Longtime public defender, former prosecutor will face off for Fayette County District judge
Shannon Brooks and Alex Garcia will face off in the November election in the hopes of securing a spot on the Fayette County District Court bench after they secured enough votes Tuesday to advance from the primary.
Brooks and Garcia were the top two vote-getters in Tuesday’s Primary, defeating Aaron Fallahi, the third contender in the race.
The winner will replace current Fayette District Judge Bruce Bell to serve Kentucky’s 22nd District, 2nd Division.
District court is the court of “limited jurisdiction,” and a district judge oversees juvenile cases, city and county ordinances, misdemeanors, traffic offenses, will probate, arraignments, felony probable cause hearings, small claims involving $2,500 or less and civil cases involving $5,000 or less.
Shannon Brooks
Brooks has served as a public defender for 18 years, representing thousands of clients in the Kentucky court system.
During that time, she said she has learned that the reason people appear in court is rarely just an issue of the law.
She listed struggles with mental health, addiction, domestic violence, sexual violence, housing instability, poverty, homelessness, job and food insecurity as a few issues that bring people to the courtroom.
Brooks said prior to Tuesday that if elected, she would harness her years of experience in Kentucky’s court system to administer justice fairly and lawfully, while utilizing community resources to address the underlying circumstances bringing people to court.
After the results came in, Brooks said she is grateful and humbled by the incredible showing of support.
“Let’s keep up the hard work and this wonderful momentum as we progress on to the General Election in November,” she told the Herald-Leader.
Alex Garcia
Alex Garcia previously worked for 10 years as a prosecutor in Kentucky and went on to work in education law. Garcia continues to serve as a major in the U.S. Army Reserve, providing legal assistance to service members and their families.
In addition to his work in the legal system, Garcia is a member of the Mayor’s Racial Justice and Equity Commission and chairman of LexArts. He serves on the Lexington Public Library Foundation and is the upcoming president of the Fayette County Bar Association.
If elected, Garcia would become the first Latino judge to serve in Fayette County. He said if he were on the bench, it would be important to handle each case with the same care regardless of any outside pressures that may exist.
He said this would help bring further diverse representation to the “People’s Court.” A first-generation college student with a blue-collar upbringing, Garcia said he knows how it feels to “walk into institutions that don’t have you in mind.”
“I will be fair and impartial to everyone who walks into that courtroom, no matter the situation outside of it. My years of experience as a prosecutor, plus my service as an Army Reserve JAG officer, have taught me to do the work, no matter the noise around it.”
This story was originally published May 19, 2026 at 9:17 PM.
