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Justice Gina M. Benavides was first elected to the Thirteenth Court of Appeals in 2006 and re-elected to a second six-year term in 2012. During her tenure as an appellate judge, Justice Benavides has authored more than 900 opinions on issues involving civil and criminal matters.
After her first year on the court, Justice Benavides was named “Latina Judge of the Year” by the Hispanic National Bar Association.
In 2008, Justice Benavides was appointed to serve on the Board of Directors for the Texas Center for the Judiciary, which provides continuing judicial education programs for the judiciary and support personnel in Texas. In 2011, she was elected Chair of the Texas Center by her fellow judges, the first Hispanic female to hold this position. In 2013, Justice Benavides received the Chair’s Award of Excellence from the Texas Center and continues to serve the organization as its judicial liaison to the State Bar of Texas’s Judicial Section.
The Texas Supreme Court appointed Justice Benavides to the Texas Access for Justice Commission in 2010. She was later appointed to the Solutions 2012 Task Force.
Justice Benavides plays an active role in the State Bar of Texas, the National Association of Women Judges, the Hidalgo County Bar Association and Texas Women Lawyers. She is past President of the Mexican-American Bar Association of Texas, past President of the Cameron County Bar Association and a former Vice-President of the Texas Association of Defense Counsel. Justice Benavides is also a frequent speaker and presenter throughout Texas.
Originally from Corpus Christi, Justice Benavides received a BBA in 1985 from the University of Texas in Austin. She attended law school at the University of Houston Law Center and was admitted into the State Bar in 1988. Justice Benavides currently resides in the Rio Grande Valley with her husband, Sammy. She is the proud mother of Daniella, Ricardo and Alyssa, and the grandmother of Willow.