Every week, hundreds, if not thousands of people line up for docket call in county criminal courts at the Harris County Criminal Justice Center. Those folks may not know it, but their experience in the courts has become a flash point in the debate about criminal justice in Texas.

County criminal courts handle cases like low-level drug possession and prostitution, the sorts of crimes that raise questions about proper punishment and treatment. One-time mistakes can mean a lifetime of consequences. Continued prosecution fills courtrooms, jail cells and police cars with people who pose little threat to anyone but themselves - all at taxpayer expense. Voters should look for judges who can run their courts with efficiency and consistency while promoting improvement over punishment. The Chronicle endorses the following candidates, with part two running tomorrow.

County Criminal Court at Law No. 2:Bill Harmon

Before taking this bench, Harmon served for more than 20 years as judge of the 178th Criminal District Court, but a man can only take so many years of violent felonies.

Harmon, 62, told the Chronicle editorial board that his judicial life is now relatively unstressful and that he enjoys his work presiding over misdemeanors. That doesn't mean he wasn't a cause of stress for former Harris County District Attorney Pat Lykos, as Harmon refused to implement her DIVERT program for DWIs, arguing that it was prohibited by statutory language.

Prior to the bench, Harmon, a Republican, served as an assistant district attorney in the Harris County District Attorney's office. In his current judicial role, he favors seeking an alternative to prosecution for first-time Class B misdemeanor shoplifting and marijuana offenders.

Democratic challenger Harold J. Landreneau, 45, is a graduate of South Texas College of Law and has extensive courtroom experience. While we'd like to see Landreneau run again, our choice for this bench is Harmon.

County Criminal Court at Law No. 4:John Clinton

After working 30 years as a police officer, Republican incumbent John Clinton sits in County Criminal Court at Law No. 4 with one specific pet peeve: shoplifting. No, it isn't the shoplifters themselves who grind his gears. Rather, it is the fact that teenagers can ruin their lives with a conviction for a crime of moral turpitude, which can stand in the way of professional certification, occupational licenses and all sorts of other consequences down the line.

"Young kids are sometimes just stupid," Clinton, 56, told the Chronicle editorial board. "All you want to do is help people."

A graduate of the Thurgood Marshall School of Law, Clinton was elected to this misdemeanor court in 2010. He faced some heat after instructing defendants in his court to read the Bible, for which he has apologized. The state cannot and should not compel people to any religion, but Harris County courts will continue to benefit from Clinton's good, old-fashioned Christian compassion - as long as he respects the differences between the job of a judge and that of a preacher.

The Democratic challenger, Nikita "Niki" Harmon, 54, received her law degree from the Thurgood Marshall School of Law and has 14 years experience as an associate judge for the city of Houston. It is a close call, and we go with the incumbent, but voters can't lose.

County Criminal Court at Law No. 5: Margaret Stewart Harris

Republican incumbent Margaret Stewart Harris has been a judge since 2003. A graduate of University of Houston Law Center, Harris brought 16 years of experience as a prosecutor with the Harris County District Attorney's Office to the bench. Harris, 53, has served on the committee to create the mental health courts, which are an excellent avenue for keeping the homeless and mentally ill out of our jails and finding them the help they need. She has also maintained a focus on youthful offenders.

Ramona Franklin, her Democratic opponent, is running in part to reform the current judicial appointment system for attorneys. Franklin, 42, received her law degree from Thomas M. Cooley Law School in Lansing, Mich., and has the laudable goal, if elected, of becoming active in educating the Harris County community about the judiciary.

While Franklin's practice has been focused on criminal law, she cannot match Harris's experience.

County Criminal Court at Law No. 6: Linda Geffin

Democratic challenger Linda Geffin, 61, knows firsthand the risks that come from fighting in our courts for justice: In 2011, she was beaten and left unconscious in an attack that Geffin believes was retaliation for her work in the County Attorney's office against sex trafficking. With a 10-year tenure in the Harris County District Attorney's office, this graduate of the South Texas College of Law has been active in her community and is a two-time recipient of Children At Risk's "Hero of the Month" award.

Incumbent Judge Larry Standley, a Republican, took the bench in 1999 after serving as chief felony prosecutor at the Harris County District Attorney's office. Meeting with the Houston Chronicle editorial board, Standley, 56, said he draws on his own troubled youth and undistinguished high school career as inspiration to help those who may have shared a similarly tough experience.

Both candidates have a good-hearted passion for the job, but Geffin seems better-suited for the duties of judgeship.

County Criminal Court at Law No. 7: Pam Derbyshire

First elected in 1998, Republican incumbent Pam Derbyshire has a sterling reputation on the bench that should earn her another term.

With experience handling capital murder cases in the Harris County District Attorney's office, serving as a federal prosecutor for the Southern District of Texas and working as a defense attorney, Derbyshire's well-balanced career is a model for a judicial candidate. A graduate of the South Texas College of Law, Derbyshire, 56, has instituted a DWI repeat-offender program in her court and is working to preside over a specialty court for prostitution charges.

Democratic challenger Sheila Acosta, a graduate of the Thurgood Marshall School of Law, has practiced for nearly 20 years. A former school teacher with fluency in Spanish, Acosta, 66, would bring valuable skills to the bench, but Derbyshire has earned another term.