New Appellate Judges Seminar Attendee Biographies

July 14-19, 2013 Attendee Biographies

The Honorable Patricia O. Alvarez

Texas Fourth Court of Appeals

Justice Patricia O. Alvarez was elected as the first Justice of the 4th Court of Appeals from Laredo, Texas, and the first born and raised in México. She immigrated to the United States at the age of 26.

Justice Alvarez is a 1982 graduate of the University of Texas at San Antonio and a 1987 graduate of UT School of Law. Before joining the bench, Justice Alvarez was a trial attorney in South Texas. She practiced in state and federal courts in South Texas, and handled complex civil trial matters. She is Board Certified in Personal Injury Trial Law by the Texas Board of Legal Specialization. At the time of her election, Justice Alvarez was classified by Martindale–Hubbell rate as an “AV Preeminent” attorney.

Justice Alvarez is an active member of the American Board of Trial Advocates (ABOTA); and of the State Bar of Texas, where she served as a Director of District 12, as Panel Chair of District 12 Grievance Committee, as PDP Chair, as member of the Pattern Jury Charge Committees (Volumes 1 and 2), and as trustee of the Texas Bar Foundation. She is past president of the Mexican-American Bar of Texas. Presently, she serves as a Board Member of the College and as chair of the Hispanic Issues Section of the Texas State Bar. She is a frequent lecturer at international, national and statewide levels on various areas of civil law.

Justice Alvarez has one son, Eduardo, who is also an attorney and two grandchildren, Paloma and Noah. She and her husband, Vicente, share a passion for traveling around the world!

The Honorable Bethany J. Alvord

Connecticut Appellate Court

The Honorable Bethany J. Alvord was born in Boston, Massachusetts. She attended Colgate University, graduating cum laude in 1979 with a B.A. in Russian Studies and International Relations. Judge Alvord then attended the University of Connecticut School of Law where she received her Juris Doctor with honors in corporate law in 1982.

Prior to becoming a judge, Judge Alvord served on the Town of Suffield Zoning Board of Appeals from 1988 – 1999. She also served on the Town of Suffield Retirement Commission from 1997- 1998.

From 1982 to 1992, Judge Alvord was employed by Massachusetts Mutual Life Insurance Company as a Second Vice President & Associate General Counsel in its Law Department. From 1993 – 1998, Judge Alvord was employed by Aetna, Inc. as the Assistant Vice President, Counsel, for the Retirement Services division. In January of 1999, Judge Alvord was sworn in as a Family Support Magistrate for the State of Connecticut. She served as a Family Support Magistrate until 2002, when she became a Judge of the Superior Court of the State of Connecticut. During her time on the Superior Court bench, Judge Alvord served as the Presiding Judge of the Family Division in New Haven. She was also assigned to hear matters in Rockville, Tolland, Waterbury and Hartford.

In April of 2009, Governor M. Jodi Rell appointed Judge Alvord to the Appellate Court.

The Honorable Robert E. Bacharach

U.S. Court of Appeals for the Tenth Circuit

Judge Bacharach is a United States Circuit Judge for the Tenth Circuit Court of Appeals. Before this appointment, he practiced civil litigation at Crowe & Dunlevy in Oklahoma City (roughly 122 years) and served as a U.S. Magistrate Judge in the Western District of Oklahoma (roughly 14 years).

He obtained his Juris Doctorate from Washington University in St. Louis in 1985, where he graduated order of the coif and served on the law review’s executive editorial board. Upon graduation from law school, Judge Bacharach clerked for Judge William J. Holloway, Jr., who was then the Chief Judge of the Tenth Circuit Court of Appeals.

Judge Bacharach is the author of five law review articles and a coauthor of a sixth law review article. These articles have been published in the Indiana Law Review, Oklahoma Law Review, Oklahoma City University Law Review, Memphis State University Law Review, and Washington University Law Quarterly.

July 14-19, 2013 Attendee Biographies

The Honorable Margaret Bartley

U.S. Court of Appeals for Veterans Claims

Judge Margaret Bartley was nominated by President Barack Obama and subsequently appointed a judge of the United States Court of Appeals for Veterans Claims (USCAVC) in June 2012.

For over 17 years prior to her appointment, Judge Bartley served as a veterans advocate, working as staff attorney and then senior staff attorney for National Veterans Legal Services Program (NVLSP), a veterans service organization. In that capacity, she advised and trained staff and service officers for The American Legion, Military Order of the Purple Heart, Vietnam Veterans of America, and other veterans service organizations and State departments of veterans affairs, on issues related to veterans benefits and veterans preference in Federal employment. She also represented veterans and survivors of veterans in their pursuit of VA benefits before the USCAVC and the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit. From 2004 to 2012, Judge Bartley served as editor of the NVLSP veterans’ law quarterly, The Veterans Advocate. She also testified before Congress concerning federal agency failure to apply veterans preference laws and appeared on behalf of amici curiae in several significant veterans preference cases.

From 2005 until her appointment to the bench, Judge Bartley also served as Director of Outreach and Education for the Veterans Consortium Pro Bono Program. In that capacity, she organized nationwide training classes for lawyers interested in providing pro bono representation to veterans and their survivors before the USCAVC. Prior to her career as a veterans advocate, Judge Bartley served as a judicial law clerk to now-retired Judge Jonathan R. Steinberg of the USCAVC. Judge Bartley earned a Bachelor of Arts degree, cum laude, from Pennsylvania State University in 1981 and a juris doctor degree, cum laude, from the American University Washington College of Law in 1993.

Aside from her many articles on veterans law published in The Veterans Advocate, Judge Bartley is co-author, co-editor, or contributing author of several other articles and publications, including the Veterans Benefits Manual (LexisNexis) (co-author 1999-2010, co-editor 2011-2012); American Veterans’ and Servicemembers’ Survival Guide (Veterans for America, 2008) (contributing author); VA Benefits for Low-Income Veterans (Clearinghouse Review, Sept-Oct 2006) (co-author); VA’s Obligations Toward Claimants: Analysis of the Veterans Claims Assistance Act of 2000 (Clearinghouse Review, July-August 2001) (co-author); The Elderlaw Portfolio Series: Veterans Benefits for the Elderly (Little, Brown and Company, 1996) (co-author); and Consideration of Pain and Other Factors in Rating Disabilities (Clearinghouse Review, July-August 1996) (co-author).

The Honorable J. Brett Busby

Texas Fourteenth Court of Appeals

Brett Busby was appointed to the 14th Court of Appeals in June 2012 and elected in November 2012. He is an experienced appellate litigator and a former partner at Bracewell & Giuliani LLP. He is also a former adjunct professor at the University of Texas Law School, where he taught the U.S. Supreme Court Litigation Clinic.

