After spending 22 years on the district court bench in Houston trying felony cases, “Judge” Ted Poe was elected seven times to the United States Congress from Houston, Texas. While in Congress, he was co-founder of the victims’ rights caucus and introduced and helped pass numerous pieces of bipartisan legislation in the House regarding sex trafficking including The Justice for Victims of Trafficking Act. He also was the lead sponsor of legislation that created The World War I Memorial in Washington, D.C.
While a judge, he was known nationally for his innovative sentencing (which some people called “Poetic Justice.) Such sentences included requiring probationers help refurbish the Battleship TEXAS. Prior to being a district judge, Poe was a prosecutor in the Harris County (Houston) District Attorney’s Office for eight years where he never lost a jury trial. He also taught school and was member of the United States Air Force Reserves.
Ted Poe is a graduate of Abilene Christian University and the University of Houston Law school. He is married to Carol, and they have 4 children and 12 grandkids. Poe is a native Texan, an avid Texas history student, and Lt. Col. William Barrett Travis has been his hero since childhood.
