Examine individual changes

'{{short description|Highest court in the U.S. state of Texas for civil appeals}} {{Use mdy dates|date=January 2018}} {{Infobox high court | court_name = Supreme Court of Texas | image = Seal of the Supreme Court of Texas.png | imagesize = 150px | caption = Seal of the Supreme Court | established = February 19, 1846<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.supreme.courts.state.tx.us/advisories/anniversary_011310.htm |title=Archived copy |access-date=2010-01-13 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100125194710/http://www.supreme.courts.state.tx.us/advisories/anniversary_011310.htm |archive-date=January 25, 2010 |df=mdy-all }}</ref> | country = [[Texas]], [[United States]] | location = [[Austin, Texas]] | coordinates = {{coord|30|16|33|N|97|44|28|W|region:US_type:landmark|display=inline,title}} | type = [[Election]] | authority = [[Constitution of Texas]] | appeals = [[Supreme Court of the United States]] | terms = 6 years; renewable | positions = 9 | website = [http://www.txcourts.gov/supreme Official website] | chiefjudgetitle = Chief Justice | chiefjudgename = [[Nathan Hecht]] | termstart = October 1, 2013 | termend = | termend2 = December 31, 2026 }} The '''Supreme Court of Texas''' (SCOTX) is the [[supreme court|court of last resort]] for civil matters (including [[juvenile delinquency]] cases, which are categorized as civil under the Texas Family Code) in the [[U.S. state]] of [[Texas]]. A different court, the [[Texas Court of Criminal Appeals]] (CCA), is the court of last resort in criminal matters. The Court has its seat at the Supreme Court Building on the [[Texas State Capitol|State Capitol]] grounds in Austin, Texas.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.txcourts.gov/media/9160/CapitolComplex2008-forCourts.pdf|title=Supreme Court Building on Map of Texas Capitol Complex|website=Texas Judiciary Website|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200305201818/http://www.txcourts.gov/media/9160/CapitolComplex2008-forCourts.pdf|archive-date=March 5, 2020|access-date=2019-11-18}}</ref> The Texas Supreme Court consists of a Chief Justice and eight associate justices. All nine positions are elected, with a term of office of six years with no term limit. The Texas Supreme Court was established in 1846 to replace the [[Supreme Court of the Republic of Texas]]. It meets in [[Downtown Austin|Downtown]] [[Austin, Texas]] in an office building near the [[Texas State Capitol]]. ==Regulation of the practice of law in Texas courts== By statute, the Texas Supreme Court has administrative control over the [[State Bar of Texas]], an agency of the judiciary.<ref>Tex. Gov't Code section 81.011.</ref> The Texas Supreme Court has the sole authority to license attorneys in Texas.<ref>Tex. Gov't Code sections 81.061 and 82.021</ref> It also appoints the members of the Board of Law Examiners<ref>Tex. Gov't Code section 82.001</ref> which, under instructions of the Supreme Court, administers the Texas bar exam.<ref>Tex. Gov't Code section 82.004.</ref> The Court has the last word in attorney disciplinary proceedings brought by the Commission for Lawyer Discipline, a committee of the [[State Bar of Texas]], but rarely exercises discretionary review in such cases. The Supreme Court accepts fewer than 100 cases per year to be decided on the merits. In addition to its adjudicatory and administrative functions, the Supreme Court promulgates, and occasionally revises, court rules of procedure, which include the Texas Rules of Civil Procedure (TRCP), the Texas Rules of Evidence (TRE), and the Texas Rules of Appellate Procedure (TRAP).[https://www.txcourts.gov/rules-forms/rules-standards/] ==Unique procedural aspects== The Texas Supreme Court is the only [[state supreme court]] in the United States in which the manner in which it denies [[certiorari|discretionary review]] can actually imply approval or disapproval of the merits of the lower court's decision and in turn may affect the geographic extent of the precedential effect of that decision. In March 1927, the Texas Legislature enacted a law directing the Texas Supreme Court to summarily ''refuse'' to hear applications for writs of error when it believed the Court of Appeals opinion correctly stated the law.