About me
Jennifer Walker Elrod is the Chief Judge of the United States Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit. She was nominated and confirmed to the Fifth Circuit in 2007. Prior to serving on the Fifth Circuit, Chief Judge Elrod was appointed and then twice elected Judge of the 190th Civil District Court of Harris County, Texas, where she spent over five years presiding over more than 200 jury and non-jury trials.
Chief Judge Elrod received her B.A. magna cum laude in Economics from Baylor University, where she was named the Outstanding Graduating Senior in the Honors Program and later an Outstanding Young Alumna. She then graduated cum laude from Harvard Law School, where she was an Ames Moot Court finalist and a Senior Editor of the Harvard Journal of Law & Public Policy. She clerked for the Honorable Sim Lake in the Southern District of Texas. Before serving as a judge, Chief Judge Elrod worked in private practice, focusing on civil litigation, antitrust, and employment matters.
Chief Judge Elrod has been recognized for her work as a jurist, as well as for her pro bono work and contributions to the community. She has been named the Texas Association of Civil Trial and Appellate Specialists’ Appellate Judge of the Year and she has also received the Chief Justice Jack Pope Professionalism Award, which is given by the Texas Center for Legal Ethics for epitomizing the highest level of professionalism and integrity. Chief Judge Elrod currently serves on the Board of Directors and as the Jurist-in-Residence at South Texas College of Law, where she has taught Civil Procedure, First Amendment law, and Federal Courts. She also serves as a member of the the American Law Institute and the Executive Committee of Houston’s Garland R. Walker Inn of Court. Chief Justice Roberts has appointed her to the Executive Committee for the Judicial Conference of the United States.
Chief Judge Elrod is actively engaged in the academic and legal communities, and she has published articles on artificial intelligence, the importance of pro bono work and community service, juries, and state courts. Her publications include: Trial by Siri: AI Comes to the Courtroom, 57 HOUS. L. REV. 1083 (2020); Don’t Mess with Texas Judges: In Praise of the State Judiciary, 37 HARV. J.L. & PUB. POL. 629 (2014); For Good: Enriching Your Practice and Your Life Through Pro Bono and Community Service, 4 HLRE: OFF. REC. 1 (2013); Is the Jury Still Out?: A Case for the Continued Viability of the American Jury, 4 TEX. TECH L. REV. 303 (2012); and W(h)ither the Jury? The Diminishing Role of the Jury Trial in our Legal System, 68 WASH. & LEE L. REV. 3 (2011).
