Justice Walker's Personal, Educational, and Political Background
A seventh-generation Texan, Justice Walker grew up in Red Oak, a small town just south of the DFW Metroplex. While in school, Justice Walker was active in sports and he was a bull rider on the high school rodeo team. Justice Walker graduated from Red Oak High School in 1995.
Justice Walker graduated Magna Cum Laude from Texas State University in 2000 with a Bachelor of Science, he received his Doctorate of Jurisprudence from the University of Houston in 2003, he completed a Master's Degree in International Relations at the University of Oklahoma with a perfect 4.0 gpa in 2018, and he holds a Master of Biblical and Theological Studies (a degree for lay persons) from Dallas Theological Seminary. Justice Walker graduated from DTS "with honors" in 2022.
Justice Walker has been active in Republican politics for most of his adult life. While attending Texas State in San Marcos, Justice Walker served as an intern on the first Bush/Cheney presidential campaign, as an Assistant Sergeant-at-Arms with the Texas Senate, and as a Senate Messenger. In 2008, Justice Walker ran for the Texas House of Representatives. Although he secured the Republican nomination, raised over $400,000 in campaign contributions, and was endorsed by many notable organizations and individuals, such as Ed Meese, the United States Attorney General under President Ronald Reagan (see photo just below), Justice Walker lost the general election to the four term Democrat incumbent by only 120 votes out of all votes cast in that four county district. More recently, before taking the bench himself, Justice Walker served as his father's (Judge Scott Walker) political consultant and campaign manager in his successful bid for the supreme criminal court in Texas, the Texas Court of Criminal Appeals.
Justice Walker taught federal and state government as an adjunct professor at the collegiate level for almost four years.
Justice Walker is 46 years old. He lives with his wife and daughter in Fort Worth, Texas. The Walkers are members of Citylight Church.
Justice Walker's Judicial and Legal Background
Justice Walker is a judge on the Court of Appeals for the Second Judicial District of Texas. Prior to serving in that capacity, Justice Walker was a successful Military and Veteran's Law, Criminal Law, and Civil Law Attorney for 17 years. During his legal career, Justice Walker authored over 100 civil and criminal appeals. He also handled over 75 civil and criminal jury trials. During law school, Justice Walker clerked for the late famed criminal defense attorney Richard "Racehorse" Haynes. After passing the bar exam in 2004, Justice Walker went to work as a prosecutor at the District Attorney's office in Harrison County, Texas.
Over the course of his legal career, Justice Walker handled complex litigation cases throughout Texas, he served as a Prosecutor and Judge Advocate in the United States Air Force Reserves, and he helped win veterans hundreds of thousands of dollars in various legal claims throughout the U.S.
Justice Walker's ability to analyze complex legal issues and write well-reasoned legal opinions has served him well on the Second Court of Appeals. Justice Walker is a frequent lecturer and author on various legal topics. Justice Walker is asked several times per year throughout Texas to teach continuing education courses for attorneys in various areas of the law and has been published in several legal periodicals and journals on various topics.
Justice Walker's Military Background
Justice Walker served as a Judge Advocate (JAG) in the United States Air Force Reserves from 2010 to the end of 2019. Brian was assigned to Barksdale Air Force Base, Aviano Air Base, Maxwell Air Force Base, and for a short time at Tinker Air Force Base. While Justice Walker was in JAG School, he was one of the top two finalists in the school-wide trial advocacy competition which included all JAG Students. During the Summer of 2014, Justice Walker became the first JAG in the entire history of the United States Air Force to serve as a Flight Commander/Drill Instructor (the officer equivalent of a Drill Instructor or Drill Sergeant) at the U.S. Air Force Officer Training School in Alabama. In that capacity, Justice Walker trained officer cadets in leadership, Air Force history and principals, drill and ceremonies, esprit de corps, and other aspects of being an Air Force Officer.
Justice Walker's Background Working With Veterans
Justice Walker is the past Chairman of the Tarrant County Bar Association Texas Lawyers for Texas Veteran’s Committee (TLTV) and a founding member of the TLTV pro bono program which holds monthly pro bono legal clinics for military veterans in Fort Worth, along with placing indigent veterans with pro bono attorneys on an as-needed basis. Justice Walker was given the Committee Leadership Award from the Tarrant County TLTV program in 2012. In his legal career, Justice Walker authored several publications that were written to help veterans and lawyers assisting veterans. Justice Walker spent a great deal of time assisting veterans with legal issues. In addition to regularly teaching other lawyers on how to help veterans in legal need, Justice Walker handled VA benefits cases for veterans and did a substantial amount of pro bono work helping them navigate the complexities of the VA.
Justice Walker's Awards and Accolades
In 2012, the Tarrant County Chapter of Texas Lawyers for Texas Veterans presented Justice Walker with the Committee Leadership Award for his work in helping co-found and lead the TLTV program. In 2013, Justice Walker was selected by the Fort Worth Business Journal to their annual “40 Under 40” list of persons in the community under the age of forty who are the most successful in their respective professions and who are making a significant impact in the city through community service. In the early part of 2014, Justice Walker was named a "Fellow" with the Next Generation Project of the Robert Strauss Institute for International Security and Law at the University of Texas at Austin. In 2014, Justice Walker was selected to the National Trial Lawyers – Top 100 Lawyers list which is “extended solely to the select few of the most qualified attorneys from each state who demonstrate superior qualifications of leadership, reputation, influence, stature and public profile.”
Justice Walker was named as a "Lawyer on the Rise" by Texas Lawyer magazine in 2016. This honor is given to only 20 attorneys in Texas under the age of 40. Justice Walker was one of only two attorneys in private practice to receive the award. In 2016 and 2017, Justice Walker was selected as a "Rising Star" by "Super Lawyers", the highly selective organization that chooses and ranks the top 2.5 percent of lawyers in the country based on peer review and successful performance in the legal industry. More recently, Justice Walker was named a "Super Lawyer" (Top lawyers over 40 in the nation) in 2020 and 2021 by that same publication. Justice Walker was named a "Top Attorney" by Fort Worth, Texas Magazine almost every year for an entire decade.
Justice Walker was also honored by his high school alma mater as "The 2014/2015 Distinguished Alumnus." Justice Walker was the youngest recipient of that award in the several decades that it has been given.