<ref name="Steiner">{{cite journal|last1=Steiner|first1=Mark E.|title=Not Fade Away: The Continuing Relevance of 'Writ Refused' Opinions|journal=The Appellate Advocate|date=February 1999|volume=12|pages=3–6}} Available via [[HeinOnline]].</ref> Thus, since June 1927, over 4,100 decisions of the [[Texas Courts of Appeals]] have become valid binding precedent of the Texas Supreme Court itself because the high court refused applications for writ of error rather than denying them and thereby signaled that it approved of their holdings as the law of the state.<ref name="Steiner" /> While Texas's unique practice saved the state supreme court from having to hear relatively minor cases just to create uniform statewide precedents on those issues, it also makes for lengthy citations to the opinions of the Courts of Appeals, since the subsequent writ history of the case must always be noted (e.g., no writ, writ refused, writ denied, etc.) in order for the reader to determine at a glance whether the cited opinion is binding precedent only in the district of the Court of Appeals in which it was decided, or binding precedent for the entire state.<ref name="Steiner" /> Citations to cases from the Houston-based Courts of Appeals are also longer than others because they require identification of the appellate district number -- [1st Dist.] or [14th Dist.] -- in addition to the name of the city. ==Structure of the court and membership== The Texas Supreme Court consists of a [[Chief Justice]] and eight associate justices. All positions are elective. While the chief has special administrative responsibilities, each member has one vote and may issue a dissenting or concurring opinion. Granted cases are assigned to justices' chambers for opinion authorship by draw. Grants requires four votes. Judgments are rendered by majority vote. Per curiam opinions may be issued if at least 6 justices agree. Petition for review are automatically denied after 30 days unless at least one justice pulls them off the metaphorical conveyor belt. To serve on the court, a candidate must be at least 35 years of age, a [[citizenship|citizen]] of Texas, licensed to practice [[law]] in Texas, and must have practiced law (or have been a [[lawyers|lawyer]] and a judge of a court of record together) for at least ten years.<ref>[[Texas Constitution|Tex. Const.]], Art. 5, Sec. 2.</ref> The [[court clerk|Clerk of the Court]], currently Blake A. Hawthorne, is appointed by the Justices and serves a four-year term, which is renewable.<ref>{{Cite web|title=TJB {{!}} SC {{!}} About the Court {{!}} Clerk's Office|url=https://www.txcourts.gov/supreme/about-the-court/clerks-office/|access-date=2020-10-30|website=www.txcourts.gov|archive-date=December 23, 2019|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20191223200324/https://www.txcourts.gov/supreme/about-the-court/clerks-office/|url-status=live}}</ref> All members of the Texas Supreme Court typically belong to the same party because all are elected in statewide races, rather than by the electorates of smaller appellate districts, as the justices on the intermediate appellate courts are. Although there are fourteen such courts, the state is geographically divided into thirteen. Two appellate districts (the 1st and the 14th) are coextensive. Recent proposals to reorganize the Texas appellate courts by consolidating districts, and to create a specialty court of appeals for government-entity cases, failed in the Texas legislature's 2021 regular session.<ref>{{Cite web|last=Oxner|first=Reese|date=2021-04-14|title=The Texas Senate has approved a new statewide appeals court. Critics contend it's another attempt to limit Democrats' power.|url=https://www.texastribune.org/2021/04/14/texas-appeals-court-statewide-senate/|access-date=2021-06-15|website=The Texas Tribune|language=en}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web|last=Perez|first=Elida S.