Precinct 3 Judge Joy Dubose Simonton
Judge Joy Dubose Simonton is the sole candidate in the March 1 Republican primary for Orange County Justice of the Peace Precinct 3. Her opponent is Candice Conroy Steele.
Simonton was a prominent presence on social media during her campaign for office, providing support to fellow Republicans. She is known for her dedication to improving lives in Orange County and has extensive experience working in public service; having served on the boards of directors for organizations like American Red Cross and United Way.
Her platform includes expanding access to healthcare and combatting poverty in our communities. Furthermore, she strives to strengthen law enforcement agencies and enhance public safety across the district.
She has served on the boards of the National Association of Women Lawyers, Leadership Dallas and Texans for Women. Additionally, she has received multiple honors and awards from both the American Bar Association and Women in the Law Institute.
She is an enthusiastic supporter of the LGBTQ community and passionate about helping those in need. Recently, she launched an organization to assist homeless and low-income women and children get back on their feet.
She is an expert on child exploitation, sexual assault and family violence. With experience advocating for clients before the Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals and publishing numerous scholarly articles related to those topics, she also has extensive representation in federal civil rights and antitrust proceedings.
Her career began as an Assistant U.S. Attorney for the Northern District of Texas, where she focused on appellate matters. Additionally, she represented defendants in federal criminal trials and prosecuted sophisticated white-collar offenses such as health care fraud.
In 2005, she joined the Appellate Division of the United States Attorney’s Office for the Northern District of Texas and quickly gained notoriety as a prosecutor with expertise in trial court and arguments before the Fifth Circuit. By 2014, she had been promoted to Chief of that division.
Ms. Simonton has steered her office through several high-profile cases, such as the landmark Fifth Circuit overturn of a three-judge panel decision that suppressed key evidence in a child exploitation case. Additionally, she prevailed in advocating on behalf of several defendants in the Dallas City Hall corruption trial.