THE HONORABLE JUDGE
JOHN SPECIA
Arbitration and Mediation
EDUCATION
St. Mary’s School of Law (J.D. 1975)
University of Texas (B.A. 1972)
ADMISSIONS
State Bar of Texas
HONORS
Distinguished Law Graduate (Judicial), St. Mary’s School of Law, 2005
Rosewood Gavel Award for Outstanding Judicial Service, St. Mary’s University School of Law, 2001
Special Commendation, Texas Association for Marriage and Family Therapy, 1999
CASA (Court Appointed Special Advocate) Judge of the Year, 1998
Jurist in Residence, Judicial Commission on Mental Health
Founding member of both The Judicial Commission on Mental Health and The Supreme Court of Texas Permanent Judicial Commission for Children, Youth and Families
Dale Wood Award for Outstanding Protection of Children by the Judiciary, 2001
CERTIFICATIONS
MEMBERSHIPS
Advisory Council Member and Community Impact Committee Member – United Way of San Antonio and Bexar County
Founding Member and Jurist in Residence – Judicial Commission on Mental Health
Founding Member – Supreme Court of Texas Permanent Judicial Commission for Children, Youth and Families
Chair – Texas Supreme Court Task Force on Foster Care (past)
Chair – Texas Supreme Court Task Force on Child Protection Case Management and Reporting (past)
Board Member – Central Catholic Marianist High School (past)
Board Member – National Council of Juvenile and Family Court Judges (2000-2006) (past)
Numerous other Civic and Professional Board Positions (past)
Judge Specia’s practice focuses primarily on dispute resolution (mediation, arbitration and private judging). He serves as a Senior District Court Judge, subject to assignment. He is currently assigned by the Texas Supreme Court to preside as the Pretrial Judge on a multidistrict litigation, as he has done on other multidistrict lawsuits in the past.
Judge Specia has over forty-eight years of legal experience, including his private practice as a civil and family law attorney and serving as District Judge of the 225th District Court in Bexar County, Texas, for eighteen years (1988-2006). He was the administrative judge for Bexar County, Texas, district courts for four of those years.
He served as Commissioner of the Texas Department of Family and Protective Services from 2012-2016 at the request of then-Governor Rick Perry. Judge Specia is also a Qualified Impartial Third Party pursuant to Texas Civil Practice and Remedies Code Section 154.052 (2019).
Over the course of his judicial career, Judge Specia has presided over numerous jury and non-jury trials. He oversaw a wide range of complex legal issues, including but not limited to commercial litigation, personal injury, medical malpractice and catastrophic injury, family law and employment matters.
With Bettsie, his wife of over fifty-two years, he enjoys travel, bike riding and time with their seven grandchildren.