George Edward FREENEY Jr. Paternal Genetic Genealogy Report

Louis Sturns, born on August 6, 1949, in Henderson, Texas, was the first African American to serve on the Texas Court of Criminal Appeals, the state's highest criminal court. He was raised in Rusk County with three older brothers and graduated from Rusk County High School in 1966.

Sturns obtained his undergraduate degree in political science with a minor in sociology from Wichita State University in 1971. While in college, he joined the Reserve Officer Training Corps (ROTC) to help finance his education. However, he deferred his enrollment in the Army to participate in nationwide protests against the Vietnam War. Eventually, he attended Kansas University Law School and earned his law degree in 1973.

After completing law school, Sturns began working for Clifford Davis, a prominent African American attorney in Tarrant County, Texas, while awaiting his bar exam results. Once he passed the bar, Sturns served as a prosecutor, defense attorney, and legal adviser at Fort Hood, the largest military base in the United States. Despite being in the U.S. Army, he worked as a Judge Advocate General Corps for soldiers involved in civil rights cases. In 1976, he returned to Clifford Davis's law firm in Fort Worth, where he handled a range of legal cases.

Louis Sturns served in multiple Texas courts, including Criminal District Court No. 2, Criminal District Court No. 1, and the 213th District Court, to which he was appointed by former Tarrant County Judge Bob Gill.

In 1990, Sturns became the first African American to serve on the Texas Court of Criminal Appeals. Texas Governor William Clements appointed him to this position, and he served on the court until 1991.

Apart from his judicial career, Sturns has been actively involved in the Texas legal community and the Fort Worth community. He has served on the Texas Wesleyan School of Law advisory board and was a founding fellow and former director of the Tarrant County Bar Foundation. He has also been a member of the Texas Juvenile Justice Advisory Board, Texas Ethics Commission, and chairman of the Tarrant County Silver Gavel Committee. Additionally, he is on the board of the Fort Worth Metropolitan Black Chamber of Commerce and currently serves as a member of the Texas Public Safety Commission.

Louis Sturns is married to Marilyn Sturns, and they have four children.