JUDICIAL PROFILE
By Perry Cockerell, Perry Cockerell, P.C.
Judge Scott Wisch, 372nd District Court
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fter graduating from Southwestern University with a degree in biology and chemistry, Judge Scott Wisch attended graduate school at UTHSCD, focusing on medical microbiology and immunology. Judge Scott Wisch could have been Dr. Scott Wisch, but after a year in graduate school, and later doing chemistry research at Dow Chemical, the future judge made a career change and applied to law school on a dare. When the University of Texas School of Law accepted him, he never looked back. Wisch was born in West Columbia, Texas, a small town 55 miles southwest of Houston in Brazoria County, where Texas Highways 35 and 36 intersect. As a historian, Wisch mentioned that Columbia served briefly as the First Capitol of the Republic of Texas and was the site of the 1st Congress of the Republic of Texas in 1836. He and his sister Dea were raised by Bud and Annette Wisch. Bud worked for Phillips Petroleum for 40 years, and Annette was a registered nurse. They also raised cattle on family land nearby. Wisch graduated from Columbia High School and from Southwestern University in Georgetown. After college he married his college sweetheart, Cheryl Lewis, at the Southwestern Chapel. During law school Wisch participated in the Prosecution Clinic with a practice bar card, allowing him to work in the Travis County District and County Attorney’s offices under supervision. He also did a Criminal Justice internship at the Austin Police. These two programs inspired his future course. Wisch graduated from the University of Texas School of Law in December 1980, six months early. After he took the Texas Bar Exam in February 1981, District Attorney Tim Curry hired him to start work in the Tarrant County District Attorney’s Office on April 1, 1981. Wisch learned from Curry’s leadership and remembers him saying, “You can’t always be right, but you can always try to do what’s right.” DA Curry encouraged lawyers to use good judgment and a decision, then move on to the next decision. His first court assignment was in the 323rd District Court, the juvenile court, with Judge Scott D. Moore, namesake of the current Juvenile Justice Center. “There were no referees or associate judges in those days.” His first partner in the Juvenile Section was Sharen Wilson (now Tarrant County Criminal District Attorney). His next rotations were in county criminal courts and 8 www.tarrantbar.org JULY/AUGUST 2021
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later criminal district courts. While assigned to Criminal District Court No. 2 during a judicial appointment lawsuit with assigned retired Judge Charles Lindsey, he got his first inspiration to someday be a judge. “Judge Lindsey was a visiting judge who, after an honorable career, got to come back to the courthouse and see colleagues and contribute to the justice system, which I thought was pretty cool at the time and a definite plus for being on the bench as a regular judge someday.” He later realized that many of the judges he appeared before were providing him with valuable lessons. During his rotation in the 297th Criminal District Court, Judge Charles Dickens told him: “Know the law and do your own research. Don’t just rely on the lawyers to tell you what it is.” Wisch said he “thought the world of Judge Dickens. He was a very bright and learned judge, and I learned a lot from my time in his court.” “Under Judge Gordon Gray, I learned that there can be mediation in criminal law. If the prosecutor was offering 10 years and the defense was offering 5 years, Judge Gray would say, “If you are that close, what’s wrong with 7?.’ He could constructively and persuasively point out compromise, and he often get the two sides to talk to each other.” Judge Louis Sturns “had the patience of Job, and I have strived to model that. He had a tone of dignity and calm in dealing with all. He, like my first misdemeanor court Judge Billy Mills, demonstrated the epitome of judicial temperment.” By 1986 Wisch became Board Certified in Criminal Law and had served as Felony Chief for two years. In 1987, after six and a half years as a prosecutor, he left the District Attorney’s office and joined with Don Hase and Wes Ball to form the firm of Ball, Hase & Wisch in Arlington. He remained with the firm until assuming the bench. In 1994 Judge Wisch had to make a tough decision. Republican Judge Pete Perez, elected in 1991, was the incumbent judge in the 372nd District Court. Wisch decided to challenge Judge Perez, and he informed the judge of his decision. Ultimately, Wisch won in the primary and later the general election and became the new judge on January 1, 1995. Perez never held his loss against Wisch. After the election Judge Perez gave Judge Wisch a Norman Rockwell painting showing members of the jury deliberating and trying to convince one juror to change her mind. The painting is autographed by Judge Perez and says: “To Scott Wisch, a great friend, a great judge. Pete Perez (Ret.).” “Grace and dignity is how I describe Judge Perez,” Judge Wisch said. “He would sometimes come and visit and greet me at judicial conferences like I was one of his kids. The way he treated
