Judge, 263rd Criminal District Court, Harris County

Melissa Morris has been judge of the 263rd Criminal District Court in Harris County since January 1, 2023, after winning the open seat in 2022¹³. Before taking the bench she described herself as a criminal defense attorney of 16 years³. In April 2026 the State Commission on Judicial Conduct issued her a public warning². She is running for re-election against Republican Jason A. Campo³.

• Judge, 263rd Criminal District Court, Harris County, since January 1, 2023¹³
• Criminal defense attorney for about 16 years before taking the bench, as she described herself in 2022³
• J.D., Texas Southern University; licensed in Texas since December 2006⁵
• Morris defeated incumbent Judge Amy Martin in the March 2022 Democratic primary, then defeated Republican Amber Cox in the November 8, 2022 general election with 51.5 percent of the vote, taking office January 1, 2023³. She advanced unopposed from the 2026 Democratic primary and faces Republican Jason A. Campo in the November 3, 2026 general election³.
• Bar poll: The Houston Bar Association's Judicial Preference Poll is a non-binding survey of HBA members' preferences, and the HBA states it is not an endorsement. The 2026 poll was open as of September 27, 2026, closes October 2, 2026, and results are due October 9, 2026; no results had been published as of this writing⁴.
• Public discipline: Public Warning, State Commission on Judicial Conduct, April 23, 2026 (CJC Nos. 24-1101 and 25-0393). The Commission found that in 2024 she forwarded a grand jury subpoena email chain to defense counsel, breaching grand jury secrecy; signed orders discharging four defendants from deferred adjudication community supervision in cases requiring sex offender registration, which state law does not allow (she later set the orders aside); and sent a prosecutor an email the Commission found was not patient, dignified and courteous. Morris acknowledged the first two as errors, disputed the third, and denied acting in bad faith².