Brett served as a law clerk at the U.S. Supreme Court, and he later argued one case and briefed many others in that Court. He also handled dozens of appeals in the Texas Supreme Court and the Texas Courts of Appeals. For four years in a row, Brett was named a leading Texas appellate lawyer by Chambers and Partners and a Texas Super Lawyer by Super Lawyers Magazine. In 2012, Super Lawyers named him one of the top 100 lawyers in Texas. He is Board Certified in Civil Appellate Law by the Texas Board of Legal Specialization, and he received an AV peer rating from Martindale-Hubbell.

Brett is a seventh-generation Texan and third-generation Eagle Scout. He graduated with honors from Duke University and Columbia Law School. Before entering private practice, he served as a law clerk to the Honorable Byron R. White (Ret.) and Honorable John Paul Stevens, U.S. Supreme Court, and to the Honorable Gerald Bard Tjoflat, U.S. Court of Appeals, Eleventh Circuit.

Brett is active in his community. A life-long violinist, he is a member of the Houston Symphony Board, where he serves as Vice President for Artistic Affairs and chaired the Music Director Selection Committee. He also plays in the first violin section of the Houston Civic Symphony. Brett is a graduate of the Center for Houston’s Future Leadership Forum and a Fellow of the Texas and Houston Bar Foundations.

The Honorable Robert A. Chaisson

Louisiana Court of Appeal for the Fifth Circuit

Robert Chaisson has been a judge on the Louisiana Fifth Circuit Court of Appeal since 2011, prior to which he had served as a judge on Louisiana’s 29th Judicial District Court since 1997. From 1985 through 1996, he was a partner of Chaisson & Chaisson in Destrehan, LA.

Judge Chaisson graduated from Louisiana State University in 1981 and received his J.D. degree from Tulane School of Law in 1984. Following graduation, he clerked for Judge Walter Lanier of the Louisiana First Circuit Court of Appeal.

July 14-19, 2013 Attendee Biographies

The Honorable David R. Danilson

Iowa Court of Appeals

David R. Danilson is married and has five children. He resides in Boone, Iowa. He earned his bachelor’s degree from Iowa State University in 1976, and graduated from Creighton Law School in 1979.

Judge Danilson was in private practice for approximately seven years. During that time he also served as a judicial hospitalization referee for six months and as a part-time judicial magistrate for six years.

In 1987 he was appointed a full-time judicial officer as a District Associate Judge in Iowa’s second judicial district. After approximately 10 years in that judicial office, Judge Danilson was appointed as a District Court Judge, a general jurisdiction judicial officer, by Governor Terry Branstad in 1997. After twelve years on the district court bench including two of those years as the assistant chief district judge, Judge Danilson was appointed by Governor Chet Culver to the nine member Iowa Court of Appeals in 2009.

Judge Danilson has served on the board of directors of the Iowa Judges Association, board of trustees of the National Court Reporters Foundation, faculty member of the National Judicial College, and faculty member of the Iowa Magistrate conference. He currently serves as co-chair of the education committee of the Iowa Judges Association.

The Honorable Mark A. Davis

North Carolina Court of Appeal

Judge Mark A. Davis was appointed to the North Carolina Court of Appeals in 2012. Prior to that, he served as General Counsel in the Office of the Governor for two years. Between 2006 and 2011, he was a Special Deputy Attorney General in the North Carolina Department of Justice. From 1993 until 2006, he worked as an attorney at Womble Carlyle Sandridge & Rice, where he was a member of the firm in the Litigation Section.

Judge Davis received his law degree from the University of North Carolina School of Law and his undergraduate degree from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. Upon his graduation from law school, he served as a law clerk to the Honorable Franklin T. Dupree, Jr. in the United States District Court for the Eastern District of North Carolina.

The Honorable Bernice B. Donald

U.S. Court of Appeals for the Sixth Circuit

Bernice B. Donald has served as a United States District Judge for the Western District of Tennessee since 1996. She was previously a United States Bankruptcy Judge for the Western District of Tennessee and a Shelby County General Sessions Criminal Court Judge. Judge Donald was elected Secretary of the American Bar Association in 2008. Judge Donald serves on the Board of Editors of the American Bar Association Journal and is currently Vice President of the American Bar Foundation, an organization dedicated to rigorous research on the law. She is also a Past President of both the National Association of Women Judges and the Association for Women Attorneys in Memphis.

Judge Donald has been a member of the faculties of the National Judicial College and the Federal Judicial Center. From 2003 to 2007, she served on the Board of Directors of the Federal Judicial Center, and Chief Justice Rehnquist appointed her to serve two three-year terms on the Judicial Conference Advisory Committee on Bankruptcy Rules from 1996 to 2002. Judge Donald is a frequent lecturer on employment law matters for judicial and bar association groups. She was formerly an adjunct instructor at both the University of Memphis Cecil C. Humphreys School of Law and Shelby State Community College (now Southwest Tennessee Community College). In addition to her many professional activities, Judge Donald actively volunteers with at-risk youth in the Memphis area to help them avoid entering the criminal justice system.

The recipient of over 100 awards for professional, civic, and community activities, Judge Donald was named the Justice Joan Dempsey Klein Honoree of the Year by the National Association of Women Judges in October 2008. She received the President’s Award for service to the profession from the National Bar Association in 2006 and the inaugural Liberty Award from the Tort Trial and Insurance Practice Section of the American Bar Association in 2008. Judge Donald was awarded an honorary doctor of laws degree by Suffolk University in May 2010.

Judge Donald received her undergraduate and law degrees from the University of Memphis, which presented her with a lifetime achievement award in 2011 and its Distinguished Alumni Award in 1990. She previously served on the Foundation Board of the University of Memphis and currently serves on the University of Memphis Law Alumni Board. A scholarship has been established in her name at the University of Memphis and is open to all students without regard to race or ethnicity.

July 14-19, 2013 Attendee Biographies

The Honorable Stephanie Dunn

Colorado Court of Appeals

CAREER: Judge Dunn was appointed to the Colorado Court of Appeals in June 2012. Before joining the bench, she was a partner at the national law firm, Perkins Coie LLP, where she practiced from 2003-2012. Her practice focused on complex business litigation and appellate litigation in state and federal courts as well as white collar investigations and defense. She was a member of the firm’s securities and corporate governance litigation practice group, its appellate practice group and its investigations and white collar defense practice group. While a partner at Perkins Coie, she was Chair of both the Denver Diversity Committee and the Denver Pro Bono Committee. Prior to joining Perkins Coie in 2003, she was an associate in the litigation department of a New York based law firm, where her practice focused on commercial litigation. Before that, she clerked for Chief Justice Luis Rovira of the Colorado Supreme Court. In 2012, she was recognized as one of Law Week Colorado’s Lawyers of the Year on the Big Verdict Case list.

