Justice Amparo “Amy” Guerra was elected to the Texas First Court of Appeals in November 2020 after practicing law for nearly 20 years, handling complex civil cases in state and federal trial and appellate courts, being named a Texas Super Lawyer in Business Litigation, and becoming the first Hispanic partner at her law firm. She served as a Municipal Judge for the City of Houston part time while practicing law full time, and she was the youngest sitting judge on that court when she was originally appointed in 2005 at age 28. 

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Justice Guerra is a graduate of Rice University (where she was on the President’s Honor Roll) and the University of Houston Law Center (which awarded her a Dean’s Merit Scholarship, and two Public Interest Fellowships — one to work with Texas Rural Legal Aid and the other with Farmworker Legal Services in Michigan). She interned with and clerked for the United States District Court, Southern District of Texas. 

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Justice Guerra is a wife, mother of three children, and the daughter of Retired Senior Justice Linda Yáñez (the first Latina appellate judge in the history of Texas, and the first woman to serve on the Texas Thirteenth Court of Appeals).

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Since joining the First Court of Appeals, Justice Guerra has authored hundreds of opinions in civil and criminal cases. She was recognized as Judge of the Year in 2023, and she won the 2026 State Bar of Texas Judicial Preference poll, earning more than twice as many votes as her opponent, and receiving the most votes of any court of appeals candidate in Texas.