Justice Elsa Alcala has spent her entire twenty-year legal career serving the citizens of Texas. In her almost seven years as a justice on the First Court of Appeals, Justice Alcala has authored over 400 appellate opinions and presided in over 1000 cases. She was appointed to the court by the Honorable Rick Perry, Governor of the State of Texas. She has twice been elected to the court by the citizens residing in the ten Texas counties designated to the First Court of Appeals.
Prior to becoming a justice on the court of appeals, Justice Alcala was a state district court judge for over three years. Judge Alcala was appointed to preside over the 338th District Court of Harris County by then Governor George W. Bush, and she was subsequently elected to the court by the citizens of Harris County. During her tenure on the 338th District Court, she presided over hundreds of felony criminal offenses, ranging from property offenses to violent crimes.
Before becoming a judge, Justice Alcala was an assistant district attorney for nine years, serving under District Attorney Johnny Holmes at the Harris County District Attorney’s Office. She was the lead trial attorney in over seventy felony jury trials, focusing on the prosecution of serious violent offenders and distributors of illegal narcotics. She rose quickly to the position of chief felony prosecutor, which was the position she held for five years as a prosecutor assigned to the trial bureau, special crimes bureau, and narcotics task force.
Justice Alcala is Board Certified in Criminal Law by the Texas Board of Legal Specialization. She is also a member of the College of the State Bar of Texas and sits on the State Bar of Texas Criminal Pattern Jury Charge Committee. Justice Alcala has a Doctorate of Jurisprudence from The University of Texas, where she received the honor of Order of Barristers. Before becoming a Longhorn, she was a Javelina, receiving a Bachelor of Arts degree from Texas A&M University—Kingsville.
Outside the legal community, Justice Alcala is known as Elsa, mother of three children, board member of an elementary school parent-teacher organization, leader of a girl scout troop, board member of a community summer-league swim team, and wife of a Houston Police Department lieutenant.
Updated: 11-Feb-2009
