Hon. Brent A. Carr, Jurist in Residence

Judge Brent Carr (Ret.) became the presiding judge of Tarrant County Criminal Court 9 in 1991. To fulfill a need to appropriately resolve cases involving mentally ill defendants, he established the Tarrant County Mental Health Court in 2003. He subsequently established the Tarrant County Veterans Treatment Court in 2010 and the Tarrant County RISE program for sex-trafficked female felony offenders in 2011. These programs have produced well over 1,000 graduates and significantly enhanced the lives of the participants.

From 2015 until retirement, Judge Carr served as the supervising judge of the Enhanced Mental Health Services Docket which addresses the needs of high risk, frequently incarcerated mentally ill offenders. He has served as a consultant for numerous specialty courts around the state. Past service includes chair of the Office of Court Administration’s Specialty Court Advisory Committee, the inaugural chair of Tarrant County Veterans Coalition, and past chair of the Tarrant County Mental Health Association. Current activities include Commissioner, Judicial Commission on Mental Health; Governor’s appointee, Specialty Court Advisory Council; Tarrant County Mental Health Connection; Tarrant County Homeless Coalition, Continuity of Care Board; and frequent lecturer at local, state and national trainings on mental health, specialty courts and criminal law related topics. His programs and staff have received numerous recognitions and awards for their work in specialty court justice.