Third Court of Appeals
Chief Justice Darlene Byrne
Place 1
Prior to her election as the Chief Justice of the Third Court of Appeals of Texas in 2020, Justice Darlene Byrne served for 20 years as the presiding judge of the 126th Judicial District Court in Travis County. She was a general jurisdiction trial judge presiding over civil matters, but her passion was serving as the presiding judge over all... Read more
Justice Thomas J. Baker
Place 5
Justice Thomas J. Baker, was elected to Place 5 on the Court in November 2018. A lifelong Texan, Justice Baker has resided in Temple since 1994 and was born and grew up in Denison, Texas. Prior to serving on the court, Justice Baker had a civil practice, specializing in family law and including appellate practice, in Bell County and nearby Central... Read more
Justice Gisela D. Triana
Place 6
Prior to being elected to the Texas Third Court of Appeals in 2018, Justice Gisela D. Triana had served on every level of Texas trial courts. She comes to the Third Court with over 23 years of experience on a trial bench, in both criminal and civil courts. Most recently, Justice Triana served for 14 years as the 200th District... Read more
Justice Chari L. Kelly
Place 3
Justice Chari L. Kelly is Board Certified by the Texas Board of Legal Specialization (TBLS) and the National Board of Trial Advocacy (NBTA) in Criminal Law. She has served as both a defense attorney and a prosecutor and is also a seasoned civil litigator. Justice Kelly is a U.S. Army Veteran and former paratrooper. She was a captain in the Judge... Read more
Justice Edward Smith
Place 2
Justice Edward Smith is a native Texan who was born in Dallas, raised in Fort Worth, and went to college at Texas A&M University in College Station. After finishing law school at Texas Wesleyan School of Law (now known as Texas A&M School of Law), Justice Smith headed west to practice law in California and settled in San Francisco. After... Read more
Justice Rosa Lopez Theofanis
Place 4
Prior to being elected to Texas’ Third Court of Appeals in 2022, Rosa Theofanis served as an Assistant District Attorney for Travis County, including ten years in the appellate division. There, she represented the State of Texas in appeals of convictions for felony and juvenile offenses committed in Travis County, as well as in appeals of civil suits affecting parental rights, original... Read more