Jane Roden

Jane Roden, 2nd Assistant District Attorney and Chief of the Misdemeanor Division, graduated with honors from the University of Texas at Austin in 1981 with a Bachelor of Social Work degree. After working for four years, she attended Texas Tech University School of Law, graduating in 1988.  While in law school, she received American Jurisprudence Awards in Constitutional Criminal Procedure and Antitrust.

Prior to her employment with the Collin County Criminal District Attorney’s Office, Ms. Roden was employed by Dallas County for twenty-one years.  Most recently, she served nine years as the judge of County Criminal Court No. 8.  During her tenure, she presided over approximately 350 jury trials, and in the 2009 Dallas Bar Judicial Evaluation Poll, she was the highest rated criminal court judge in Dallas County, with an 80 percent “Excellent Rating” in overall performance.  From 1996 to 2001, she served as the Chief Public Defender for Dallas County.  She was appointed by the Dallas County Commissioners Court based on the recommendation of a ten-person, bi-partisan panel.  She managed seventy-five attorneys, investigators, and support staff responsible for representing indigent defendants in misdemeanor and felony criminal cases and juvenile and family law matters. From 1989 to 1996, she served as a Dallas County Assistant District Attorney under Judge John Vance, trying more than 175 jury and non-jury trials.  She prosecuted all levels of felony offenses and possesses extensive trial experience in the felony drug courts, where she served as Assistant Chief.  Her last position with the Dallas County Criminal District Attorney’s Office was Assistant Chief of the Misdemeanor Division, where she was responsible for teaching, training, and supervising thirty-three entry-level attorneys in court operations, trial preparation, and trial skills.

Ms. Roden is a member of a number of professional organizations and has been a guest lecturer for the Texas Center for the Judiciary, Southern Methodist University Criminal Clinic Orientation Program, Dallas County Sheriff’s Academy, and the Dallas Police Department.