| 7 | 8 | | WHEREAS, The Honorable David M. Cobos retired as Midland |
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| 8 | 9 | | County justice of the peace for Precinct 2 on February 1, 2025, |
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| 9 | 10 | | drawing to a close a distinguished 46-year career in the justice |
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| 10 | 11 | | system; and |
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| 11 | 12 | | WHEREAS, Appointed justice of the peace in 1997 to fill an |
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| 12 | 13 | | unexpired term, Judge Cobos won his subsequent elections unopposed; |
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| 13 | 14 | | in 1998, he implemented the Justice Court Alternative Sentencing |
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| 14 | 15 | | Program/Teen Leadership Program, which was designed to divert |
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| 15 | 16 | | juvenile offenders from the criminal justice system and reduce the |
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| 16 | 17 | | school dropout rate; the initiative was featured on ABC World News |
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| 17 | 18 | | Tonight and received the Texas Association of Counties Best |
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| 18 | 19 | | Practices Innovation Award and the Justice of the Peace and |
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| 19 | 20 | | Constables Association Best Practices Award; and |
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| 20 | 21 | | WHEREAS, Judge Cobos also worked to make the judicial process |
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| 21 | 22 | | more efficient and accessible to the public, overseeing such |
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| 22 | 23 | | modernization efforts as the introduction of electronic filing and |
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| 23 | 24 | | online payment options for fines; dedicated to his profession, he |
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| 24 | 25 | | served JPCA as director of District 4 and chair of the Justice of |
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| 25 | 26 | | the Peace Legislative Committee; among numerous other accolades, he |
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| 26 | 27 | | received the prestigious JPCA T. A. Vines Award, and he was named |
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| 27 | 28 | | the 2004 and 2005 JPCA Judge of the Year and the 2009 West Texas |
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| 28 | 29 | | JPCA Judge of the Year; and |
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| 29 | 30 | | WHEREAS, A graduate of Hardin-Simmons University, Judge |
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| 30 | 31 | | Cobos joined the Midland County Sheriff's Office in 1979 and gained |
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| 31 | 32 | | experience as a jailer, patrol officer, and major crimes |
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| 32 | 33 | | investigator; he played an instrumental role in the creation of the |
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| 33 | 34 | | highly effective Midland Crime Stoppers Program in 1984, and three |
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| 34 | 35 | | years later, he was appointed state director of Texas Crime |
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| 35 | 36 | | Stoppers; serving in three gubernatorial administrations, he rose |
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| 36 | 37 | | to become deputy executive director of the Governor's Criminal |
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| 37 | 38 | | Justice Division; and |
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| 38 | 39 | | WHEREAS, Over the course of more than four and a half decades, |
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| 39 | 40 | | David Cobos demonstrated wisdom, integrity, and a deep commitment |
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| 40 | 41 | | to the fair administration of justice, earning the respect and |
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| 41 | 42 | | admiration of his colleagues and fellow citizens alike; now, |
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| 42 | 43 | | therefore, be it |
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| 43 | 44 | | RESOLVED, That the 89th Legislature of the State of Texas |
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| 44 | 45 | | hereby congratulate the Honorable David M. Cobos on his retirement |
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| 45 | 46 | | as Midland County justice of the peace for Precinct 2 and extend to |
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| 46 | 47 | | him sincere best wishes for the future; and, be it further |
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| 47 | 48 | | RESOLVED, That an official copy of this resolution be |
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| 48 | 49 | | prepared for Judge Cobos as an expression of high regard by the |
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| 49 | 50 | | Texas House of Representatives and Senate. |
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