SOUTHEAST TEXAS RECORD

Floyd the barber was a crazy old coot on The Andy Griffith Show who was so inept at his chosen profession that his customers were amazed on the rare occasions when they managed to leave his shop with decent haircuts.

Sheriff Taylor once marveled at the end of a stint in the barber chair that Floyd had finally succeeded in trimming his sideburns evenly. 

Complaining about Floyd’s incompetence was pointless. He was the only barber in town. The people of Mayberry were stuck with him.

Floyd the judge, on the other hand, has to stand for reelection, so the people of Beaumont have an opportunity to vote their opinion of his service.

Lucky for Floyd – Judge Donald Floyd of the 172nd District Court – the average citizen probably never has to appear before him in court, rarely pays much attention to judicial proceedings, and thus has no way of knowing at election time whether or not any particular judge is fit to serve.

Also lucky for Floyd, certain wealthy plaintiffs attorneys in our area do appear before him in court regularly, do pay attention to judicial proceedings, and do know at election time which judges are fit or unfit by their measure.

Some of these attorneys are – for reasons we can only surmise – quite fond of Floyd. They not only vote for him. They donate sizable sums to his reelection.

Attorneys and firms donating $1,500 or more to Floyd’s campaign in the first six months of this year include Hart Green, the Portner Bond law firm, Michael Ramsey of the Mostyn Law Firm, Mitchell Toups, and the Weller Green of Toups & Terrell law firm.

Last November, $15,000 donations were made by the Provost Umphrey Law Firm, Reaud & Associates, and Reaud, Morgan & Quinn.

The people of Beaumont should want to know why a judge like Donald Floyd can generate that kind of support. Is it because he’s such a good judge for us or for the chosen ones?