About
The Honorable Judge Juli A. Mathew was elected to County Court at Law 3, in 2018 after having been Associate Municipal Judge in Arcola, TX and a practicing attorney for 15 years with experience in mass tort, civil litigation, probate, and criminal matters in Fort Bend and surrounding counties including Harris, Montgomery, Galveston and Brazoria. Judge Mathew was voted the Administrative Judge for the County Courts by her peers and also heads the first Juvenile Intervention and Mental Health Court.
Judge Mathew, a Fort Bend resident of almost two decades, is a proud immigrant from Kerala, India, is bilingual in Malayalam and English, and is the first Asian American woman to be elected in Fort Bend County and the first Indian American Women elected to the bench in the United States.
Judge Mathew grew up in Philadelphia and attended Penn State University before attending Delaware Law School for her Juris Doctorate. A few of her academic achievements include:
- Alpha Class member of the Asian American service sorority Alpha Kappa Delta Phi
- Studied abroad at University of Leiden, The Netherlands about the Dutch Criminal Justice System
- President, Student Government Association at Penn State Abington
- Citation for Leadership from Pennsylvania House of Representatives
- Environmental Law Clinic & Trial Advocacy Program at Delaware Law School
In addition to her service to the community through various capacities, Judge Mathew is a wife and mother of three beautiful daughters. She is committed to serving every Fort Bend resident with understanding, fairness, and justice.
Accomplishments
- Elected by judicial colleagues as Administrative Judge of the County Courts
- Founded the Juvenile Intervention and Mental Health Court (JIMH)- Judge Mathew created the JIMH Court to begin servicing youth with mental health issues in the Fort Bend County Juvenile Justice System in January 2021. The program has the support of all of the County Court at Law Judges, Juvenile Probation, Texana as well as other professional and treatment providers. The program is set to help the most vulnerable in our community, to help rehabilitate and reduce recidivism. The Ft Bend County Commissioners Court on Tuesday, December 08, 2020, gave unanimous approval to create the new Specialty Court. The court received support from the local community as well. During the public comments, Shariq Abdul Ghani, representing the Minaret Foundation, Ft Bend Transformation Church, and the Fort Bend Interfaith Community spoke in support of this court.
- Launched the Kitchen to the Courthouse program for High-school girls in conjunction with Chef Roshini Guarani and the India Culture Center. When looking at the Restaurant Industry, we see that the majority of the chefs are male. (The same was true in the legal industry for very many years.) So, when I met Chef Gurnani, I was excited to team up with her and create this endeavor along with the India Culture Center. We had about 30 girls participate. Through this program, we introduced young girls to influential females, in various industries, who are paving the way for others to follow.
- Created the Chai and Chat Series and various social events to introduce the courts and legal system to the general public to become more knowledgeable and especially first and second-generation Americans not to be fearful but make it more user friendly.
- Provided internship opportunities to students from various high schools, colleges and law schools.
- Collaborated with Fort Bend ISD Leadership Academy for High School students to visit and learn more about the judiciary and it’s functions.
- Speaker at various schools, churches, organization across the US including the Fort Bend ISD Leadership Academy, FOMAA, FOKANA, Exchange Clubs, and churches about the courts and legal system.
- A founding member of the Lone Star Exchange Club.
- Speaker, Children’s Mental Health Summit
- Presenter, Juvenile Justice Association of Texas
- Created the Chai and Chat Series and various social events to introduce the courts and legal system to the general public to become more knowledgeable and especially first and second-generation Americans not to be fearful but make it more user friendly.
- Provided internship opportunities to students from various high schools, colleges and law schools.
- Collaborated with Fort Bend ISD Leadership Academy for High School students to visit and learn more about the judiciary and it’s functions.
- Speaker at various schools, churches, organization across the US including the Fort Bend ISD Leadership Academy, FOMAA, FOKANA, Exchange Clubs, and churches about the courts and legal system.
- A founding member of the Lone Star Exchange Club.
- Speaker, Children’s Mental Health Summit
- Presenter, Juvenile Justice Association of Texas
