Judge, Harris County Criminal Court at Law No. 5

David Fleischer has been judge of Harris County Criminal Court at Law No. 5 since January 1, 2019, after winning the open seat in 2018; he was re-elected in 2022¹². A first-generation American whose parents immigrated from Chile, he was a criminal defense attorney before taking the bench¹. His livestreamed courtroom proceedings have drawn national attention and some criticism from defense attorneys¹. He is running for re-election against Republican Stella Stevens².

• Judge, Harris County Criminal Court at Law No. 5, since January 1, 2019¹²
• Criminal defense attorney before running for office¹
• B.A., University of Houston; J.D., Thomas M. Cooley Law School, 2003; licensed in Texas since November 2004¹⁴
• Fleischer won the open seat in the November 2018 general election, defeating Republican Xavier Alfaro 55.13 percent to 44.87 percent, and was re-elected in November 2022 over Republican Elizabeth Buss, 50.15 percent to 49.85 percent¹². He was unopposed in the 2026 Democratic primary and faces Republican Stella Stevens in the November 3, 2026 general election¹².
• Bar poll: The Houston Bar Association's Judicial Preference Poll is a non-binding survey of HBA members' preferences, and the HBA states it is not an endorsement. The 2026 poll was open as of September 27, 2026, closes October 2, 2026, and results are due October 9, 2026; no results had been published as of this writing³.
• With the other misdemeanor judges elected in 2018, Fleischer took part in settling federal litigation over Harris County's misdemeanor bail practices, which a federal court had ruled unconstitutional¹.
• Fleischer livestreams his courtroom proceedings; in 2024 the Harris County Criminal Lawyers Association approved printing cards warning defendants that proceedings are livestreamed¹.