own houses but they
(14:59):
couldn't get the person in theirhouse out of it, so that had to
go to legislature Before thelegislature changed the law.
In fact I think it just tookeffect September 1st.
Before the legislature changedthe law, it was difficult for
the police to do certain things,to at least be able to pull
people out of the house becausethere was no lease to enforce.
(15:20):
And then the judges are likewell, if there's no lease, how
can I apply the law?
And so all this stuff isintertwined.
But each person has a role.
The legislature has a role, thejudges have a role.
So being able to find thesolution that's best under the
law for the community, that'sthe role of the judge.
Some of my other personal goalsand priorities would be to, as I
(15:43):
stated before, find theefficiencies in the court, be
able to reduce the time.
I don't know the details of howthe current court's backlog is.
I'm hearing that there is somebacklog, but that could be for a
reason, a variety of reasons.
But one of the things I canbring to the table, if elected
as just the piece, is to findefficiencies and to be able to
(16:05):
improve how cases are handled,how cases are scheduled to be on
the docket.
Some of these cases keep ongetting pushed down the road
because somebody's not ready,somebody's not ready, and so
there's only a certain limitthat judges should be able to
give somebody to get ready fortheir case.
If they filed their lawsuit,they should be ready to go, and
(16:26):
if they're not ready to go, youknow why.
Have a judge figure that outwith litig, go.
And if they're not ready to go,you know why.
Have a judge figure that outwith litigants and then.
But there's a certain point towhere you have to say you know,
enough's enough.
If you're not ready to havethis lawsuit, then we dismiss
the case.
But that's all going to dependon each individual case, so some
form of accountability.
So, yeah, there's someaccountability involved when it
(16:46):
comes to following the rules,because there are rules in
Justice Peace Corps.
What's kind of unique aboutJustice Peace Corps in Texas is
that there are certain rulesthat don't apply as they would
apply in higher level courts.
The rules of evidence areusually not a factor, and that
would.
That allows the judge to beable to talk with the litigants
(17:08):
in a more conversational matter.
There is no court reporterjotting down every word, so you
can have a conversation and kindof figure out what's the best
solution.
Some of the rules that do applyin just the peace court one of
them mandates the judge to kindof help develop the case, and
what that means is that if thereis a litigant in there that
doesn't have the means to affordan attorney, well, this is the
(17:30):
people's court, this is yourneighborhood court, this is what
it's designed to be is forsomebody to be able to go in
there at a low cost, without anattorney, and get a resolution
to whatever lawsuit that theyfind themselves in.
And if these are not attorneys,they may not know the law very
well, and it's up to the judge,who knows the law very well, to
be able to fish out what factsneed to be discussed.
(17:52):
And if a good judge that knowsthe law is seeing that there's a
piece of information that theyneed to know in order to be able
to make a good decision, thatjudge is required to help them
not help them win or lose theircase, but help them develop
their case a little bit and askthe proper questions.
One of the things that I seefrustrating, especially with
judges that are just with pieces, that are not licensed
(18:16):
attorneys, is that they may havesome basic training that the
state of Texas does if you getelected.
It's like two weeks of trainingfor somebody who's not a lawyer
.
That's all the training thatthey get, and then January 1st
they're on the bench handlingevictions and cases worth up to
$20,000.
And that's kind of scary.
And so most people understandthat yeah, you don't have to be
(18:38):
a judge and that might besurprising to some people you
don't have to be a lawyer to bea just the peace in Texas.
And the reasoning behind that isback in 1876, when they were
developing the TexasConstitution, they put in the
requirement that if you want tobe just a piece, you just have
to be elected.
They didn't put a requirementin there that you had to be a
licensed attorney.
The thinking back then was wehave some rural counties with
(18:59):
hardly anybody in them and theremay not be a licensed attorney
in that county.
And if you had to have alicensed attorney be a judge to
handle your $200 case thatsomebody stole from your general
store, you'd have to wait acouple days for a judge from a
neighboring county to get on hishorse to come out and have that
(19:20):
court hearing.
Steven Killfoil (19:21):
Yeah, and that was a lot longer than rush hour
traffic today, absolutely.
Vince Handler (19:24):
So times have changed right and so now people
expect their judges to belawyers, and when they find out
that their judge is not a lawyer, it's kind of surprising and
it's scary.
Now, luckily, we have had acouple of good non-lawyer JPs in
Denton County, but they didn'tstart off that way, necessarily
knowing everything they need toknow.
I come as a finish pack.
(19:45):
I've had 15,000, I think now ofcases in Justice of the Peace
Courts.
I've got the experience to beable to say you know what?
There's a piece of informationmissing here that the judge
needs to ask the other side,otherwise they won't be able to
make a good decision.
So having that conversation,knowing the law, knowing the law
very, very well, is what makesa good judge, definitely.
