Judicial Division

Danny Rodgers, Chief Judge

Chief Judge Danny Rodgers was born and reared in Fort Worth. He is a graduate of Eastern Hills High School, Baylor University, and Baylor School of Law. He was first appointed as a Fort Worth municipal judge in 1996. After serving 15 years as the "jail judge," Judge Rodgers was appointed as Deputy Chief Judge in 2012. In 2017, Judge Rodgers was appointed Chief Judge of the Fort Worth Municipal Court by unanimous vote of the Fort Worth City Council.

Judge Rodgers is married, the proud father of two and really proud Papa of four.

 Judge Simon Gonzalez is a native of Fort Worth and graduate from North Side High School. He graduated from Tarrant County Junior College with an Associate of Arts, North Texas State University with a Bachelor of Science in education and Southern Methodist University with a Master in Public Administration. Judge Gonzalez earned his Juris Doctorate from Washburn University School of Law in Topeka, Kan. While attending Washburn Law School, Judge Gonzalez served as a Legal Research Assistant and Student Director of the Washburn Law Clinic. Judge Gonzalez was licensed in Texas in 1986 and in the United States District Court for the Northern District of Texas in 1987. Prior to private practice, Judge Gonzalez worked as a Staff Attorney at the North Central Texas Legal Services Foundation Inc. in Dallas.

As a solo practitioner, Judge Gonzalez established his law office on the north side of town and focused primarily in the areas of criminal, traffic, family, probate and personal injury law. Judge Gonzalez served as Pro Tem Judge for the cities of Hudson Oaks, Pantego, Kennedale and Grand Prairie. Judge Gonzalez closed his law office to work full time as a judge for the City of Grand Prairie in 2000.

On February 18, 2002, Judge Gonzalez was appointed Associate Municipal Court Judge by the Fort Worth City Council and assigned by the Chief Judge to work the third shift at the Belknap Detention Center.  Presently, Judge Gonzalez is the Deputy Chief of the Fort Worth Municipal Court.

Andrew T. Bradshaw

Judge Andrew T. "Andy" Bradshaw, an honors graduate of Texas Christian University and Baylor University School of Law, has served as a full-time municipal judge for the City of Fort Worth since 2006. His past and current civic activities include service as president of the Ridglea North Neighborhood Association, volunteer work for Recovery Resource Council (formerly Tarrant Council on Alcoholism and Drug Abuse) and service as chancellor for Trinity Episcopal Church.

His wife is a professor at Texas Christian University, and his two sons are students in the Fort Worth Independent School District

Raquel D. Brown

Judge Brown graduated from Duncanville High School in Duncanville, Texas and received a Bachelor’s degree in International Business from Howard University in Washington, D.C. Judge Brown earned a Juris Doctor from Southern Methodist University (SMU) in Dallas.

Judge Brown accepted an appointment in 2005 with the City of Dallas Municipal Court as an Associate Judge. While in private practice Judge Brown was appointed to the Texas Board of Pardons and Paroles as counsel for parole hearings. Judge Brown continued in private practice while serving as a volunteer attorney for the Dallas Bar Association. 

Judge Brown accepted an appointment to the City of Fort Worth Municipal Court in 2012 as a full-time judge presiding over trial court, juvenile court, code compliance, traffic court, truancy court, and serve as a criminal magistrate.

Judge Brown is a volunteer for various community organizations in Ft. Worth and Tarrant County.

Ann Y. Collins

Ann (A. Y.) Collins, a native of Fort Worth, Texas is a graduate University of Houston and the Thurgood Marshall School of Law at Texas Southern University. While attending Thurgood Marshall Judge Collins was a Law Review invite, a member of the dean’s list and received the American Jurisprudence Awards in Contracts and Criminal Law.

Prior to full time employment as a municipal court Judge, Judge Collins served as the first Family Violence Project Attorney for Legal Services of NW Texas (fka West Texas Legal Services), worked as Texas Assistant Attorney General/Senior Field Attorney, maintained a general civil private practice and served for 10 years as a Certified Hearing examiner appointed by the Texas Education Agency.

Judge Collins was appointed a full time Municipal Court Judge/Magistrate for the City of Fort Worth in March of 2014, having served previously as a Substitute/Pro Tempore Judge/Magistrate for 12 years.

Judge Collins currently serves on the State Bar of Texas Legal Services to the Poor in Criminal Matters committee and is a member of the Municipal Court Judge’s Section having previously served as Vice Chair and secretary of the section. She previously served on the State Bar of Texas diversity in the profession committee. Judge Collins served on the Tarrant County Criminal Justice Coordinating Committee, and the Tarrant County Mayor’s Council Stakeholder’s committee. Judge Collins has been instrumental in spearheading the City of Fort Worth’s initiatives in addressing individuals with mental health and co/occurring substance abuse disorders, working to coordinate the City’s efforts to address the needs of this vulnerable population in conjunction with MHMR of Tarrant County, the Texas Municipal Courts Education Center and the Texas Judicial Commission on Mental Health. Judge Collins was instrumental in the establishment, institution and implementation of Tarrant County’s Sequential Intercept Mapping process.

Judge Collins is the proud mother of one daughter who is an MD at John Peter Smith Hospital in Fort Worth Texas.

