Governor Greg Abbott has tapped a familiar name to keep the bench steady in East Texas — reappointing Alfonso Charles as Presiding Judge of the Tenth Administrative Judicial Region, extending a tenure that’s now stretched well into its second decade.
The reappointment, announced by the governor’s office, sets Charles up for another four-year term beginning from the date of qualification. It’s a vote of confidence in a judge who’s become something of a fixture in the region’s legal landscape — and a signal that Abbott sees no reason to shake things up in one of Texas’s sprawling judicial corridors.
A Long Track Record in Longview
Charles, a Longview resident, has served as the 124th Judicial District Court judge in Gregg County for years, and he’s been holding down the Presiding Judge role since February 2018, according to records from the governor’s office. That’s no small stretch of time — judicial administration at the regional level demands a certain kind of institutional patience, the ability to coordinate multiple courts across a wide geographic footprint without making enemies of everyone in the process.
He’s also board certified in Criminal Law by the Texas Board of Legal Specialization, a credential that carries real weight in legal circles and isn’t handed out casually. East Texas Radio noted the reappointment as a continuation of regional judicial stability.
Decades on the Bar
How long has Charles been part of the Texas legal world? Long enough that his bar card predates the internet as most people know it. Texas Bar records show his license date as May 4, 1990 — bar card number 04144590 — meaning he’s been practicing law for more than 35 years. That kind of longevity doesn’t happen by accident. It takes a certain durability, a willingness to adapt, and frankly, the kind of local credibility that can’t be manufactured.
Still, longevity alone doesn’t insulate anyone from electoral politics. Charles appeared on the ballot as recently as the 2024 Texas General Election, running for his 124th District Court seat, as documented by voter resource organizations tracking down-ballot races. His continued presence on the bench suggests he came through that cycle intact — and now, with Abbott’s reappointment in hand, his regional leadership role is locked in for another term.
What the Reappointment Means
The Tenth Administrative Judicial Region covers a significant swath of East Texas, and the Presiding Judge plays a coordinating role that’s easy to underestimate — managing docket pressures, assigning visiting judges, and helping keep the machinery of justice running in an area that doesn’t always get the headlines of Houston or Dallas. It’s unglamorous work, largely invisible to the public, but the kind that matters enormously when courts back up and cases stall.
Abbott’s decision to reappoint rather than replace speaks volumes. The governor’s office confirmed the new term will run four years from qualification — meaning Charles, if he serves out the full term, will have led the region’s judicial administration for the better part of a decade and a half by the time it concludes.
In a state where judicial appointments can sometimes feel like a game of political musical chairs, that kind of continuity is its own statement.
