Elsa Alcala
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Republican (until 2019)
Elsa R. Alcala | |
|---|---|
| Place 8 Judge of the Texas Court of Criminal Appeals | |
| In office May 2011 – December 31, 2018 | |
| Preceded by | Charles Holcomb |
| Succeeded by | Michelle Slaughter |
| Personal details | |
| Born | 1964 (age 61–62) |
| Party | Democratic (2019–present) Republican (until 2019) |
| Spouse | Dan Jeffry Spjut |
| Children | 3 |
| Alma mater | Texas A&M University–Kingsville University of Texas School of Law |
Elsa R. Alcala, also known as Elsa Spjut (born 1964), is a former Republican official who most recently served (2011–2018) as one of the nine judges of the Texas Court of Criminal Appeals. She was appointed to the Place 8 on the bench by then Governor Rick Perry, when Charles Holcomb stepped down to run in 2012 for the United States Senate. On July 16, 2019 she announced she was leaving the Republican Party to support Democrats at the state and national level.[1]
Judge Alcala obtained her Bachelor of Arts degree from Texas A&M University in Kingsville, Texas. She holds a Juris Doctor degree from the University of Texas School of Law in Austin, where she was named to the Order of Barristers.[2]
Alcala is married to Dan Jeffry Spjut (born 1961),[3] an attorney and retired lieutenant of the Houston Police Department.[2] He was elected on November 4, 2014, as a Republican to a Harris County Criminal Court at Law judgeship.[4] Alcala has three children.[2] Alcala lives in Houston.[5]
