An Official Swearing In

Robert Burns ’86 was sworn in January 1, 2019, as Chief Justice of the Court of Appeals for the Fifth District of Texas at Dallas. Chief Justice Burns had previously served for 12 years as the Judge of The Criminal District Court of Dallas County. After graduating from Austin College, Chief Justice Burns attended Southern Methodist University School of Law, was a prosecutor in the Dallas County District Attorney’s Office for six years, and then spent 10 years in private practice before joining the judiciary. He is the 14th Chief Justice of the Court of Appeals in Dallas since its founding in 1893.