It is with immense gratitude that I write to announce that I will retire from service as associate judge for the District Courts of Travis County on May 31, 2024.
I have enjoyed my service on the bench as an associate judge in Travis County and, before that, as the first associate judge for the Child Protection Court of Central Texas.
I am grateful to the judges who first appointed me and to those who have been my supervisors and colleagues for the past 24 years.
I am grateful to all those who mentored and encouraged my legal career before and on the bench.
I am grateful to my court staff: court reporter Angie Hertel, judicial executive assistant Patsy Ybarra, and former bailiff Wilson Andrews, for making the court work smoothly and for always making me look better than I am.
I am grateful to the Austin Bar, especially the Family Law bar. I cannot think of a better, more collegial, and supportive group of lawyers and judges.
I am especially grateful to my wife, Valinda Bolton, and our son, Marshall, for their unwavering love and support.
I have always felt that being a judicial officer is both a craft and a calling. One of my law professors was fond of saying that judicial decisions must be correct, and they must be fair. The correctness part is self-evident; by fairness, she meant that the process must be fair and, equally important, must appear to be fair. Litigants must feel they have been heard respectfully and their concerns taken seriously, even if the law requires ruling against them.
It is a sacred responsibility to uphold the Rule of Law and to seek to administer justice fairly and impartially, and I am most grateful to have had the opportunity to try to do that every day.
Andy Hathcock
Associate Judge
Civil District Courts of Travis County
A retirement party for Judge Hathcock will take place on May 31, 2024, from 11 a.m. to 3 p.m., in the
multi-purpose room on the first floor of the Travis County Civil and Family Courts Facility, 1700 Lavaca Street.