Fifth Court of Appeals

Place 1

Chief Justice Koch was elected to the 5th District Court of Appeals on November 5, 2024. He previously served as the Presiding Judge of Criminal District Court #2 in Dallas County.

Prior to his judicial tenure, Chief Justice Koch served Dallas County as Commissioner for District 2, championing fiscal responsibility, furthering the funding and development of smart criminal justice reform, and leading transformation in government by streamlining internal processes and modernizing operations. In so doing, he was named head of the Continuous Improvement Committee, working as the catalyst for operational change in Dallas County.

Before taking public office, Chief Justice Koch served as a prosecutor for the Dallas County District Attorney’s Office, later transitioning to private practice, where he represented a wide variety of clients in criminal, civil and family matters. Along with his legal practice, Chief Justice Koch’s career has been largely devoted to internal process improvement via technological advancements aimed at increasing efficiencies in law, business and government. He helmed a tech start-up, worked in a company specializing in cutting-edge technologies for corporate and government entities, is certified as both an expert in the field of legal technology and a Lean/Six Sigma Greenbelt, and has lectured and presented CLEs on those subjects.

He is a Life Fellow at the Texas Bar Foundation and has served on the Advisory Committee for the Texas Correctional Office on Offenders with Medical or Mental Impairments (TCOOMMI). Chief Justice Koch received his Bachelors of Arts in Economics from Duke University and his law degree from the SMU Dedman School of Law.