Debra Lehrmann

Debra Ann H. Lehrmann (born November 16, 1956) is one of the eight associate justices of the Texas Supreme Court, a civil and juvenile tribunal, and a former 360th Judicial District Court^[1] judge from Fort Worth, Texas.

In the November 2, 2010, general election, Lehrmann, a Republican, won the Place 3 position on the court by defeating her Democratic opponent, Jim Sharp. Lehrmann polled 2,902,003 votes (59.9 percent) to Sharp's 1,805,837 (37.3 percent). A Libertarian, William Bryan Strange, III, polled the remaining 138,579 ballots (2.9 percent).^[2]

Lehrmann succeeds the retired Justice Harriet O'Neill on the all Republican body. When O'Neill stepped down in June 2010, with more than six months left in her six-year term, Governor Rick Perry appointed Lehrmann immediately to the position.

Lehrmann had been a judge with speciality in family issues and abuse cases since 1987.

Judge Lehrmann is a native of Harris County. A member of Phi Beta Kappa, she graduated with high honors in 1979 from the University of Texas at Austin. In 1982, she received her Juris Doctor degree from the University of Texas School of Law. Prior to her appointment to the bench, she practiced family law with the Fort Worth law firm of Law, Snakard & Gambill. In 1990, she was named the "Outstanding Young Lawyer of Tarrant County." In 2003, she was cited by the Texas Bar Foundation for having written the "best bar journal article" of the year. An active member of the Family Law Section of the American Bar Association, she served as chair of the Section in 2010-2011 and as the Judicial Liaison to the Judicial Division of the ABA. She previously served on the Executive Committee of the Section Officers Conference of the ABA.She and her husband, Greg Lehrmann, have two adult sons, Gregory and Jonathan Lehrmann. The family resides in Colleyville near Fort Worth in Tarrant County. They are active members of the First United Methodist Church of Colleyville.^[3]

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