---
title: "Cynthia M. Barbare | KnowJudges"
canonical: "https://knowjudges.com/kyj/judge/cynthia-m-barbare-tx-5th-court-appeals"
page_type: "judge_profile"
updated: "2026-07-27"
---

# Cynthia M. Barbare

Texas 5th Court of Appeals · Court of Appeals Justice

## Profile

- Court: Texas 5th Court of Appeals
- State: Texas
- Role: Court of Appeals Justice
- Service status: active
- Last verified: 2026-07-27

## Summary

Official statewide and applicable court procedural guidance applies to this judge.

## Before you appear

- Read the judge-specific standing order first when one is listed.
- Check the docket and case orders for requirements that supersede broader guidance.
- Confirm current remote-access and courtroom technology arrangements before the proceeding.

## Courtroom Rules

### appellate electronic filing

Scope: 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.

Evidence excerpt: 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](https://www.txcourts.gov/media/1461885/texas-rules-of-appellate-procedure.pdf)
Source checked: 2026-07-26


## Sources

- [Official profile](https://www.txcourts.gov/5thcoa/about-the-court/justices/justice-cynthia-m-barbare/)
- [Official roster](https://www.txcourts.gov/5thcoa/about-the-court/justices/justice-cynthia-m-barbare/)
- [Texas Judicial Branch official judicial roster](https://www.txcourts.gov/5thcoa/about-the-court/justices/justice-cynthia-m-barbare/)
- [Texas Rules of Appellate Procedure, Rule 9.2, Electronic Filing](https://www.txcourts.gov/media/1461885/texas-rules-of-appellate-procedure.pdf)

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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



## Published courtroom rules

### Shared court rules

- [Texas Rules of Appellate Procedure, Rule 9.2, Electronic Filing](https://knowjudges.com/courtroom-rules/national-shared-set-e966a5411b2587c600cf3508) — 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](https://www.txcourts.gov/media/1461885/texas-rules-of-appellate-procedure.pdf). Collected 2026-07-26.