Judge Jay Karahan

Judge Karahan was born and raised in Tampa Florida. He was very active in high school music activities and student government, and worked daily in his father’s unairconditioned warehouse to earn money for college. He attended Florida State University and graduated with an honors degree in Music Theory and a certificate in vocal performance. During college he worked at two jobs to support himself, including one working in the kitchen of a sorority house where two young woman were slain by the infamous Ted Bundy. This tragic incident was a turning point for Judge Karahan, and he determined to become a lawyer in order to prosecute the perpetrators of similar crimes. He became familiar with the law first as an intern for a year at the Hillsborough County State’s Attorney’s Office in Tampa, and then matriculated into South Texas College of Law in Houston in 1979. Judge Karahan attended law classes at night and interned during the day at the Harris County District Attorney’s Office in the intake and grand jury divisions. He graduated with a Doctor of Jurisprudence in 1983.
Legal Career

From 1983 to 1987, Judge Karahan served as an Assistant District Attorney for Harris County, Texas. He was a member of the District Attorney’s child abuse committee and specialized in child abuse prosecutions, a difficult but vital assignment. In 1987, the U.S. Attorney General appointed him an Assistant United States Attorney for the Southern District of Texas. As a federal prosecutor he served in the Major Offender Division, Bank Fraud Task Force, and as a district coordinator for child exploitation investigations and prosecutions. While there he successfully prosecuted two FBI Top Ten fugitives for an interstate kidnapping and robbery spree, for which he received the U.S. Attorney General’s Special Achievement Award. As both a state and federal prosecutor Judge Karahan tried to jury verdict over 100 serious felony cases. In 1988, Judge Karahan was certified as a Criminal Law Specialist by the Texas Board of Legal Specialization, and he has maintained that certification ever since.

Judge Karahan left government practice in 1991 to serve as litigation and compliance counsel for a Fortune 100 company based in Houston He moved to private practice in 1995 to open the white-collar defense firm of Jay Karahan & Associates, where he specialized in state and federal criminal trials and appeals, mediations, and corporate compliance and investigations. As a defender he tried an additional 30 serious felony jury trials.

Judge Karahan was elected to judicial office in November 2002 and was sworn in as Judge of Harris County Criminal Court-at-Law No. 8 on January 1, 2003. He was re-elected to that office 3 more times and served until December 31, 2018, when he retired from active judicial service.