EDUCATION: University of Denver Sturm College of Law, J.D., 1993, Order of St. Ives, Law Review, Honor Board; University of Colorado, B.A., 1990, Phi Beta Kappa.

PUBLICATIONS: "Inside the Minds: The Laws Behind White Collar Crime,” Aspatore Books - White Collar Chapter (2006); "Mitigating Corporate Criminal Liability: The Role of Corporate Compliance Programs" Financial Fraud Newsletter, Vol. 1, No. 11 (Spring 1998).

The Honorable Carmen Elisa Espinosa

Connecticut Supreme Court

Justice Carmen Elisa Espinosa became a justice of the Supreme Court on March 6, 2013, having been appointed to the position by Governor Dannel P. Malloy. Justice Espinosa is the first Hispanic Supreme Court Justice in Connecticut.

Prior to her appointment to the Supreme Court, Justice Espinosa was a judge of the Appellate Court, having been appointed to the position by Governor Malloy. She was sworn in on March 16, 2011, and was the first Hispanic appointed to serve as a judge of the Appellate Court.

Justice Espinosa was appointed to the Superior Court on January 10, 1992, and was the first Hispanic and Hispanic woman Superior Court Judge in the State of Connecticut. As a Superior Court Judge, Justice Espinosa presided over trials in the Judicial Districts of New Britain, Hartford and Waterbury. In addition to her duties on the bench, Justice Espinosa has been involved in judicial education and, for nine years, served on the Judicial Branch’s Education Committee, which oversees all facets of continuing education for members of the judiciary. Over the years, she has been on the faculty of the Education Committee, teaching criminal law courses. Justice Espinosa previously served on the Client Security Fund Committee and was also a member of the Sentence Review Division of the Superior Court.

Justice Espinosa is an active member of the Judicial Branch’s Speakers Bureau and regularly addresses community groups and students. She also has been a guest on radio shows on WLIS and WPRX, Spanish radio.

Since her appointment to the Appellate Court, Justice Espinosa has been honored by the Latino and Puerto Rican Affairs Commission, the Hispanic Bar Association and Central Connecticut State University as an inaugural recipient of the Women of Influence Award. She was also featured on NBC Connecticut to promote Hispanic Heritage Month. In September 2011, Justice Espinosa was named one of 2011 Hispanic Business 100 Influentials by Hispanic Business magazine.

For eleven years prior to her appointment to the bench, Justice Espinosa was an Assistant United States Attorney for the District of Connecticut in Hartford, serving nine years in the Criminal Division and two years in the Civil Division. While an Assistant United States Attorney, Justice Espinosa received the United States Attorney General’s Distinguished Service Award and the United States Department of Justice Special Achievement Award. Before becoming a federal prosecutor, she was a Special Agent of the Federal Bureau of Investigation.

Justice Espinosa received her Juris Doctor from The George Washington University Law School. She holds a Master of Arts Degree in Hispanic Studies from Brown University and a Bachelor of Science Degree in Secondary Education with a major in Spanish and French from Central Connecticut State University.

The Honorable David W. Evans (no photograph available)

Texas Fifth Court of Appeals

David Evans was elected to serve as Justice on the Fifth Court of Appeals in 2012, having served as District Judge of the 193rd Judicial District Court, Dallas County, Texas, from 1999-2006. Justice Evans' private law practice involved trials and appeals of business disputes beginning as an associate at Haynes and Boone's Dallas office from 1984-1987. Immediately prior to his election to the Fifth Court of Appeals, Justice Evans was in private practice, specializing in mediation, arbitration, and appellate and civil litigation.

Justice Evans graduated from Southern Methodist University Dedman School of Law in 1984. He was Editor-in-Chief of the Journal of Air Law & Commerce and authored Comment, The Impact of the Federal Aviation Act of 1958 on Buyers in the Ordinary Course of Business, 48 J. Air L. & Com. 835 (1983). Justice Evans received his B.A. cum laude from the University of Connecticut in 1977 double majoring in Philosophy and Greek. He studied Hebrew and Greek at Dallas Theological Seminary from 1977-1981.

Justice Evans' community involvement includes being a member of the Dallas County Juvenile Board in 2004, 2005, and 2006 and a member of the Dallas County Juvenile Justice Charter School Board in 2004, 2005, and 2006. Justice Evans presided over evening court cases for the convenience of impoverished parties. Justice Evans has taught and continues to teach law and ethical advocacy to Texas lawyers and judges and did so as an Adjunct Instructor in Law, Trial Techniques Program, Emory University Law School in 1998 and 2000.

July 14-19, 2013 Attendee Biographies

The Honorable Scott K. Field

Texas Court of Appeals for the Third District

Justice Scott K. Field was elected to the Third Court of Appeals in Austin, Texas, in November 2012 for a six-year term.

Justice Field began his career by serving as a law clerk on the Texas Supreme Court, for Hon. Raul Gonzalez. He then began private practice at Baker Botts, L.L.P., where he practiced in the trial and appellate departments until 2001. He then co-founded York, Keller & Field, L.L.P., before forming The Field Law Firm, PLLC, in 2007.

As an undergraduate, Justice Field earned a B.A. in Political Science from Texas A&M University, where he graduated summa cum laude. He received his law degree from the University of Texas School of Law, where he graduated with honors and was named to the Order of the Coif.

Justice Field has been married to his wife, Melinda, for 22 years. They have three sons, ages 17, 14, and 12. He enjoys golf, water and snow skiing, hiking, fishing, and playing, watching, or coaching nearly any sport.

The Third Court of Appeals sits in Austin and hears cases from 24 counties in Central and West Texas.

MEETING AN URGENT NEED

Hon. Robert A. Katzmann

…I think we can all agree that having a lawyer, preferably a good one, makes a substantial difference.

Fourth. "Grave problems persist in regard to deficient performance by lawyers providing removal-defense services." ● "New York immigration judges rated nearly half of all legal representatives as less than adequate in terms of overall performance . . . "

Fifth. "According to the providers surveyed, detained cases are least served by existing removal-defense providers."

Sixth. "[T]he two greatest impediments to increasing the capacity of existing providers are a lack of funding and a lack of resources to build a qualified core of experienced removal-defense providers.”

These dramatic findings give us a sense of the immensity of the task before us.

