Judge Bill Harris
When asked about Judge Bill Harris, friends and family alike unanimously agree – Judge Harris has always been a proud and dedicated public servant.
A graduate from Trinity High School in Euless in 1972 and the University of Texas at Arlington in 1975, Bill served the citizens of Arlington as a police officer. After several years on the police beat, he attended law school where he earned a Doctor of Jurisprudence degree. Upon graduation, Judge Harris made the one of the highest grades on the 1983 Bar Exam, then returned to Bedford to begin his successful private law practice.
Harris practiced law for 13 years, during which time he also served as the Municipal Judge Pro tempore for the City of Hurst. Through his service on the bench in Hurst, his appetite for public service was renewed. In 1995, then-Governor George W. Bush appointed Bill Harris Judge of the 233rd Family District Court in Tarrant County.
Judge Harris has been on the bench for almost 15 years and has presided over nearly 40,000 cases. During his term, fewer than a dozen cases of Judge Harris’ cases have been reversed on appeal. He consistently posts the best disposition numbers in Tarrant County – in fact, many argue he posts the best numbers in Texas.
Judge Harris is always under budget and has never requested additional monies over the given budget for the District Court. Judge Harris recently developed a program for the disposition of an additional 2,000 cases per year at no additional expense to Tarrant County – sponsored by Texas Senator Chris Harris and supported by many other elected officials, and currently under consideration by the Texas Attorney General.
An active supporter of the Tarrant County Republican Party and member of the Tarrant County Bar Association, Judge Harris is also a member of the Tarrant County Family Law Bar Association. He is a frequent speaker at the Advanced Family Law Conference, as well as many other legal education seminars. Judge Harris has authored numerous articles on family law, civil procedure and evidence
Judge Harris was re-elected in 1996, 1998, 2002 and 2006. In 2002, he won re-election by more than 30% of the public vote. He has been married for 35 years and has two grown, married sons. His oldest son Greg is a United States Marine and recently returned from the Iraq War.
