'Debra loved being a judge': First Latina to serve in Harris County civil courts dies

Debra Ibarra Mayfield, the first Latina to serve in the Harris County civil court system, died at the age of 47 on Sunday (March 13).

The Houston Lawyers Chapter of the Federalist Society shared the tragic news on its Facebook page.

"Our Chapter mourns the passing of former state judge Debra Ibarra Mayfield," the non-partisan conservative/libertarian organization shared in a status. "We pray for her family and reflect on her many contributions to the law."

The group remembered Mayfield for a presentation she made on the centennial of the 19th Amendment with Judges Edith Jones and Jennifer Walker Elrod two years ago.

A member of the Republican Party, Mayfield descended from workers who helped build the courthouse where she used to hear cases, the Houston Chronicle reported.

Mayfield was the first in her working-class family to earn a college degree, graduating from South Texas College of Law in Houston, according to the publication.

Her judicial career began in 2011 when she was unanimously named to the Harris County civil courts, earning the distinction as the first Latina to serve in those courts. 

She was subsequently reelected twice afterward. 

Gov. Greg Abbott appointed Mayfield to the bench of the 165th District Court in 2015.

In 2017, Abbott appointed her to the 190th District Court.

Houston lawyer Seth Kretzer recalled to the Houston Chronicle the many instances he appeared before Mayfield, remembering her for being “sedulously prepared and eminently fair.”

“Debra loved being a judge,” he told the publication. “The political winds in Harris County shifted on her, but she kept being appointed and running again.”

Mayfield's cause of death is unknown.