What You Can Do

You might be wondering what can you do? I see so much talent in this room. I encourage and welcome the involvement of all of you here: firm leaders who set the tone, partners who serve as mentors for young lawyers, senior lawyers and associates alike. Any lawyer who has successfully represented a noncitizen can tell you of the deep satisfaction of helping a person in need, of helping to keep a family intact, of frankly becoming a hero to that immigrant and immigrant family, with the not insubstantial additional benefit to the attorney and firm of honing legal skills through that representation. Such honing of skills can enhance lawyering in other areas of practice.

If you are not already, please become involved. You can find out more about our activities by Googling "Study Group on Immigrant Representation," by downloading our Fordham and Cardozo symposia and reports, by contacting the Study Group at studygroupimmigrantrep@gmail.com, the FBC's Public Service Committee, or by contacting the other organizations noted in our materials, all doing great work.

We are all shaped by our personal histories. As I reflect on my subject tonight, immigrant representation, my own family's past no doubt plays a part. My father is a refugee from Nazi persecution, my mother the child of Russian immigrants. I can still hear the accents and voices of my own relatives, who escaped persecution, who wanted to become part of this great country, and who, through their toil and belief in the American dream, made this great nation even greater. When we work to secure adequate representation for immigrants, not only are we faithful to our own professional responsibilities, not only do we further the fair and effective administration of justice, but we also honor this nation's immigrant experience. •

July 14-19, 2013 Attendee Biographies

The Honorable William S. Greenberg

U.S. Court of Appeals for Veterans Claims

Judge William S. Greenberg was nominated to the United States Court of Appeals for Veterans Claims by President Barack Obama on November 15, 2012, confirmed by the United States Senate on December 21, 2012, appointed by the President on December 27, 2012, and took the judicial oath on December 28, 2012, for a term of fifteen years.

Judge Greenberg was a partner of McCarter & English, LLP. He initially joined the firm as an associate following a judicial clerkship in 1968, then returned as a partner in 1993. The majority of his career has involved litigation in federal and state courts.

Judge Greenberg had been a Certified Civil Trial Attorney by the Supreme Court of New Jersey since 1983. He served as Chairman of the Judicial and Prosecutorial Appointments Committee of the New Jersey State Bar Association, which considers all candidates to be a judge or prosecutor submitted by the Governor of New Jersey. He was President of the Association of Trial Lawyers of America, New Jersey, (The New Jersey Association for Justice) and has served as Trustee of the New Jersey State Bar Association and of the New Jersey State Bar Foundation. He also served as a member of the New Jersey Supreme Court Committee on the Admission of Foreign Attorneys. He established and chaired the New Jersey State Bar Association (public service/pro bono) program of military legal assistance for members of the Reserve Components called to active duty after September 11, 2001. He was a member of the New Jersey Supreme Court Civil Practice Committee. With the approval of the Secretary of Defense, on the recommendation of The White House, Judge Greenberg became Chairman of the Reserve Forces Policy Board in 2009, a Board established by the Secretary of Defense in 1951 and by Act of Congress in 1952. On July 26, 2011, Judge Greenberg was awarded the Secretary of Defense Medal for Outstanding Public Service, the second highest civilian award in the Defense Department, at a public ceremony in the Pentagon, and completed his term in August 2011.

In 2006 his Civil Trial Handbook, Volume 47 of the New Jersey Practice Series, was published by Thomson/West. A special Twentieth Anniversary issue was published in 2009, to commemorate the 1989 publication of its predecessor, Trial Handbook for New Jersey Lawyers.

A retired Brigadier General, he served as a member of the New Jersey World War II Memorial Commission. In June 2009 he received the highest honor granted by the New Jersey State Bar Foundation, its medal of honor for his work in establishing the military legal assistance program, and especially in his public service representation of soldiers at Walter Reed Army Medical Center during their Physician Disability Hearings. His article in the June 2007 issue of New Jersey Lawyer Magazine describes the program in detail. He has served as special litigation counsel to The Adjutants General Association of the United States and was special litigation counsel pro bono to the National Guard Association of the United States.

Judge Greenberg was a Commissioner of the New Jersey State Commission of Investigation. He also served as Assistant Counsel to the Governor of New Jersey and as Commissioner of the New Jersey State Scholarship Commission.

Professor Greenberg served as the first Adjunct Professor of Military Law at the Seton Hall University School of Law.

He was chosen the New Jersey Lawyer of the Year for 2009 by The New Jersey Law Journal. He received The Distinguished Alumnus Award from The Johns Hopkins University in 2010, and the Rutgers Law School Public Service Award in 2010 for his work in developing and leading the efforts to represent wounded and injured soldiers at Walter Reed.

Judge Greenberg is admitted in New Jersey, New York and the District of Columbia. He is a member of the bar of the Supreme Court of the United States, and of the Third, Fourth and Federal Circuits, the Southern District of New York, and the United States Court of Appeals for the Armed Forces.

Judge Greenberg is a graduate of The Johns Hopkins University (AB, 1964) and Rutgers University Law School (JD, 1967). He is married to the former Betty Kaufmann Wolf of Pittsburgh. They have three children, Katherine of New York, Anthony of Baltimore, and Elizabeth of New York.

Photographs from the 2013 Appellate Judges Seminar

July 14-19, 2013 Attendee Biographies

The Honorable Sandra Cabrina Jenkins

Louisiana Court of Appeal for the Fourth Circuit

On November 6, 2012, Sandra Cabrina Jenkins was elected to the Louisiana Fourth Circuit Court of Appeal. Her ten year term began January 1, 2013.

Judge Jenkins is a 1989 graduate of Southern University Law Center, Baton Rouge, Louisiana. She received her B.A. from Louisiana State University, Political Science. She earned a Master of Public Administration from Southern University, Baton Rouge, Louisiana; and attended McAfee School of Theology, Mercer University, Atlanta, Georgia.

Judge Jenkins is a former Assistant District Attorney for the Parish of Orleans and a former Staff Attorney, Central Staff, for the Louisiana Fourth Circuit Court of Appeal. Prior to her election to the bench, she had a general practice with an expertise in criminal defense. She was of counsel with the law firm Scheuermann and Jones, New Orleans, Louisiana. During her 23 years as a practicing attorney, Judge Jenkins practiced in all U.S. District Courts in the State of Louisiana; the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit; U.S. Court of Appeals for Veterans Claims; and the Board of Veterans’ Appeals.

In 2010, Judge Jenkins joined the faculty of Xavier University of Louisiana, Political Science Department, where she is an Assistant Professor. She teaches pre-law courses. In May 2012, she founded a green janitorial and facility management company, S.A.G.E. Commercial Cleaning, LLC.

