Legal System Episodes

When Judge Juli Mathew took the bench at Fort Bend County Court at Law No. 3 in 2018, she made history twice over — first Indian American woman elected to a bench in the United States, and first Asian American judge in one of the most diverse counties in Texas. Three years later she built something that didn't exist in the state yet: a juvenile court designed around mental health. Born in Kerala, India and raised in Philadelphia after her family immigrated when she was ten, Mathew attended Penn...

Judge Wayne Mallia went straight from law school into the Galveston County District Attorney’s Office, working there for 13 years and spending nine as First Assistant DA. He was later elected as a district court judge in Galveston County, where he presided over criminal cases, created the county’s first specialty court, STEP, and helped start a drug court. After leaving the regular bench, he became a senior district court judge, continuing to serve as a visiting judge while shifting his focus t...

Judge Katrina Griffith grew up wanting to be a lawyer, encouraged by her mother during arguments with her older brother in "mom's court." As a teenager, she saw the juvenile system affect family members. After college, she entered the University of Houston Law School focusing on juvenile criminal defense. In her 2L year, she joined the juvenile defense clinic. In her final semester, she took Professor Ellen Marrus’ child dependency clinic and shifted to CPS and child welfare law. After graduat...