J. Elaine Marshall
City of Houston Municipal Courts
Houston, TX USA
"Never let anyone steal your dream. If it’s your dream, it’s your dream. Pursue it, and make it happen."
Career Roadmap
J. Elaine's work combines: Law, Business, and Accomplishing Goals
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Day In The Life
Skills &
Education
Advice for getting started
Gain an in-depth and wide range of knowledge on the law. You should be able to speak on a variety of law topics.
Here's the path I took:
High School
Bachelor's Degree
Psychology, General
University of Notre Dame
Bachelor's Degree
African-American/Black Studies
University of Notre Dame
Doctorate
American/US Law/Legal Studies/Jurisprudence
The University of Texas at Austin
Life & Career Milestones
My path in life has been direct
1.
Born and raised in Texas.
2.
Dreamed about going to Notre Dame University, but was told she couldn’t because it was an all boys school—she later became part of the first group of women to attend and graduate.
3.
Later she received her Juris Doctorate degree from the University of Texas School of Law in Austin, Texas.
4.
Right out of law school she became an assistant district attorney for Harris County, Texas and assisted in developing the office’s Child Abuse Division.
5.
She was confirmed as a full-time municipal judge in 1987, then served as administrative judge and, later, was appointed associate presiding judge.
6.
Has served the City of Houston for 30 years—one of her major accomplishments is Houston’s Teen Court Program, which she re-organized and built into one of the premier programs in the community.
7.
In 2016, she was appointed Director and Presiding Judge for the Municipal Courts Department ensuring justice is administered fairly to all.
8.
Was awarded “Outstanding Judge” by the Texas Municipal Courts Association in 2017, which is an award given to a municipal judge who demonstrates excellence in the fair administration of justice.
Defining Moments
How I responded to discouragement
THE NOISE
Messages from Society in general:
You can't go to Notre Dame because it's an all-boys school.
How I responded:
When they eventually started admitting women, I ran into additional discouragement from people saying it was going to be too competitive. Follow your own mind. Set your goals and don't let anyone talk you out of achieving them. I did just that and graduated among the group of the first women to attend Notre Dame University.
Experiences and challenges that shaped me
Law school was a totally different school experience for me. Typically in my classes there was one test given and you passed or failed. I had to figure out a whole new way of studying and learning.