As an attorney, Judge Jenkins was very active with the Bar. Her national and local bar memberships included American Bar Association, Federal Bar Association, Louisiana State Bar Association. She was (and currently) co-chair of the Louisiana State Bar Association’s Children’s Law Committee. Additionally, Judge Jenkins presented at CLE programs at the national and local level in the area of representation of juvenile offenders in the federal system.

Throughout her professional career, Judge Jenkins has volunteered her services with community projects and organizations. She served as a H.E.L.P. volunteer which is an organization that offers pro bono services to the homeless population and Veterans in the City of New Orleans. Judge Jenkins is a board member of Greg K. Monroe Foundation, Inc. She is also a board member for Alliance for Affordable Energy, where she serves as Chair of the Program Committee and is a member of Finance Committee. Judge Jenkins is a 2011 graduate of the Junior League of New Orleans “Get On Board” Program (training to serve on a Board of Directors). She has been a CASA, Teen Court, and Junior Achievement volunteer. For the past 23 years, Judge Jenkins has been a part the ministries of First Emanuel Baptist Church, New Orleans, Louisiana, where she currently serves on the Ministerial Staff.

Additionally, Judge Jenkins’ professional affiliations include: National Association of Women Judges, U.S. Women’s Chamber of Commerce; The American Judges Association; Louisiana Judicial Council of the National Bar Association; Fourth and Fifth Circuit Courts of Appeal Judges Association; and the American Bar Association.

More Photographs from the 2013 Appellate Judges Seminar

July 14-19, 2013 Attendee Biographies

The Honorable Carol K. Joyce

Navy-Marine Corps Court of Criminal Appeals

Colonel Joyce is currently on active duty serving as an Appellate Court Judge for the Navy-Marine Corps Court of Criminal Appeals at the Washington Navy Yard, Washington, D.C.

Colonel Joyce was commissioned a second lieutenant in 1981 upon graduating from Arizona State University. After completing The Basic School, she started her military career as a Ground Supply Officer, consisting of assignments to 7th Communications Battalion, 3d Marine Division, Okinawa, Japan, and Marine Wing Squadron Group 27, Marine Corps Air Station, New River, North Carolina.

After selection into the Excess Leave (Law) Program, Colonel Joyce earned her law degree in 1989 from Suffolk University Law School, Boston, Massachusetts. Graduating from the Naval Justice School, Newport, Rhode Island, she reported to the Office of the Staff Judge Advocate, Marine Corps Base, Camp Lejeune, North Carolina, where she served as Chief Special Assistant to the U.S. Attorney’s Office in the Eastern District of North Carolina, and later as Chief Trial Counsel to the Military Justice Section.

Colonel Joyce’s service as a Marine Corps judge advocate afforded her a wide range of assignments throughout her career. Upon transferring from Camp Lejeune, Colonel Joyce held several key legal billets; such as Occupational Field Sponsor for the Judge Advocate Division, Headquarters, U.S. Marine Corps; Government Contracts Attorney for Marine Corps Systems Command, Quantico; Chief Trial Counsel to the Legal Services Support Section (LSSS), Camp Lejeune, prosecuting such high profile cases as the EA-6B mishap in Aviano, Italy; Regional Defense Counsel for the Pacific Region, Okinawa, Japan; Deputy Chief Prosecutor for the Office of Military Commissions, overseeing the prosecution of detainees at Guantanamo Bay, Cuba; Chief Defense Counsel of the Marine Corps when allegations of misconduct arose out of Hamdaniya and Haditha, Iraq; Staff Judge Advocate to the Combatant Commander of U.S. Strategic Command, Nebraska, providing legal advice on matters involving nuclear deterrence, space, and computer network operations; Staff Judge Advocate for the Commanding General, II Marine Expeditionary Force; and most recently, a one year deployment as the Staff Judge Advocate to the Commander, Regional Command (Southwest), in Afghanistan.

Colonel Joyce also had the distinct pleasure of serving as a White House Social Aide from 1993 to 1995, with a follow-on tour as a resident student at the Marine Corps Command and Staff College, Quantico, Virginia. She was selected to command Marine Wing Headquarters Squadron 1 (MWHS-1) in Okinawa, Japan, from 2001 to 2003, and was later assigned to the Analysis and Assessment Branch and then became Executive Assistant for the Assistant Secretary of the Navy, Manpower and Reserve Affairs (ASN, M&RA) at the Pentagon, where she was promoted to her current rank.

Colonel Joyce’s personal awards include the Defense Superior Service Medal, Legion of Merit, Defense Meritorious Service Medal, Meritorious Service Medal with two gold stars in lieu of third award, Navy Commendation Medal with one gold star in lieu of second award, and Navy-Marine Corps Achievement Medal. She is married to a retired Marine aviator and they have a daughter.

More Photographs from the 2013 Appellate Judges Seminar

July 14-19, 2013 Attendee Biographies

The Honorable Christine E. Keller

Connecticut Appellate Court

Judge Christine E. Keller of Hartford was appointed to the bench by Gov. Lowell Weicker in 1993. Prior to her appointment, she had practiced family, personal injury and real estate law in Hartford at Neighborhood Legal Services, the Office of the Corporation Counsel for the City of Hartford and the law firm of Ritter and Keller. In 1989, she was appointed a Family Support Magistrate by Governor William O’Neill. Judge Keller is an honors graduate of Smith College (‘74) and an honors graduate of the University of Connecticut School of Law (‘77).

During her tenure as a Connecticut Superior Court Judge, Judge Keller served as presiding judge in both the Hartford and Plainville juvenile courts, and also served terms in Waterbury criminal court, New Britain civil and family courts and Hartford criminal and civil courts. From 1997 to 2002, she served as Chief Administrative Judge for Juvenile Matters, responsible for advising the Chief Court Administrator on matters of policy and procedures affecting the Juvenile Division statewide. In 2005, she was appointed Administrative Judge for the Judicial District of Hartford, a position she held until 2007, when she was reappointed to her former position as Chief Administrative Judge for Juvenile Matters. In 2008, the Connecticut Bar Association awarded Judge Keller the Henry J. Naruk Judiciary Award, presented annually to a Connecticut judge for judicial excellence.

Judge Keller served on a number of task forces and committees affecting juvenile issues, including the Juvenile Justice Advisory Committee, the Child Advocate Advisory Board, the Court Improvement Project Advisory Committee, the Child Poverty and Prevention Council, the Detention Diversion Review Committee, the Family With Service Needs Advisory Board and the Juvenile Justice Policy and Operations Coordinating Council.

