Daniel Lemkuil

What training, experience, and characteristics qualify you for this position?

I have been practicing family law for 30 years and I served as a family court associate judge for over 5 years. I am Board Certified in Family Law by the Texas Board of Legal Specialization. I have an MBA in Finance. My broad experience in family law – including representing people in trial courts, courts of appeals, and the Texas Supreme Court – gives me a unique perspective to serve as a judge.

What do you consider the most pressing issues facing family court today, and what is your role, as a family court judge, in addressing them?

The cost of the process in time and money are the most pressing issues. It is the role of the judge to move the court’s docket. How that is done can cause delays and cost attorney fees to work through the process. My role would be to remain flexible in moving the case, more accessible to the attorneys and pro se parties in permitting timely hearings and trials, actively manage the docket to move it along without unnecessary court appearances and provide hearings without unnecessary delays.

What will you do to balance federal immigration policies with the needs of children and juveniles in the cases that come before your court?

Family court is a state court working with state law. It is not a forum for federal immigration policies. I will remain mindful of the very few situations where there is a federal statute that will control over state law. Texas Family courts are not places to further federal policies.