MEET JUDGE HOFFMAN
Judge Peggy Hoffman has served as the presiding judge of Dallas County Criminal Court No. 9 since January 2007. She is licensed to practice law in both Texas and New York and has been Board Certified in Criminal Law by the Texas Board of Legal Specialization since 2005.
Judge Hoffman began her legal career in 1993 as a student attorney in the criminal clinic at SMU School of Law, where she represented indigent defendants. As a student, she served as lead counsel in two jury trials, an experience that sparked her passion for criminal law. After passing the bar in 1993, she was hired by the Dallas County District Attorney’s Office, where she represented the State in hundreds of cases and served as lead attorney in numerous jury trials. She began as a misdemeanor prosecutor but was quickly promoted to a felony prosecutor in the Child Abuse Division. During her time as a felony prosecutor, she tried 22 child abuse jury trials in just 10 months, advocating for the most vulnerable victims.
After two and a half years as a Dallas County prosecutor, Judge Hoffman moved to New York and joined the Brooklyn (Kings County) District Attorney’s Office. Due to her substantial trial experience, she was immediately assigned to felony cases. Following multiple felony jury trials, she was promoted to the prestigious Homicide Division where she handled the most complex homicide cases. She later became a Deputy Bureau Chief, supervising felony trial attorneys.
After seven years in New York, Judge Hoffman returned to Dallas and opened her own criminal defense practice. For five years, she represented clients throughout North Texas in cases ranging from murder and aggravated sexual assault to DWI. In 2005, she chose to run for a misdemeanor bench with goals to ensure everyone is treated fairly, the law is followed and to implement programs to help individuals involved in the criminal justice system leave the system. Shortly after her election, she developed a program to assist individuals charged with prostitution in leaving that lifestyle. She wrote and secured a $350,000 grant from the Bureau of Justice Assistance to launch the PRIDE program, which helped hundreds of participants during the 10 years she presided over the program.
Currently, Judge Hoffman also serves as an adjunct professor at SMU School of Law, where she coaches a mock trial team. She is honored to share her extensive trial experience with students, especially since her own passion for criminal law began as a student at SMU.
Judge Hoffman adopted her son, Christopher, from Kazakhstan in 2010, and her daughter, Lexi, from China in 2016. Her children are the pride of her life. They enjoy traveling and cooking together.
Judge Hoffman looks forward to continuing her service to the citizens of Dallas County as judge of the 194th Judicial District Court, bringing her experience as a felony prosecutor, defense attorney and a judge to the bench in a court that handles felony cases.
JUDICIAL EXPERIENCE:
- Presiding Judge, Dallas County Criminal Court 9, 2007-present
- Presiding Judge of all Dallas County Criminal Courts, 2009-2011, elected by her judicial peers
- Local Administrative County Judge, 2011-2013, elected by her judicial peers
- Presiding Judge, PRIDE Court, 2008-2018, a specialty court to address prostitution
LEGAL EXPERIENCE & CREDENTIALS:
- Dallas County Prosecutor, 1993-1996
- Kings County New York Prosecutor, 1997-2002
- Criminal Defense Attorney, 2002-2006
- Board Certified in Criminal Law
- Graduate of SMU School of Law
RECOGNITION & HONORS:
- Consistently ranked among the top criminal judges in the Dallas Bar Association Judicial Evaluation Poll
- L.A. Bedford, Jr. Distinguished Jurist Award, J.L. Turner Legal Association, 2014
- Almuna of the Year, Bishop Lynch High, 2013
