The Honorable Darlene Byrne

Chief Justice, Third Court of Appeals

The Honorable Darlene Byrne is the Chief Justice of the Third Court of Appeals of Texas since January 2021. Prior to that she served for 20 years as the presiding judge of the 126th Judicial District Court in Travis County beginning in January 2001. Prior to her election in 2000, she practiced for thirteen years in the areas of employment, commercial and governmental entity litigation. She is a past President of the National Council for Juvenile and Family Court Judges and a past Judge of the Year of National CASA, Texas CASA and CASA of Travis County. She is a past recipient of the many local, statewide and national awards due to her work in the area of child welfare. She currently serves as co-chair of the Judicial Council for National CASA, is an Advisory Council member for TexProtects, Partnerships for Children, Carrying Hope and the Seedling Foundation, is the Chair of the Texas Statewide Collaborative for Trauma Informed Care, on the Editorial Review Board for NCJFCJ’s Juvenile and Family Court Journal and on the Advisory Committee for the #WeToo project for Courts.

Judge Byrne is the founding judge of the Travis County Family Drug Treatment Court and the Travis County Model Court of Children, Youth and Families. She has served on many boards and committees related to law and child welfare as well as community organizations.