Audra LaDawn Riley, a Democrat and Dallas County judge, is running for Judge of the Texas Court of Criminal Appeals, Place 4, in the Nov. 3, 2026, general election. The Secretary of State’s final ballot certification lists Republican Kevin Patrick Yeary as her opponent.
Current role and background
Dallas County’s official court page identifies Riley as the presiding judge of Criminal District Court No. 3. That is her current judicial role; she is seeking a seat on the statewide Court of Criminal Appeals.
Her 2020 Dallas County judicial campaign website says she graduated with honors from Sam Houston State University with a bachelor’s degree in criminal justice and a minor in psychology. It also says she graduated with honors from Thurgood Marshall School of Law. Those education details are attributed to her earlier campaign materials.
About the office
According to the Texas Judicial Branch, death-penalty appeals go directly from trial courts to the Court of Criminal Appeals. Other criminal appeals initially go to the intermediate courts of appeals, whose decisions may be reviewed by the statewide court.
The court also has authority to grant habeas corpus relief to people convicted of felonies. Its work concerns criminal cases from across Texas.
No submitted Surround Sound Media questionnaire response was identified for Riley.
Responses are based on public data and answers to a Surround Sound Media questionnaire if they were provided.
