About Jackie

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Judge Jacqueline Herr Valdés is a San Antonio native who has dedicated her professional career to improving juvenile justice. Growing up, Jackie and her two older brothers watched their parents and grandparents dedicate themselves to improving the community. As a child, Jackie volunteered at Circle T Riding Center, a therapeutic horseback riding center for children of all abilities in the San Antonio area, owned and operated by her grandparents.  As a young girl, Jackie remembers her own mother passing the Bar Exam and working in the Bexar County District Attorney´s Office. Her mother would later be elected to serve Bexar County as a District Judge for the 186th District Court.   

Jackie had always been a teacher at heart.  After earning a BA in Mathematics at Trinity University, she had the opportunity to attend law school at St. Mary’s School of Law and graduated and passed the Texas Bar Exam in 2006.  Jackie began her career practicing criminal defense.  In 2008, Jackie was given the opportunity to work for the District Attorney’s Office assigned to the Juvenile Section.  This is where her passion for helping children and practicing law came together.  Jackie has worked in all three Bear County juvenile courts. This work experience has given her great insight into the issues that juveniles face in our community. 

Jackie and her husband, attorney Eduardo Valdés, have five children - Madeline, Paloma, Noah, Santiago, and Alex. The Valdés family is active in the community.  Jackie’s children are involved in soccer, gymnastics, and dance.  Jackie is an active member of her church, a Guadalupana, and the Danza Director for a mass honoring the Feast Day of Our Lady of Guadalupe. 

Judge Valdes was sworn in as Judge of the 386th District Court on January 1, 2021.  She presides over a general jurisdiction trial court with a preference for juvenile matters.  In addition to conducting her regular docket and detention hearings, Judge Valdes also presides over several juvenile specialty courts and dockets, as she believes that juveniles have the best chance to succeed when they are provided with specialized services and programs to address their specific needs.  

The specialty court she presides over is the Juvenile Post-Adjudication Drug Court. Her specialty dockets include Crossroads Specialty Docket, designed to address the mental health needs of young females; the STRIVE Specialty Docket, geared toward youth between 16-17 years of age who have had difficulties in meeting educational and employment goals; and the Re-entry Specialty Docket, focusing on children who are coming back into the community after completing a residential treatment program.  Each of these Specialty Courts and Dockets provides a collaborative team approach to children referred to the Juvenile Justice System who have underlying issues that would benefit from specialized services, supervision, and treatment.  

She is running for re-election to continue this important work and ensure all of our children have the opportunity to succeed.