Steven Killfoil (20:09):
Well, one of the things people want to know
is how will you be involved inthe community outside of the
courtroom?
Vince Handler (20:17):
That's a very good question, and some of the
people who apply to actually runfor and campaign for getting
elected as just the piece,they're just looking for a job.
A lot of times it's retireesthat say, hey, you don't need a
law degree, well, let me go be aJP, and they see that as a good
(20:38):
opportunity to have a job forfour years, which is how long
the term is.
When I was called by thecurrent judge and asked to
consider running for just thepiece, first thing I did was I
went back to my wife and I toldher about it and we started
praying is this an opportunitythat God is opening up for us?
And I've been talking with alot of the other judges that I'm
(21:00):
commonly in front of, tellinghim that there's an opportunity
where the current judge is goingto be retiring, and they've all
encouraged me to do it.
They see me as somebody whowould do a really good job as a
judge.
So I know that I can do a goodjob as a judge.
I've got the experience, I'vegot the legal background, I've
got the discipline, theefficiency to run a good court.
(21:21):
But that's not what I think isthe limit of what God's calling
me to do.
I feel like God is calling meto become a really good judge
for the community.
And then there's a lot more,and what I mean by that is I
feel I'm being called to use therole of Adjust to the Peace as
a segue into giving back to thecommunity in ways that to some
(21:42):
point I've already been doing,but to supercharge it.
One of the ways I can give backto the community is to take the
role of a judge and, for example, routinely go into the high
schools and talk to the seniors,take over a class and say you
know what.
You guys are going to begraduating soon, going off to
college, you might be enteringinto a lease contract.
(22:03):
Let me teach you what a leasecontract is about and the laws
that apply to the lease contractthat you're going to be signing
your name to.
Not very many people, not verymany of our students, are being
taught that as they go off tocollege, you're going to be
signing your name on a contract.
How does that affect you?
How does it affect your rights?
And be able to go in and givethat sort of education, be able
(22:23):
to have the students come intothe courtroom and not just on a
field trip to say, hey, this iswhat a court looks like.
But to be more involved in like, how do we handle, how does the
legal system work, and havemoot court, have made up
controversies for the studentsto work out and see how the
system protects their rights andhow their system can help them
(22:44):
effectuate their rights whenthey find themselves in sort of
a lawsuit.
Most of the judges that I'vebeen in front of, I see them in
court, but I don't see themanywhere else.
I want to be a judge that wantsto go out back into the
community routinely and givewhat I would term as state of
the court you hear it, as stateof the union.
You know, just say, hey, this iswhat we've been doing.
(23:06):
And so, as a judge, I want tobe able to come back to, for
example, the Crossroads Counciland be able to say, hey, you
know what, I've been a judge forsix months.
This is our backlog or lack ofbacklog or whatever the current
situation is, and this is whatwe're doing about it.
This is the trends that we'reseeing in the court being able
to go to the town councilmeetings, the city council
meetings, the school boards whenthey have to deal with truancy
(23:27):
issues.
Hey, this is what I'm seeing asa judge.
This is the program that I'mgoing to implement to kind of
help everybody in their piece ofwhat they're interested in, and
so I see myself giving back tothe community in ways that will
be innovative and put Just thePeace Precinct 5 in Denton
County on the map for otherjustice pieces to emulate Peace.
Steven Killfoil (23:47):
Precinct 5 in Denton County on the map for
other justice of the peace's toemulate.
Yeah, so you see the justice ofthe peace not just as a legal
role but as a community anchor.
Vince Handler (24:01):
It's a calling to do something for the community.
Steven Killfoil (24:02):
It's not just a job, it's a calling.
I agree, I agree that's amazing.
Well, Vince, I want to thankyou so much for joining me today
.
It's been a great conversation,and I know our listeners in
Denton County will appreciatehearing your thoughts on the
Justice of the Peace role.
But before we wrap up, wherecan people learn more about your
campaign and get in touch withyou?
(24:23):
And get in touch with you.
Vince Handler (24:24):
Absolutely so.
The my website is handler forjudgecom.
H a, n, d, l E R F O R judge, jU D G, ecom.
Handler for judgecom.
And you find out a little bitmore about my family, about my
background as a 20 year airforce veteran, my law
enforcement background I was aspecial agent for a while and
(24:47):
did major criminalinvestigations A little bit
about my faith and a lot aboutmy community service and also my
legal background, where I wentto law school at Baylor.
It's an awesome law school, veryprestigious law school in Texas
, and that's where I get a lotof my education for being able
(25:08):
to operate in a courtroom that'sextremely efficient, very
thorough.
So handlerforjudgecom is onelocation.
In addition, I do have acampaign launch reception that
I'm holding on September 23rd.
That's actually going to beheld in Aubrey from 530 to 730
at Equine Instincts.
