UH Law Alumnus Judge Michael Gomez (J.D. ’00) Recognized for Excellence on the Bench with Prestigious Jurist Award from Texas Law Foundation
Apr. 17, 2026 -University of Houston Law Center alumnus and longstanding judge of the 129th District Court, Michael Gomez (J.D. '00), has been named the 2026 recipient of the Texas Bar Foundation’s Samuel Pessarra Outstanding Jurist Award.
Established in 1995, the award honors an active or retired federal or state judge with an exceptional reputation for competency, efficiency, and integrity.
A lifelong Houstonian, Judge Gomez earned a bachelor’s degree in political science and policy studies from Rice University in 1997 and his J.D. from the University of Houston Law Center in 2000.
Now in his 18th year on the bench, Gomez serves as the presiding judge over the 129th District court and as the senior-most district judge in Harris County. Throughout his judicial career, he has presided over and disposed of tens of thousands of cases, earning a reputation for fairness, efficiency, and leadership according to the Texas Bar Foundation press release shared with UHLC. In 2020 and 2021, his colleagues elected him administrative judge of the Civil Trial Division of the Harris County District Courts.
In addition to the Pessarra honor, Gomez received the Hispanic Bar Association’s Judge of the Year Award in 2016 and the Mexican American Bar Association of Texas Foundation’s Outstanding Public Service Award in 2017. He is a fellow of both the Houston Bar Foundation and the Texas Bar Foundation, and a frequent CLE speaker on issues important to the bar.
Judge Gomez will be recognized at the Texas Bar Foundation Annual Dinner on June 12, 2026, and the UH Law Center will receive a donation in his honor.
“Judge Gomez’s career is a powerful example of the impact UH Law graduates have on the judiciary and our communities,” said UH Law Dean Leonard M. Baynes. “We sincerely thank the Texas Bar Foundation for recognizing his service and leadership and for supporting UH Law.”
