Lesli R. Fitzpatrick, a former Assistant District Attorney and County Attorney, and longtime conservative leader, will be the Republican nominee for the Third Court of Appeals Place 4. She has worked as both a prosecutor and a criminal justice attorney, gaining first-hand experience from both sides of the courtroom. She was also an attorney at the GLO and the Texas Senate. 

Fitzpatrick has a strong record of fighting for justice for Texans. A fifth-generation Texan, Fitzpatrick launched her bid after learning Republican Justice Melissa Goodwin would not be seeking re-election to her place on the bench, noting it is important that another woman with a constructionist philosophy pick up the torch.

“I'm no stranger to standing up for what is fair and just for all Texans,” said Lesli R. Fitzpatrick, future Republican nominee for Third Court of Appeals, Place 4. “All my life I’ve had a passion for justice, whether in the courtroom or in the public square, now I hope to bring that passion to the appellate court.”

Licensed to practice law in the State of Texas for over 20 years, Fitzpatrick, 58, has served as a former Assistant District Attorney and County Attorney, as a staff member in the Texas Senate, and worked for the Texas General Land Office (GLO). She sat first-chair on numerous jury trials and pre-trial hearings during her tenure as a prosecutor. 

For over a decade, Fitzpatrick has been in private law practice, providing criminal justice for her clients charged with felony and misdemeanor crimes in Central Texas and has represented hundreds of clients in many adversarial hearings. She also currently serves as a Collaborative Council Member on the Texas Judicial Commission on Mental Health.

She previously served as Open Meetings and Public Information Attorney for the Executive Division at the GLO from 2007-2010, where she handled a high volume of open records requests and wrote many legal opinions. She was also Agency Rule and Litigation Coordinator in the Legal Division, where she oversaw all civil ligation pending at the GLO from responding to requests for production for the agency, interviewing witnesses, assisting the Attorney General’s Office and private counsel at hearings and jury trials. 

Fitzpatrick also has been very active in the Specialty Court movement, serving for five years as the Statistician on the Williamson County DWI/Drug Court as a volunteer at no cost to Williamson County. She also worked as the Court Administrator for this specialty court while still maintaining her law practice. In 2018, Fitzpatrick was elected to the board of the Texas Association of Specialty Courts (TASC) serving as District Director for the Central Texas region. Fitzpatrick was then elected to serve as vice president of TASC. 

She is married to Jimmy Fitzpatrick and has one son.