Visiting district judge; former judge, 255th District Court (Dallas County)

Kim Cooks served as judge of the 255th District Court in Dallas County from January 1, 2015 to December 31, 2022, and has since served as a visiting district judge in North Texas counties¹². She won the May 26, 2026 Democratic primary runoff for the 194th District Court³. She has no opponent on the November 3, 2026 ballot⁴.

• Judge, 255th District Court (Dallas County), January 1, 2015 to December 31, 2022; lost her 2022 Democratic primary for reelection¹²
• Visiting district judge in North Texas counties since 2022²
• Finished first in the March 3, 2026 three-way Democratic primary and won the May 26, 2026 runoff against Peggy Hoffman, who presides over County Criminal Court No. 9⁵³². The seat is being vacated by Judge Ernest White². No other candidate is certified for the November race⁴.
• Public discipline: December 20, 2018: public warning and order of additional education (two hours of instruction with a mentor) from the State Commission on Judicial Conduct, issued while she was judge of the 255th District Court, CJC Nos. 18-0819 and 18-0877. The order states that she and Judge Andrea Martin of the 304th Juvenile District Court jointly produced a 2018 campaign mailer and two videos and jointly hosted a fundraiser, and concludes that this lent the prestige of judicial office to advance the other judge's private interests (Canon 2B) and amounted to a public endorsement barred by Canon 5(2), which it calls willful violations⁶. The outcome was the warning and additional education; the order records no further penalty⁶. The Commission's FY 2019 public sanctions list records the same sanction against Hon. Kim Cooks, 255th District Court, Dallas, dated 12/20/2018⁷. Identity: the order and list name "Hon. Kim Cooks, 255th District Court, Dallas County", which matches her service as that court's judge from 2015 to 2022, and the Dallas Morning News reports this 2018 warning in connection with her 2026 candidacy⁸.