In the past, she served on the Chief Court Administrator’s Detention Overcrowding Oversight Committee, the Commission on Public Trust and Confidence in the Justice System, the Governor’s Task Force on Justice for Abused Children and the Governor’s Task Force on Judicial Reform, which addressed openness in the judicial branch. Judge Keller, who was a member of the Superior Court Rules Committee from 1997 until 2005, chaired a task force to recommend revisions to the juvenile rules of practice and was a member of a subcommittee proposing revisions to the code of judicial conduct. She is a member of the Connecticut and Hartford County Bar Associations and the Connecticut Judges Association, where she has held the offices of secretary and vice-president. She was a member of the Judicial Review Council, the state disciplinary body for judges, from 2006 until 2008. She has served as a faculty member of the Connecticut Judges Institute, conducting three seminars on judicial ethics for other Connecticut judges. She is a James Cooper Fellow of the Connecticut Bar Foundation and leads a pupilage group for the Hartford chapter of the Inn of Court. Currently she is a member of the Committee to Expedite Juvenile Appeals and the Judicial Branch Committee on Ethics, which issues advisory ethics opinions to judges.

Judge Keller was appointed to the Connecticut Appellate court by Governor Dannel Malloy and after confirmation, began serving as a member of the court on March 7, 2013.

The Honorable John C. Kennedy

New Jersey Superior Court, Appellate Division

Honorable John C. Kennedy, J.A.D. is assigned to the Appellate Division of the Superior Court, with chambers in Newark, New Jersey. He had earlier served in the Law Division in both the Criminal Part and the Civil Part. Prior to his appointment to the bench, he was initially an associate at Lowenstein Sandler and thereafter a litigation partner at O’Donnell, Kennedy, Vespole & Piechta in West Orange, New Jersey , a firm he co-founded in 1980. He also served as Corporation Counsel to the City of Jersey City. Judge Kennedy has held memberships in the Association of Defense Trial Attorneys, the New Jersey Defense Association and the New Jersey State Bar Association. He is a former Adjunct Instructor of Law at Seton Hall University Law Center. As an attorney, Judge Kennedy lectured frequently on litigation, insurance coverage and professional malpractice defense. After his appointment to the bench, Judge Kennedy has served as a faculty member on numerous seminars for the New Jersey Judicial College, the National Judicial College, ICLE and the Criminal Law Institute. He has been published in the Seton Hall Legislative Journal and was recently named a 2010 ASTAR Fellow by the National Judicial Science School in Washington, D.C. He received his B.A., cum laude, from St. Vincent College and his J.D., cum laude, from Seton Hall University Law Center, where he received a number of academic honors. He was law secretary to the Honorable John F. Lynch, Presiding Judge, Appellate Division.

July 14-19, 2013 Attendee Biographies

The Honorable Michael Kirk

Minnesota Court of Appeals

Michael Kirk was born in Grand Forks, North Dakota and graduated from high school in Fairmont, Minnesota. He attended St. Johns University in Collegeville, Minnesota and the University of Minnesota in Minneapolis, Minnesota. His undergraduate degree is in Economics and he received his Juris Doctor from the University of Minnesota. After law school he was in the private practice of law for three years and then spent 11 years as an elected County Attorney.

Most recently, Judge Kirk served as a District Court Judge for twenty three years before his appointment to the Minnesota Court of Appeals on August 15, 2012. He served as the Assistant Chief Judge in his twenty-eight Judge district for five years and as the Chief Judge for four years. He has served on the Minnesota Supreme Court’s committees on criminal law, evidence and child protection. He regularly presents educational programs for lawyers and Judges including being a regular instructor on criminal trial issues and sentencing at “new judge orientation”, week-long trial advocacy programs and college courses on business law, criminal law and criminal procedure.

Judge Kirk and his wife Joan have four children ages fourteen to twenty-nine. In his free time, he enjoys the lakes country of Minnesota, bridge, golf, coaching hockey and anything else outdoor or sports related.

The Honorable David B. Lewis

Texas Fifth Court of Appeals

David Lewis is a born and bred Texan who resides in University Park, Texas. He earned his undergraduate degree from the University of Texas at Austin and his J.D. from Baylor Law School where the student body elected him president and the faculty awarded him the Omicron Delta Kappa Outstanding Law Student Award.

Out of law school, David was hired by the legendary Dallas County District Attorney, Henry Wade. In record time, David became a Felony Chief Prosecutor. He was a Career Criminal Prosecutor and a death penalty prosecutor. David continued his public service as an Assistant United States Attorney in Dallas and was the Chief AUSA in Austin. He was an instructor at the Attorney General’s Advocacy Institute in Washington.

David went into private practice specializing in white collar criminal defense. He was called back into public service to be a Special Prosecutor for what the media called The Dallas Police Department Fake Drug Scandal.

David was elected last November to the Texas Fifth District Court of Appeals and took office January 1.

The Honorable Monica M. Márquez

Colorado Supreme Court

Monica M. Márquez was sworn in as Justice of the Colorado Supreme Court on December 10, 2010. She was appointed by Governor Bill Ritter, Jr. Before joining the Court, Justice Márquez served as Deputy Attorney General at the Colorado Attorney General’s Office, where she led the State Services section in representing several state executive branch agencies and Colorado’s statewide elected public officials, including the Governor, Treasurer, Secretary of State, and Attorney General. Before being appointed Deputy Attorney General, Justice Márquez also served as Assistant Solicitor General and as Assistant Attorney General in both the Public Officials Unit and the Criminal Appellate Section.

Prior to joining the Attorney General’s Office, Justice Márquez practiced commercial litigation and employment law at Holme Roberts & Owen, LLP. She clerked for Judge David M. Ebel of the United States Court of Appeals for the Tenth Circuit, and for Judge Michael A. Ponsor of the United States District Court for the District of Massachusetts.

Justice Márquez grew up in Grand Junction, CO. She earned her bachelor’s degree from Stanford University, then served in the Jesuit Volunteer Corps as a volunteer inner-city school teacher and community organizer in Camden, NJ, and Philadelphia, PA. She graduated from Yale Law School, where she served as Editor of the Yale Law Journal, Articles Editor of the Yale Law & Policy Review, and co-coordinator of the Latino Law Students Association. Prior to joining the Court, Justice Márquez served on the boards of the Colorado Hispanic Bar Association and the Colorado GLBT Bar Association, and as Chair of the Denver Mayor’s GLBT Commission.

July 14-19, 2013 Attendee Biographies

The Honorable Andrew J. McDonald

Connecticut Supreme Court

Justice Andrew J. McDonald is a Connecticut native. Born in Stamford on March 11, 1966, he attended Stamford public schools before entering college. After graduating from Cornell University with a Bachelor of Arts degree in 1988, he earned a juris doctor degree, with honors, from the University of Connecticut School of Law in 1991. In January of 2013, Governor Dannel P. Malloy nominated Justice McDonald to be an associate justice of the Connecticut Supreme Court. He was confirmed by the Connecticut General Assembly on January 23, 2013 and was sworn into office on January 24, 2013 by Governor Malloy.

