Judge Mike Yarbrough

About Judge Yarbrough

Judge Mike Yarbrough is one of five Justice of the Peace in Collin County.  He is also the county's only Justice of the Peace who is a licensed attorney.  He earned his educational degrees while serving in the United States Marine Corps.  Yarbrough enlisted as a private in 1973, was commissioned in 1977, and retired a Major in 1993.  He holds a B.A. in political science from the University of New Mexico (1977), and after having been selected by the Secretary of the Navy to attend law school, earned a J.D. from California Western School of Law, San Diego (1982).

Prior to his election as Justice of the Peace in 1998 and re-relection in 2002 and 2006, Yarbrough enjoyed a varied legal career.  He has served as a federal and state prosecutor, law professor at the University of Oklahoma, municipal judge, a Department of Defense Ethics Counselor and legal liaison, as well as running a private law practice.

What the Justice of the Peace Does

Justice Court 4 handled 36% of new justice court cases filed in Collin County in the fiscal year 2009, including 14,000 traffic cases and 3,500 eviction cases.  Justice Court 4 runs on a budget of $500,000 a year and collects over 2.4 million dollars in fines and fees which is returned to the county.  This represents 40% of all fines and fees collected by the five Justice Courts in Collin County.  JP Precinct 4 is on the western side of the county and extends from the George Bush Turnpike to the northern Collin County line.  It includes parts of Plano, Frisco, McKinney, as well as Prosper and Celina.

Judge Yarbrough conducts an open morning docket four days a week as well as maintaining scheduled civil and criminal dockets.  For payment convenience, all the county justice courts accept fines by mail and electronically via internet.  The Judge stated that he periodically reexamines service issues such as increased and varied hours, "Like the other JP courts, we have tried varying our hours, but I have found no great public demand for extending the 40 hour week, especially at an increased cost to taxpayers."  Judge Yarbrough pledged continually high quality service to the citizens of western Collin County.

Mike Yarbrough's Family

Wife: Nancy

Son: Travis

Son-in-law: Truman

Daughter: Tanya

Grandson: Liam