Janelle M. HaverkampRParty: RepublicanRepublican

The judge is the elected state judge who runs the 235th Judicial District Court for Cooke County, including Gainesville. This court handles felony criminal cases, larger civil lawsuits, family law cases like divorce and custody, and some juvenile matters. The judge makes sure each case follows Texas law and court rules.

In the courtroom, the judge sets hearings, rules on legal questions, decides what evidence can be used, and may approve plea agreements or sentences. If there is a jury, the judge manages the trial and explains the law, while the jury decides disputed facts. The judge is not part of the police, prosecutor’s office, or either side in a lawsuit; the role is to act as the neutral decision-maker.

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