Judy Parker spent 14 years as a family-law judge in Lubbock hearing child abuse and juvenile detention cases before she ever wore an appeals-court robe.
Parker began as an associate at a Lubbock civil litigation firm, then served as an associate judge handling family law cases from 1994 to 2008 and as judge of Lubbock's County Court at Law No. 3 from 2008 to 2017. Governor Abbott appointed her to the 7th Court of Appeals in 2017 and named her Chief Justice in January 2026; she ran unopposed in the Republican primary and now faces the general election to keep the seat.
Judges aren't allowed to take sides on these values — it's against judicial ethics rules. The best clue to how a judge thinks is the party they run with.