Held in Aubrey from 530 to 730at Equine Instincts.
That is a art gallery thatrecently opened up on Main
(25:31):
Street 216 South Main Street andall the listeners are welcome
to come.
Some free food and drink, beable to get to know a little bit
about me, meet me in person andthen mingle and have a good
time.
Steven Killfoil (25:41):
Great, all right, and to our listeners out
there, thank you for tuning into Community Conversations.
Now for a few quickannouncements.
Remember to go to Amazon andget your copy of Stefan
McDermott's book Achieve OptimalBrain Health with Nutrition a
really powerful and simple tofollow guide on improving your
(26:03):
brain health.
Christmas is just 101 days away, and now for a commercial
announcement from our man fromthe North Pole, the Santa Steven
.
He's coming soon.
(26:30):
You better watch out, you betternot cry, you better not fight.
I'm telling you why.
Santa Claus is coming to town,Gather round.
He's making a list, Checking ittwice.
He's gonna find out who'snaughty and nice.
Santa Claus is coming to town.
This holiday season, bring themagic of Christmas right to your
(26:54):
doorstep with the Santa Stephen.
Imagine the joy on your child'sface when Santa and Mrs Claus
step into your home for apersonal visit and Mrs Claus
step into your home for apersonal visit.
Stories, laughters, photos andmemories to last a lifetime.
Ho, ho, ho, merry Christmas.
(27:19):
And don't forget, we even bringsweet holidays cheer for
parents too.
Hosting a party, big or small,the Santa Stephen brings the
holiday sparkle.
From the family gatherings tocorporate events.
We spread joy in every setting.
One-on-one with your little oneor a crowd of excited children,
(27:43):
the Santa Steven makes everymoment magical.
Bring holiday spirit to yourcommunity.
Parades, festivals and treelighting ceremonies grow
brighter with the Santa Steven,Santa, Santa Santa.
(28:06):
And for the sweetened surprise,your child can receive a
personalized letter straightfrom Santa's desk, signed,
sealed and delivered with atouch of Christmas magic.
Every letter is filled withlove, joy and just a sprinkle of
North Pole sparkle joy and justa sprinkle of North Pole
(28:30):
sparkle, Whether it's your home,your office, your school or
your town.
Let the Santa Stephen make thisholiday unforgettable.
Ho, ho, ho, We'll see you thisChristmas.
Because every family and everybusiness deserves a little extra
holiday magic.
(28:51):
The Santa Steven, whereChristmas comes to life.
You better watch out, you betternot cry, you better not pout.
I'm telling you why.
Santa claus is coming to time.
(29:12):
the big fat man with the longwhite beard, he's coming to town
to book an event, party or someone-on-one time with the Santa
Steven, call 469-230-5956 oremail steven at
(29:37):
thesantastevencom.
That's S-T-E-V-E-N atthesantastevencom, and we hope
you have a very wonderfulholiday season, stay informed,
stay engaged and, as always,let's keep building stronger
(30:00):
communities together.
I'm steven kilfoyle until nexttime.
I'll see you at the topCrossroads Podcast.
(31:10):
We'll be you next time, butthose who want to be it know
who's your daddy.
Popular Podcasts
Las Culturistas with Matt Rogers and Bowen Yang
Ding dong! Join your culture consultants, Matt Rogers and Bowen Yang, on an unforgettable journey into the beating heart of CULTURE. Alongside sizzling special guests, they GET INTO the hottest pop-culture moments of the day and the formative cultural experiences that turned them into Culturistas. Produced by the Big Money Players Network and iHeartRadio.
Crime Junkie
Does hearing about a true crime case always leave you scouring the internet for the truth behind the story? Dive into your next mystery with Crime Junkie. Every Monday, join your host Ashley Flowers as she unravels all the details of infamous and underreported true crime cases with her best friend Brit Prawat. From cold cases to missing persons and heroes in our community who seek justice, Crime Junkie is your destination for theories and stories you won’t hear anywhere else. Whether you're a seasoned true crime enthusiast or new to the genre, you'll find yourself on the edge of your seat awaiting a new episode every Monday. If you can never get enough true crime... Congratulations, you’ve found your people. Follow to join a community of Crime Junkies! Crime Junkie is presented by Audiochuck Media Company.
The Brothers Ortiz
The Brothers Ortiz is the story of two brothers–both successful, but in very different ways. Gabe Ortiz becomes a third-highest ranking officer in all of Texas while his younger brother Larry climbs the ranks in Puro Tango Blast, a notorious Texas Prison gang. Gabe doesn’t know all the details of his brother’s nefarious dealings, and he’s made a point not to ask, to protect their relationship. But when Larry is murdered during a home invasion in a rented beach house, Gabe has no choice but to look into what happened that night. To solve Larry’s murder, Gabe, and the whole Ortiz family, must ask each other tough questions.