Thank You to all who attended the Dinner and Dance on February 23rd!

Richmond resident and Sugar Land attorney Gary D. Janssen, currently serving as a judge for the cities of Needville, Sugar Land and Richmond, has filed as a candidate for Justice of the Peace Precinct 1, Position 1 currently held by Judge Gary "Ike" Fredrickson. The Justice of the Peace Courts handle a majority of all traffic offenses as well as civil suits up to $10,000, landlord/tenant disputes and many juvenile offenses like truancy and alcohol & tobacco offenses.

Janssen, 50, and his wife Mary live in Richmond and have six children. All their children are grown. Ray works for Drymalla Construction and Albert works for National Oilwell (Varco) in Rosenberg. The other children work "out of town" with Gracie at Texas Instruments in Dallas and Tim for Dell Computer in Round Rock. Becky is a vice-president of healthcare lending for Bank of America in Nashville, TN and Lisa is a diagnostic technician with Insight Communications in Louisville, KY. Gary and Mary have two grandchildren, Katy and Aiden.

Janssen is a 1977 graduate from Marion Military Institute where he graduated with honors as a Distinguished Military Graduate (DMG). He accepted his commission as a 2nd Lieutenant in the U.S. Army and was assigned as an Armor platoon leader in the 5th Infantry Division. Janssen served in the U.S. Army Reserve for 14 years where he reached the rank of Captain. Upon leaving active duty, Janssen began working for Texas Instruments while attending the University of Houston and Houston Baptist University at night. In 1983, Janssen graduated from the University of Houston with a Bachelors Degree in Criminal Justice and then attended the MBA program at Houston Baptist University.

Janssen was the Security Administrator for Texas Instruments in Stafford when he began law school at South Texas College of Law in 1987. He worked for Texas Instruments and interned for various attorneys while working his way through law school. He graduated from South Texas College of Law in December 1989, and began practicing law immediately thereafter. He has 17 years experience as a litigator and business owner.

Janssen is licensed to practice before all courts in the State of Texas. He has practiced extensively in the Justice Courts, County Courts and District Courts. He also has handled legal matters in the Texas Courts of Appeal, the United States Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals in New Orleans, and has litigated cases in foreign jurisdictions. Janssen has represented clients in more than 7500 cases and has practiced in over 100 different courts throughout Texas and the United States. He has handled family law, criminal, real estate, personal injury, landlord/tenant, real estate construction and consumer law cases.

Judge Janssen has served the City of Needville as the presiding judge for their municipal court since 1999 and serves as an associate judge for the cities of Sugar Land and Richmond.

As an advanced, credentialed mediator recognized by the Texas Mediators Credentialing Association, Janssen holds a certification held by only a few mediators in the State of Texas. Janssen also belongs to the Texas Municipal Courts Association, the American Legion, Needville Area Chamber of Commerce, Rosenberg/Richmond Area Chamber of Commerce and Sheriff's Association of Texas.

Janssen serves as a director of the Fort Bend County Bar Association and the Fort Bend Lawyers Care, a non-profit agency that provides free legal services to the indigent. Janssen has been active in community affairs where he has been a volunteer with the Fort Bend County Dispute Resolution Center and Needville Little League, and has contributed to youth activities at the Lamar Education Awards Foundation (LEAF), Rosenberg Little League, Lamar Little League, the Needville Youth Fair, and the Fort Bend County Fair where he is a life member. He has also volunteered as a guest speaker to various career day activities and business law classes at Needville High School, Lamar Consolidated Junior High School, and at the University of Houston, Sugar Land Campus.

Gary and Mary were formerly the owners of Texas Sports Academy in Rosenberg, Texas where they encouraged many youngsters to engage in competitive sporting activities.

Janssen stated that "most citizens' only exposure to the judicial system is in the Justice of the Peace courts. It is important that their issues be resolved promptly, professionally and fairly. If these lawsuits are conducted properly, the number of cases that are appealed to a higher court are greatly reduced. This saves the taxpayers money and saves the resources of the County Courts because those courts don't have to hear the same case again on appeal."

Janssen said he is looking forward to continuing the good service the citizens have learned to expect from Judge Fredrickson's court and staff. Janssen has practiced extensively before all the current Fort Bend County Justices of the Peace and he expects to be able to integrate his legal expertise and organizational skills with those of the current Justices of the Peace so that all the citizens of the county benefit.

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