Meet Catherine
Catherine A. Mauzy is presiding Judge of the 419th District Court. Elected in 2018, Judge Catherine Mauzy is a progressive Democrat with a lifelong commitment to social justice.
Throughout her judicial career, she has presided over some of the most difficult cases in Travis County and granted injunctions for cases like permitting mask mandates to be implemented in Travis County schools.
Judge Mauzy has almost 30 years’ experience as a trial lawyer, 20 years as a Board Certified attorney in Family Law, and was recipient of the 2011 Litigation Attorney Award from the Travis County Women Lawyers’ Association.
As a UT law student, Judge Mauzy lobbied the Texas Legislature for rights for students and tenants. She then began her legal career as a consumer advocate with the Center for the Study of Responsive Law in Washington, D.C. When Judge Mauzy returned to Austin, she went to work as a civil litigator in the Travis County Attorney’s Office.
In 1993, Judge Mauzy began her career in private practice. In 1998, the Texas Board of Legal Specialization certified Judge Mauzy as a Family Law Specialist. She is a member of the Texas Academy of Family Law Specialists and the Travis County Family Law Advocates. Judge Mauzy also has served as a Director, Treasurer, Vice Chair, and Chair of the Family Law Section of the Travis County Bar Association.
Judge Catherine Mauzy is a Democrat through and through. Since she was a teenager, she has worked, volunteered, and donated to hundreds of progressive causes and Democratic campaigns. She worked countless hours on the campaigns of Lloyd Doggett for U.S. Senate and U.S. Congress; Ann Richards for Governor; Gonzalo Barrientos for Senate; Kirk Watson for Senate; Glen Maxey for State Representative; Chris Riley for City Council; Steve Adler for Mayor; and many, many others.
Judge Mauzy also has worked for many progressive causes and organizations, including Save Our Springs (SOS), NARAL Pro Choice Texas, Volunteer Legal Services, Texas League of Conservation Voters, and Austin Women’s Center.
Judge Mauzy has spent thousands of hours working pro bono on cause-oriented litigation. For example, she was one of the lead counsel on the case of Goodfriend v. DeBeauvoir, which resulted in the court ruling that allowed the marriage of the first same-sex couple in the history of Texas.
Judge Mauzy lives with her partner Hans in Austin’s Shoal Creek Neighborhood. Hans is an immigrant from Sweden and works as a solar-energy engineer. In addition to hosting political events and fundraisers for good causes at their home, Catherine and Hans enjoy hosting events for friends and family, especially the annual Swedish Midsommer Festival (celebrating the start of summer). Judge Mauzy’s stepdaughters, Adrienne and Lauren, are also Austinites—and she taught them to campaign door-to-door when they were still in elementary school.
Some of Judge Mauzy’s social and political activism comes from her roots . Her father, Oscar Mauzy, was one of the great progressive leaders in Texas. Oscar was elected to the Texas Senate, where he fought countless battles on behalf of workers and people of color. In 1986, Oscar was elected to the Texas Supreme Court. Justice Mauzy’s legendary commitment to public education culminated in his authorship of the Court’s unanimous opinion in Edgewood v. Kirby, which declared unconstitutional the State’s inadequate funding system for public education.
Every trial lawyer wants to appear before judges who know trial procedure and who understand and respect the pressures and demands of the trial process on lawyers and their clients. Every litigant wants a judge who both knows the law and is fundamentally fair and just. Judge Mauzy’s extensive, successful courtroom career and her deeply held personal values make her the type of Judge we need to keep serving our community.