Christine Dauphin Hernández

I am passionate about helping people. As a child, I often accompanied my mom to work, and it was then when I learned the value of community service and community leadership. In 1987, my Mom, the late Jo Ann Dauphin Moore, was recruited by former Mayor Henry Cisneros as the first Executive Director of Neighborhood Housing Services (NHS) of San Antonio. Although time with my mom was cut short by her sudden passing in 1997, the impression she made on me was tremendous. She left a great legacy and one which I strive to live up to as a mother and public servant. I understand that for many people like myself, life can be challenging at times, but it is what we do in those challenging times that defines us. I look at all of the things in my life that might bring someone down, as tools of strength and character building. Losing my mother at a young age gave me maturity, divorce gave me understanding and courage, and being a single mother gave me compassion. All of these life experiences have shaped me into the judge that I was at Municipal Court and the mother and lawyer that I am today.

Academically, I began my career in law in Louisiana, receiving my law degree from Tulane University. After being admitted to the bar in Texas, I spent a dozen years working as a city municipal judge and criminal magistrate judge in San Antonio.

I viewed my role as judge as one that is necessarily complemented by active involvement in community service activities. I am a board member for Girls Inc. of San Antonio, and I have served as a workplace mentor for Big Brothers/Big Sisters, and a member of Texas Lawyers For Children. I volunteer with the Bexar County Domestic Violence Task Force and am a commissioner for the City of San Antonio Martin Luther King, Jr. Commission. Additionally, I take pride in my affiliations with the San Antonio branch of the NAACP and Alpha Kappa Alpha Sorority, Inc.

Throughout my entire career, I have believed that people deserve the opportunity to resolve situations that have led to their arrest outside of jail when possible. Even when facing serious criminal charges, there are often alternative sentencing approaches and rehabilitation programs that can offer accountability AND the chance to redirect one’s life. I bring the same passion for encouraging rehabilitation to my law practice and subscribe to a brand of restorative and therapeutic justice focused on preserving and restoring my client’s dignity and self-worth. However, when justice requires that the case be dismissed, I will not shy away from a fight in court to ensure that your rights and freedoms are preserved.