Prior to his appointment to the Supreme Court, Justice McDonald served as the General Counsel to the Office of the Governor for the State of Connecticut from 2011 to 2013. In this role, he served as chief legal advisor to the Governor, the Lieutenant Governor and senior staff of the Executive Branch of government. His responsibilities included providing legal counsel and analysis on all aspects of Executive Branch functions and operations, including its interactions with the federal government and the Judicial and Legislative branches of state government.

From 1991 to 2011, Justice McDonald was engaged in the private practice of law, first as an associate and then as a partner, with the firm of Pullman & Comley, LLC. He was a commercial litigator and handled all stages of litigation in federal and state courts at both the trial and appellate levels.

From January of 1999 to July of 2002, Justice McDonald additionally served as the Director of Legal Affairs and Corporation Counsel for the City of Stamford. In this capacity, he served in the Mayor’s Cabinet and oversaw the administration, supervision and performance of all legal, human resource and labor relations functions of the city, its boards, commissions and agencies.

Justice McDonald was a State Senator from 2003 to 2011. He represented Stamford and Darien in the 27th District. Justice McDonald served as the Senate Chairman of the Judiciary Committee for all eight years he was in the General Assembly. During periods of his legislative career he also served as the Senate Vice Chairman of the Energy and Technology Committee and as member of the Finance, Revenue and Bonding Committee, the Transportation Committee, the Education Committee and the Regulations Review Committee. From 2005 to 2011 he served as Deputy Majority Leader of the Senate.

Earlier in his career, Justice McDonald served on the Stamford Board of Finance from 1995-1999, including serving as the board’s Chairman from 1997-1999, and as Co-Chair of the Audit Committee, from 1995-1997. He began his public service career in 1993 as a member of the Stamford Board of Representatives, where he served until 1995.

Justice McDonald and his husband, Charles, live in Stamford.

The Honorable Roy W. McLeese III

District of Columbia Court of Appeals

Judge Roy W. McLeese III was appointed to the District of Columbia Court of Appeals in 2012 by President Barack Obama.

Judge McLeese received his B.A. cum laude in 1981 from Harvard College, and his J.D. cum laude in 1985 from the New York University School of Law, where he was editor-in-chief of the Law Review.

After graduating from law school, Judge McLeese served as a law clerk to then-Judge Antonin Scalia, on the United States Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit. He then clerked for Justice Scalia on the Supreme Court of the United States. In 1987, Judge McLeese joined the United States Attorney’s Office for the District of Columbia. After rotating through various sections of that Office, he became Deputy Chief of the Appellate Division in 1990. From 1997 through 1999, Judge McLeese served as an Assistant to the Solicitor General of the United States, briefing and arguing cases in the Supreme Court. After returning to the United States Attorney’s Office, he became Chief of the Appellate Division in 2005. In 2010, Judge McLeese served for five months as Acting Deputy Solicitor General of the United States, supervising the criminal litigation of the United States in the Supreme Court. He then returned to the United States Attorney’s Office, where he again served as Chief of the Appellate Division until he was appointed to the Court of Appeals.

July 14-19, 2013 Attendee Biographies

The Honorable Robert J. Morris, Jr.

Florida Court of Appeal for the Second District

Judge Morris was appointed by three different Florida Governors to serve as a judge in as many courts. Prior to being appointed in 2009 to his current assignment on the Second District Court of Appeal, he was appointed to serve on the Circuit Court for the Sixth Judicial Circuit in 2001, and the Pinellas County Court in 1997.

Beyond traditional judicial duties, his public service has included appointments by various Florida Supreme Court Chief Justices to serve on the Supreme Court Committee on Children and Families in Court (2004-2012, chair 2004-2006), the Trial Court Budget Commission (2006-2009) and the Supreme Court Judicial Management Council (2012, for a four year term). Also, in 2007, the judges of the Sixth Judicial Circuit elected him chief judge. They re-elected him chief judge in 2009. In 2012, the judges of the District Courts of Appeal elected him to serve on the Judicial Qualifications Commission for a six year term.

From 1980 to 1997, he was engaged in the practice of law. His experience as a lawyer includes being a prosecutor, a partner and state-wide management committee member in a national law firm, and the principal of his own law firm. He also served on the boards of directors of a bank and a hospital. Martindale Hubbell assigned him their preeminent rating of AV.

Throughout his career he has variously presented and produced teaching materials for the Florida Judicial College, the College of Advanced Judicial Studies, judicial conferences, continuing legal education programs, bar associations, a law school, universities, high schools and civic associations. He has also appeared on television and radio to address legal subjects.

Judge Morris graduated from Tarpon Springs (FL) High School in 1971. He received a Bachelor of Science from the University of Florida in 1975. In 1980, he was conferred the Juris Doctor by DePaul University and became a member of the Florida Bar.

Born in Jacksonville, Florida in 1953, he married his high school classmate in 1976. They have three adult children.

More Photographs from the 2013 Appellate Judges Seminar

Appellate Judges Seminar faculty members Martha Craig Daughtrey, Troy McKenzie, and Bea Ann Smith

July 14-19, 2013 Attendee Biographies

The Honorable Anthony Navarro

Colorado Court of Appeals

CAREER: Before joining the court, Judge Navarro was a Supervisory Attorney in the Social Security Administration’s Office of the General Counsel in Denver. In addition to supervising extensive litigation before federal circuit and district courts, he oversaw matters related to bankruptcy, civil rights complaints, agreements with state and local governments for Social Security coverage, and disclosure issues concerning the Privacy Act. Prior to this service, he worked at Holland & Hart LLP in Denver, where he focused on the appellate aspect of commercial litigation. Before joining Holland & Hart, Judge Navarro was a member of the Colorado Attorney General’s Office, where he worked first as an Assistant Attorney General in the Consumer Protection Section before joining the Appellate Division. He also served as law clerk to Justice Alex Martinez of the Colorado Supreme Court. Before clerking, Judge Navarro practiced corporate and securities law in San Francisco at Pillsbury Winthrop Shaw Pittman LLP.

EDUCATION: Judge Navarro obtained a J.D. from Yale Law School in 1996 and a B.A. from the University of Colorado in 1993.

CIVIC & PROFESSIONAL: Judge Navarro has been a member of the Colorado Board of Real Estate Appraisers (former chair), the Denver County Court Judicial Discipline Commission, the Citizens Oversight Board (regarding the Denver Police Department), the Colorado Bar Association (former board member), the Colorado Hispanic Bar Association (former board member), and the Colorado GLBT Bar Association (former board member).

