Judge Michelle Slaughter will deliver the Sul Ross State University fall commencement address at the ceremony on Friday, Dec. 13, at 5:30 p.m. at the Pete P. Gallego Center in Alpine.

Slaughter was elected in 2018 to the Texas Court of Criminal Appeals, which is the supreme court for criminal cases. While on the Court, she has authored more than 100 published opinions and participated in deciding more than 30,000 criminal law matters.

Prior to joining the court, Judge Slaughter served for six years as a district judge in the 405th District Court of Galveston County, where she presided over thousands of civil, tax and felony criminal cases and more than 100 bench and jury trials. During this time, Judge Slaughter transformed the court from the least efficient court with the highest backlog into the most efficient court with the lowest backlog in the county.

Judge Slaughter earned her J.D. cum laude from the University of Houston Law Center in 2004. During law school, she served as president of the Hispanic Law Students Association, was an award-winning moot court team member, and was on the board of directors for The Advocates. She interned for two federal judges and for the Texas First Court of Appeals. She also became a certified mediator and mediated numerous cases for the Better Business Bureau and local justice of the peace courts. Her advocacy involvement and academic success earned her admission into the Order of the Barristers and Order of the Barons.

After law school, Judge Slaughter worked for two large international law firms practicing labor and employment law, complex commercial litigation with a focus on energy and construction law, and bankruptcy. Her work earned her the title of a Texas Super Lawyers Rising Star. In 2010, Judge Slaughter founded her own successful multi-lawyer civil litigation firm in the Clear Lake area of Houston where she served as managing partner until she became a judge in 2013.

Judge Slaughter’s career before law school was in the film and TV industry. While in college, she served as the art department intern on the feature film “Arlington Road” and as the photo double for Sandra Bullock in the feature film “Hope Floats.” After graduation, she was part of the production team on legal-themed shows such as “JAG,” “The Practice,” and “Judging Amy.”

Judge Slaughter was born and raised in Fort Worth, attended high school in Houston, and now resides in League City.

The graduation ceremony will be livestreamed on YouTube at https://youtube.com/live/MetxBYGgKrg?feature=share.