Cynthia M. Barbare at a glance
- Current role
- Court of Appeals Justice
- Jurisdiction
- Texas · State
- Judicial service
- Active
Cynthia M. Barbare
Court of Appeals Justice · Texas 5th Court of Appeals
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Biography
Professional career
- Justice Barbare serves Place 5 on the Texas Fifth Court of Appeals, a position she assumed on January 1, 2025 after winning the November 5, 2024 general election over incumbent Erin Nowell.
Education
- Justice Barbare earned her J.D. from Southern Methodist University School of Law and was admitted to the State Bar of Texas in 1991.
Additional information
- The Place 5 judge of the Texas Fifth Court of Appeals, elected in 2024, with a career spanning over 32 years in criminal defense, family law, and high-profile litigation
- From 2013 to 2024, she was named one of the Top 100 Trial Lawyers by the National Trial Lawyers Texas Judicial Branch
- Before joining the appellate bench, Justice Barbare had over 32 years in private practice
- focusing on state and federal criminal defense and family law.
- She has also practiced in the U.S. District Courts for the Northern, Southern, Eastern, and Western Districts of Texas, and in the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit
- She founded and led the Law Offices of Barbare & Associates in Dallas
- handling complex and high-profile cases, including the Dallas fake drug scandal, in which she overturned multiple wrongful convictions and exposed systemic failures in the justice system
- She is active in the Dallas County Criminal Defense Lawyers Association, Texas Criminal Defense Lawyers Association, State Bar of Texas, and Dallas Bar Association
Applicable Court Rules & Procedures
Filing requirements
Statewide
In Texas appellate courts, attorneys must electronically file civil and criminal documents, subject to a good-cause motion; self-represented parties may e-file but are not required to do so.
Attorneys in civil cases must electronically file documents. Attorneys in criminal cases must electronically file documents except for good cause shown in a motion filed in the appellate court.Texas Rules of Appellate Procedure, Rule 9.2, Electronic Filing ↗
Published courtroom rules
Shared court rules
Texas Rules of Appellate Procedure, Rule 9.2, Electronic Filing
Texas 5th Court of Appeals
Scope is limited to the court class in the source claim. Shared court context only; case-type restrictions, exceptions, later amendments and case orders apply. This is not a personal preference or a complete rules inventory.
Official source ↗ · Collected 2026-07-26Sources
Identity source checked July 27, 2026.
Biography sources checked July 27, 2026.
Texas Judicial Branch official judicial roster
Identity source · HTML · Source checked July 27, 2026
View Texas Judicial Branch official judicial roster ↗Texas Rules of Appellate Procedure, Rule 9.2, Electronic Filing
Statewide source · PDF · Source checked July 26, 2026
View Texas Rules of Appellate Procedure, Rule 9.2, Electronic Filing ↗Texas 5th Court of Appeals official directory
Identity source · HTML · Source checked October 11, 2026
View Texas 5th Court of Appeals official directory ↗