Stacy Allen Barrow

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

Since 2022, I have served as a Felony Associate Judge for the Harris County Criminal District Courts. As a judge, I have presided over 1500+ felony matters, including 70 jury panels, numerous evidentiary hearings, bail determinations, probation revocations, motions to suppress evidence, and issued written opinions in 50 Post-Conviction Writs of Habeas Corpus before the TX Court of Criminal Appeals. Prior to becoming a judge, I litigated Federal and State matters for 11 years in private practice.

What, if any, alternatives to incarceration do you support? Please discuss program options, as well as when and how such alternatives can be used.

There are cases where community supervision is an appropriate alternative to incarceration. As judge of the 487th, I will connect probationers with resources that can help them transform their own lives. This includes job resources, substance abuse treatment, and community-based organizations that can continue to support defendants once their probation is over. Doing so decreases the revolving door of crime and helps ensure that we can all live in communities where we can feel safe and thrive.

In setting bail amounts, how will you balance Texas’s constitutionally mandated bail requirements with other conditions of release including minimizing any public safety threat the defendant may present to community? Please discuss both first time and repeat offenders.

Texas Code of Criminal Procedure section17.15 lists all the factors that I, as a judge, must consider in setting bail. The factors include the defendant’s criminal history, the nature of the offense, and the future safety of any victims. I determine appropriate bail by weighing all the factors and I utilize bond conditions along with the pre-trial supervision department to best ensure public safety while protecting the defendant’s constitutional right to due process.