Melanie Houston

Judge Melanie Houston began her public service career with the Salt Lake County District Attorney’s Office, where she worked six years. During her tenure at the SLC DA’s office she was inspired to go to law school by the many prosecutors and defense attorneys with whom she worked. Judge Houston graduated from Texas A&M University School of Law (Formerly Texas Wesleyan School of Law) and was admitted to the Texas State Bar in 2008. Judge Houston was admitted as a member of the United States Supreme Court Bar in 2015. Judge Houston practiced family law and criminal defense at a boutique law firm in Austin before moving back to the Dallas-Fort Worth area. She then spent more than eight years working as a municipal court prosecutor for the cities of Dallas and Fort Worth before being appointed to the bench in 2018. She is a graduate of Westminster College in Salt Lake City and volunteers with several local organizations.

Thaddeus A. Iwuji

Judge Thaddeus Iwuji is a graduate of Baylor University and has a Doctor of Jurisprudence from Thurgood Marshall School of Law at Texas Southern University. He is also a graduate of Southern Methodist University, where he earned a Master of Laws in Taxation (LLM). Judge Iwuji previously served as a managing attorney for a small law firm he helped established that focused exclusively in criminal law, family law, and civil litigation and tax matters. He has litigated cases from the Justice of the Peace Courts to the Federal Courts. Prior to entering private practice, Judge Iwuji worked for one of the largest accounting firms in the DFW area as a Senior Tax Associate. He was appointed in 2012 to serve as an Associate Municipal Court Judge for the City of Dallas and held that position until 2018. Judge Iwuji was also appointed as an Alternate Judge for the City of Addison. In addition to his judicial experience, he served as an Assistant City Attorney/Prosecutor for the City of Abilene, and the City of Arlington. As a prosecutor, Judge Iwuji received a Merit Certification in Municipal Court Prosecution from the Texas City Attorneys Association. He accepted an appointment to serve the City of Fort Worth as a Municipal Court Judge in 2018.
Judge Iwuji’s current and past civic activities include serving as an executive member of an HOA board, coaching youth sports (PSA, i9 Sports, YMCA, C.E.R.A., Fort Worth Young Warriors), and presiding as a teen court volunteer Judge

 Claudia A. Martinez

Judge Claudia Martinez is a native of Fort Worth who graduated from North Side High School. Judge Martinez received her Bachelor of Arts in political science and sociology with a minor in Spanish from Texas Wesleyan University and her Juris Doctorate from Texas A&M University School of Law (formerly Texas Wesleyan School of Law). Other than a brief time in private practice, Judge Martinez has spent her entire career in public service. Through law school she worked as a clerk for the Federal Aviation Administration. After graduating from law school she worked as an attorney for the Small Business Administration, a supervising attorney for West Texas Legal Services, and a prosecuting attorney for the City of Fort Worth.

In March 2011 she was appointed to the bench in the Fort Worth Municipal Court. Judge Martinez is licensed to practice in the State of Texas, the United States District Court for the Northern District of Texas, and the United States Supreme Court.

Robert N. McDonald

Judge R. Neel McDonald is Associate Judge of the Fort Worth Municipal Court, having been first appointed to the bench in 2006. He brings a broad array of experience as a trial and appellate litigator in both civil and criminal courtrooms all over the State of Texas. He has tried all level of Misdemeanor and Felony cases as a prosecutor, as well as litigating the Civil Commitment of Sexual Predators. He has also represented both adults and children in Child Protective Services cases.

He is presently the Presiding Judge of the Environmental Court, hearing cases involving all manner of alleged violations of the Fort Worth Municipal Code Ordinances, among other cases.  A native Texan, Judge McDonald earned his Baccalaureate at Texas Christian University in Fort Worth and his Juris Doctor from Texas Tech University in Lubbock, Texas.

Patricia L. Summers

Patricia L. Summers has served as a full time Municipal Court Judge for the City of Fort Worth for the past six (6) years.  Prior to being appointed in 2014, Judge Summers served as a Substitute Municipal Court Judge for the City of Fort Worth for twelve (12) years in conjunction with a full time Family Law practice.  She earned her Bachelor of Science in Psychology from Southwest Baptist College, in Bolivar, Missouri in 1974. After graduation from college, Judge Summers moved to Fort Worth, Texas. Even though she was born and raised in Hannibal, Missouri, Judge Summers considers Fort Worth her home.

 Judge Summers has worked in various social service organizations until she received her Master’s Degree in Social Work from the University of Texas at Arlington in 1983.

While working as an Adult Probation Officer, Judge Summers began her education in law at the DFW Law School (later known as Texas Wesleyan School of Law) in August 1993. Judge Summers was entered into the State Bar in May 1997. Her first employment as a licensed Attorney was working for West Texas Legal Services, where she learned about various areas of law, including family law. From June 1998 until April 2014, Judge Summers managed, operated and owned her own family law practice, primarily working with children of abused families. In 2008, Judge Summers was awarded Attorney Ad Litem for the year from the local Court Appointed Special Advocate, Inc.

 Judge Summers has been a strong supporter of the Fort Worth Teen Court program for the past 18 years. She has volunteered in Teen Court training and for the past 10 years has prepared our teens in their annual Teen Court competition. She is a past president of the East Fort Worth Optimist club and continues her support in helping children to improve their lives.   Improving other’s lives, especially children, is the most important thing we can all do.

 

 

Pro Tem Judges

• Kim Marie Catalano
• Danielle Dulaney
• Laura Espinosa Ganoza
• Faye Rean Harden
• Joseph Henderson
• Carla Gibbs Kelman
• Nancy Archer Magee
• Edward B. Valverde

Judges' Assistant: Celia Gaytan