Vernetta Perkins innovates in her first 90 days as District Judge

In her first 90 days as the first Black District Judge for Dallas County, Vernetta Perkins has slogged through hundreds of backlogged cases from the COVID shutdown, but she is still innovating.

During a speech at Selma Rotary Club on Monday, she described her first three months as “trial by fire,” and said she has turned to friends on the bench for guidance while awaiting judicial training. However, she is putting her 22 years of law experience to work by moving forward anyway on new ways of running Dallas County’s District Court.

To get through 300-400 cases that were put on hold when court closed in the pandemic, she formulated a strategic plan that included conducting virtual court via Zoom. She started in January and said it was a challenge at first to get lawyers using it and ensuring the public had a way to also access the hearings virtually. There were concerns early on that the lower-income residents wouldn’t have access to the technology needed to go on Zoom, but Perkins found that most residents, even those in poverty, have smartphones and had no trouble logging on for hearings.

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