Original posting: March 12, 2026
TDCAA’s Board of Directors is proud to announce the launch of a new association award category for 2026!
Starting this fall, TDCAA will be recognizing “Rising Star” prosecutors in each of TDCAA’s eight regions.
The qualifications for a person to be nominated for a Rising Star Award are:
- Current paid annual membership in TDCAA as an assistant county attorney, assistant district attorney, or assistant criminal district attorney
- Licensed by the State Bar of Texas for fewer than 60 months
- At least 12 months but not more than 48 months of lifetime service credit as a prosecutor (as defined for the purposes of determining assistant prosecutor longevity pay)
- Nomination by, or a letter of recommendation from, the person’s elected prosecutor employer
A nomination for a Rising Star award should include documented examples of exemplary performance as a prosecutor within a prosecution office and/or community. Letters of recommendation from co-workers and members of the community, news articles, and other supporting materials will also be accepted. Only one nominee per office will be accepted for consideration, as determined by the elected prosecutor of each office, and only one winner will be selected annually from each of TDCAA’s eight regions (for a statewide total of eight per year). Nominations will be reviewed by the appropriate regional director for potential consideration by TDCAA’s Nominations Committee, and the ultimate selection of award winners will be made by TDCAA’s Board of Directors. (A regional map and list of regional directors is available on our “About” webpage.)
To submit a nominee’s name for consideration, please email the required information noted above to awards@tdcaa.com. Questions may also be directed to that email address.