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Justice Felipe Reyna:
A BOY WITH A DREAM
AS BIG AS TEXAS.
From Humble Beginnings
Felipe Reyna was born in Texas in
1945. His father was a migrant worker, so his family followed
the harvest every year from South Texas to the Panhandle.
Although he was not an educated man, Felipe's father knew
that if his children were to escape a life of poverty, they
must pursue their educations.
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Felipe,
the oldest of five children, not only became the first
person in his family to graduate from high school, he was
also the valedictorian of his class. He went on to earn
a bachelor's degree from Baylor University in 1968 and
a Juris Doctorate Degree in Law from Baylor Law School
in 1972. To pay his way through law school, Felipe took
a full-time job as a clerk and janitor for the 10th Court
of Appeals cleaning the courtroom, the justice's chambers
and the bar association library. |
After
hours, he would take his books into the courtroom to study for
class and dream about one day serving as a justice. After law
school, Felipe worked as a criminal prosecutor and, in 1977,
was appointed as the McLennan County Criminal District Attorney.
A year later, he was elected to serve a four-year term in the
same office. In 1983, Felipe and his wife, Cheryl, founded the
firm Reyna & Reyna,
P.C. where he practiced law until late 2003, when his
dream finally came true, and he was appointed to the 10th Court
of Appeals by Governor Rick Perry. On 9 March 2004, Justice Reyna
won the Republican Primary nomination, in a contested primary.
On 2 November 2004 in the General Election, Justice Reyna was
elected to a six year term, by an overwhelming vote, over his
opponent. |
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