The Honorable Coral Wong Pietsch

U.S. Court of Appeals for Veterans Claims

Judge Coral Wong Pietsch was nominated by President Barack Obama and subsequently appointed a Judge of the U.S. Court of Appeals for Veterans Claims in June 2012.

Judge Pietsch has a distinguished career in public service, both in the military and as a civilian. She was commissioned in the U.S. Army Judge Advocate General’s Corps and served six years on active duty. Judge Pietsch continued her service in the U.S. Army Reserve and rose to the rank of Brigadier General. She became the first woman to be promoted in the rank of Brigadier General in the US Army Judge Advocate General’s Corps and the first woman of Asian ancestry to be promoted to Brigadier General in the Army. In her military career, Judge Pietsch participated in numerous exercises and deployments throughout the Asia Pacific Region.

Until her appointment to the bench, Judge Pietsch held the position of Senior Attorney and Special Assistant at Headquarters, U.S. Army Pacific located in Honolulu, Hawaii. In this position, she provided and managed legal services in support of the U.S. Army Pacific’s mission to train Army Forces for military operations and peacetime engagements aimed at promoting regional stability. Her responsibilities included providing advice and counsel in a myriad of areas of law, to include environmental law, fiscal law, personnel law, international law, and administrative law.

As part of the 2007 "surge" in Iraq, Judge Pietsch volunteered as a Department of Defense civilian to deploy to Iraq for a year where she was seconded to the U.S. Department of State to serve as the Deputy Rule of Law Coordinator for the Baghdad Provincial Reconstruction Team. During her deployment to Iraq, Judge Pietsch assisted with numerous civil society projects involving a variety of Rule of Law partners, including the Iraqi Jurist Union, Iraqi Bar Association, law schools, and international rights, women’s rights and human rights organizations. She evaluated and sought funding for numerous projects aimed at building capacity within the Iraqi legal community to include the establishment, in close collaboration with the Iraqi Bar Association, of a Legal Aid Clinic at one of the Iraq’s largest detention facilities. During her time in Iraq, she also established meaningful relationships with numerous Government of Iraq ministries, nongovernmental organizations, and Coalition partners to help reinvigorate the rule of law in Iraq.

In 2006 Judge Pietsch was appointed by the Governor of Hawaii to the Hawaii Civil Rights Commission where she served for seven years. Shortly after the appointment, the Governor selected Judge Pietsch as its Chair and, during her tenure, the Commission improved the claims administrative process, eliminated backlogs, implemented a public education program, and initiated an awareness program within the public schools.

Earlier in her civilian legal career, Judge Pietsch had been appointed a Deputy Attorney General for the State of Hawaii advising the State Department of Health, State Department of Agriculture, and the State Criminal History Records Division.

Judge Pietsch’s academic degrees include a bachelor of arts, master of arts, and a Juris doctor degree. She was also a Senior Executive Fellow at the Harvard University Kennedy School of Government, is a graduate of the Defense Leadership and Management Program, and a graduate of the Army War College. Her awards and decorations include the Distinguished Service Medal, Legion of Merit, Meritorious Service Medal, Joint Service Commendation Medal, Decoration for Exceptional Civilian Service, the Meritorious Civilian Service Medal, Superior Civilian Performance Medal, and the Global War on Terrorism Medal. She has been the recipient of the Organization of Chinese Americans Pioneer Award, the Hawaii Women Lawyers Attorney of the Year Award, the Honolulu YWCA Achievement in Leadership Award, The Catholic University Alumni Achievement Award, the Federal Executive Board Award for Excellence, the U.S. Army Pacific Community Service Award and recognized for lifetime accomplishments by the Women Veterans Igniting the Spirit of Entrepreneurship.

July 14-19, 2013 Attendee Biographies

The Honorable Francie C. Riedmann

Nebraska Court of Appeals

Francie Riedmann was appointed to the Nebraska Court of Appeals in August 2012, after having been in private practice for approximately 19 years. She practiced primarily in civil litigation, focusing on oral and written advocacy in the trial and appellate courts.

Since taking the bench, Francie has been appointed to several technology committees (but she can’t figure out why, except to validate that a proposed program must be user friendly if she understands it!) She is also co-chair of a newly formed Supreme Court Commission on Guardianships and Conservators.

Francie was raised in Omaha, Nebraska and continues to live in a suburb of Omaha. Prior to law school, Francie worked as an assistant news director at a radio station, where she discovered her love of the “courthouse beat.” She attended paralegal school in Denver, never planning on becoming a lawyer, but 5 years later, enrolled at Creighton University School of Law.

Francie and her husband will celebrate their 25th wedding anniversary this year and are the parents of three children, ages 14, 12 and 10. When she is not on the soccer field cheering on the kids, or chauffeuring them to their various activities, she enjoys running, traveling and baking. She is active with the local schools and serves on a Citizen’s Committee to Provide a Safe and Healthy Community for the Youth of her area, as well as the local Friends of the Library Board. During the school year, she teaches religious education at her church.

The Honorable Yvonne T. Rodriguez

Texas Eighth Court of Appeals

Justice Yvonne T. Rodriguez was elected to serve on the Eighth Court of Appeals effective January 1, 2013. She was born in Wiesbaden, Germany in 1958. Justice Rodriguez has previously served as Judge of El Paso County Probate Court no. 1. She was the first Hispanic female probate judge in the state of Texas. She graduated from Mary Hardin-Baylor with a B.A. in psychology and obtained her law degree from Baylor Law School. She was admitted to the state bar in November 1993.

Prior to joining the court, Justice Rodriguez was in private practice. Her practice consisted of criminal defense, mental health cases, child protective services cases and family law. She has also served as an assistant attorney general, assistant district attorney and an assistant county attorney. As an assistant attorney general in the child support division, her focus was collecting and enforcing child support obligations in addition to establishing paternity. During her four years as an assistant district attorney, Justice Rodriguez prosecuted criminal cases from misdemeanors to felonies. She spent two of those years at the narcotics taskforce prosecuting drug cases. At the county attorney’s office she was assigned to the child protective services unit and represented the State of Texas in child abuse cases. She currently teaches at the University of Texas in the criminal justice department.

Before returning to school at age 28, Justice Rodriguez obtained her GED at 19 and worked for nine years. During that time, she supported herself as a filing clerk; telephone sales; bank teller; credit and collection manager; waitress and retail sales.

Justice Rodriguez was raised in a military family and was educated in Texas and Australia. She is single with one daughter.

More Photographs from the 2013 Appellate Judges Seminar