Dallas County District Judge Tonya Parker announced Monday that she intends to seek election to an upcoming opening on the Fifth Court of Appeals in Dallas.
Judge Parker, a widely respected trial judge who consistently ranks among the top three judges for judicial temperament and legal knowledge by Dallas Bar Association members, sent an email to supporters Monday stating that she has been “seriously considering a run for court of appeals” for some time.
“Working as an appellate justice would provide me with new challenges as a jurist, including the opportunity to author opinions,” Judge Parker said in the email. “It would also give me the chance to serve our community more broadly with the skills and experience I have gained over my career as a lawyer and trial judge.
“If I am elected, I will bring to this new role a strong sense of commitment, knowledge of the law, an insatiable work ethic, and continued devotion to the principle of equal justice under the law,” she wrote.
Judge Parker said she is seeking the office currently held by Justice Leslie Osborne, who recently announced she was resigning from Place 13 on the Fifth District Court of Appeals.
“I want to thank Justice Osborne for the courage she showed by running for the Fifth District as part of a group of candidates who changed the make-up of this court in 2018,” Judge Parker said.
Judge Parker grew up in North Dallas and was the first in her family to go to college. As a student at the University of North Texas, where she studied communications and public address, she organized a Black History event that featured a judge as a local speaker. The judge encouraged her to go to law school.
Judge Parker is a 1998 graduate of the SMU Dedman School of Law, which honored her with the Distinguished Alumni Award in 2017. She worked as an associate at White & Wiggins, which promoted her to partner after seven years. She also practiced complex commercial litigation at the boutique then known as Gruber Hurst Johansen Hail Shank.
Dallas County voters elected Judge Parker in November 2010. In 2015, the American Board of Trial Advocates named Judge Parker its “Trial Judge of the Year.”
“My life in public service is a journey, and I am excited to explore this new chapter,” she wrote Monday in the email. “I hope to earn your support and I look forward to sharing more when the next election cycle arrives.”