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Richardson began his legal career with the Bexar County district attorney's office in 1988. In 1998, he  joined the staff of the United States attorney in San Antonio. In 1999, [[Governor]] [[George W. Bush]] appointed Richardson, a [[Republican Party|Republican]], to a newly-created state judgeship numbered 379. He remained on the bench uncontested until his defeat in the 2008 [[general election]] by a [[Democratic Party|Democrat]], Ron Rangel, 263,857 votes (53.8 percent) to 227,015 (46.3 percent).<ref>Texas Secretary of State, Election Returns,  November 4, 2008.</ref>

Richardson began his legal career with the Bexar County district attorney's office in 1988. In 1998, he  joined the staff of the United States attorney in San Antonio. In 1999, [[Governor]] [[George W. Bush]] appointed Richardson, a [[Republican Party|Republican]], to a newly-created state judgeship numbered 379. He remained on the bench uncontested until his defeat in the 2008 [[general election]] by a [[Democratic Party|Democrat]], Ron Rangel, 263,857 votes (53.8 percent) to 227,015 (46.3 percent).<ref>Texas Secretary of State, Election Returns,  November 4, 2008.</ref>

Richardson has been a special state judge on call. He was scheduled to hear the  2014 [[indictment]] of  Governor [[Rick Perry]] for abuse of official capacity by the Travis County District Attorney's office. After his election to the Court of Criminal Appeals, Richardson refused to throw out the case against the governor on a technicality, as Perry's attorney had sought. <ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2014/11/18/rick-perry-indictment_n_6181690.html|title=Judge Refuses To Toss Rick Perry Case|author=Will Weissert|date=November 18, 2014|publisher=''[[The Huffington Post]]''|accessdate=December 19, 2014}}</ref> Ultimately, all charges against Perry were dropped.

Richardson has been a special state judge on call. He was scheduled to hear the  2014 [[indictment]] of  Governor [[Rick Perry]] for abuse of official capacity by the Travis County District Attorney's office. After his election to the Court of Criminal Appeals, Richardson refused to throw out the case against the governor on a technicality, as Perry's attorney had sought. <ref>Will Weissert, "Judge Refuses To Toss Rick Perry Case," ''[[The Huffington Post]],'' November 18, 2014.</ref> Ultimately, all charges against Perry were dropped.

In the Republican primary for the Court of Criminal Appeals on March 4, 2014, Richardson defeated Judge Barbara Walther, the first woman and the first Republican to serve on the 51st Texas District Court in [[San Angelo, Texas|San Angelo]]. Richardson polled 668,618 votes (60.4 percent) to Walther's 439,267 (39.6 percent).<ref>Texas Secretary of State, Election Returns,  March 4, 2014.</ref> Richardson then prevailed in the general election, 2,738,412 (59.8 percent) to 1,617,921 (36.5 percent) for his principal opponent, the Democrat, John Granberg.<ref>Texas Secretary of State, Election Returns, November 4, 2014.</ref>

In the Republican primary for the Court of Criminal Appeals on March 4, 2014, Richardson defeated Judge Barbara Walther, the first woman and the first Republican to serve on the 51st Texas District Court in [[San Angelo, Texas|San Angelo]]. Richardson polled 668,618 votes (60.4 percent) to Walther's 439,267 (39.6 percent).<ref>Texas Secretary of State, Election Returns,  March 4, 2014.</ref> Richardson then prevailed in the general election, 2,738,412 (59.8 percent) to 1,617,921 (36.5 percent) for his principal opponent, the Democrat, John Granberg.<ref>Texas Secretary of State, Election Returns, November 4, 2014.</ref>