Courts5th Court of Appeals
5th Court of Appeals
Court of Appeals · Statewide
13 justices sit this bench. The docket leans criminal — 41,835 of 76,630 filings since 1980. 14,775 attorneys have appeared here.
The bench13 sitting · from directory snapshots
JudgeRoleTenure
Filings by year2026 is partial
1 thin leading year (8 filings between them) trimmed from the chart, as on the coverage pages; the last column is a partial year.
Attorneys who appear most in this court14,775 have appeared · 25-case floor
AttorneyCityMostlyCases
1Craig M. WatkinsDallasCriminal2,1042Susan McWithey HawkDallasCriminal1,2363April Elaine SmithMesquiteCriminal9314John Harbell HaglerDallasCriminal9155Allan L. FishburnDallasCriminal7296Lori OrdiwayDallasCriminal6297John Gregory TatumRichardsonCriminal6038Bruce Edward AntonDallasCriminal5029John Davidson NationDallasCriminal39410Lawrence B. MitchellDallasCriminal385Attorneys in private practice with 25 or more appearances in this court’s indexed filings. Bulk government filers are not listed.
Elections13 races · 3 cycles · official canvass
CandidateVotesShare
2024Place 12
Mike LeeR771,07350.78%
Ken Molberg (i)D747,47749.22%
Texas judges are elected in partisan races; a governor’s appointee fills a vacancy only until the next general election. Results are the Secretary of State’s official canvass.
Last refreshed September 23, 2026