|last2=April 9|first2=El Paso Matters|last3=2021|date=2021-04-09|title=Senator scraps controversial bill to reduce Texas appellate courts|url=https://elpasomatters.org/2021/04/09/controversial-appeals-court-redistricting-bill-scrapped-in-texas-legislature/|access-date=2021-06-15|website=El Paso Matters|language=en-US}}</ref> ===Judicial selection: appointments and elections === [[File:TexasSupremeCourtBuilding.JPG|thumb|Texas Supreme Court Building]] All members of the court are elected to six-year terms in statewide partisan [[elections in Texas|elections]]. Because their terms are staggered, only a subset of justices is up for re-election in any one election cycle. When a vacancy arises, the [[Governor of Texas]] appoints a replacement, subject to Senate confirmation, to serve out the unexpired term until December 31 after the next general election. The initial term of tenure is therefore often less than six years. Most of the current justices were originally appointed either by former [[Governor]] [[Rick Perry]] or by the current Governor of Texas, [[Greg Abbott]], who is himself a former member of the SCOTX. Like the judges on the [[Texas Court of Criminal Appeals]], all members of the Texas Supreme Court are currently [[United States Republican Party|Republicans]]. The most recent appointees are [[Rebeca Huddle]], [[Jane Bland]], [[Jimmy Blacklock]], and [[J. Brett Busby|Brett Busby]]. === Prior public service of incuments === [[J. Brett Busby|Brett Busby]] and [[Jane Bland]] are former Court of Appeals justices from Houston, whose re-election bids failed in November 2018 when Democrats won all of the judicial races in that election. Blacklock previously served Governor Greg Abbott as general counsel. Huddle was a justice on the First Court of Appeals in Houston.<ref name=":0">{{Cite web|title=Governor Abbott Appoints Rebeca Huddle To The Texas Supreme Court|url=https://gov.texas.gov/news/post/governor-abbott-appoints-rebeca-huddle-to-the-texas-supreme-court|access-date=2020-10-30|website=gov.texas.gov|language=en|archive-date=October 16, 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201016205034/https://gov.texas.gov/news/post/governor-abbott-appoints-rebeca-huddle-to-the-texas-supreme-court|url-status=live}}</ref> Blacklock replaced [[Don Willett]], who now sits on the [[United States Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit|Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals]], the federal appellate court that hears appeals from federal district courts in Texas. Busby succeeds [[Phil Johnson (judge)|Phil Johnson]], who retired in 2018, and was sworn in on  March 20, 2019.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.texastribune.org/2019/03/20/brett-busby-confirmed-texas-supreme-court-senate/|title=Texas Senate confirms Brett Busby for Supreme Court post|last1=Tribune|first1=The Texas|last2=Platoff|first2=Emma|date=2019-03-20|website=The Texas Tribune|language=en|access-date=2019-04-13|archive-date=April 13, 2019|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190413163051/https://www.texastribune.org/2019/03/20/brett-busby-confirmed-texas-supreme-court-senate/|url-status=live}}</ref> Jane Bland was appointed in September 2019 to fill the vacancy left by [[Jeff Brown (judge)|Jeff Brown]], who resigned from the SCOTX to accept appointment to a U.S. district court bench.<ref>{{Cite news|url=https://www.texastribune.org/2019/08/26/greg-abbott-appoints-jane-bland-texas-supreme-court/|title=Gov. Greg Abbott selects former appeals court judge Jane Bland for Texas Supreme Court|last=Platoff|first=Emma|date=August 26, 2019|work=The Texas Tribune|access-date=October 10, 2019|archive-date=October 11, 2019|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20191011000421/https://www.texastribune.org/2019/08/26/greg-abbott-appoints-jane-bland-texas-supreme-court/|url-status=live}}</ref> Rebeca Huddle was appointed in October 2020 to replace [[Paul W. Green|Paul Green]], who retired from the Court on August 31, 2020.<ref name=":0"/><ref>{{Cite web|last=Oxner|first=Reese|date=2020-07-22|title=Timing of Supreme Court justice's retirement allows Gov. Greg. Abbott, not voters, to pick his two-year replacement|url=https://www.texastribune.org/2020/07/22/paul-green-greg-abbott-texas-supreme-court/|access-date=2020-10-30|website=The Texas Tribune|language=en|archive-date=October 22, 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201022070428/https://www.texastribune.org/2020/07/22/paul-green-greg-abbott-texas-supreme-court/|url-status=live}}</ref><ref name=":2">{{Cite web|last=Platoff|first=Emma|date=2020-10-15|title=Gov. Greg Abbott picks Rebeca Huddle for Texas Supreme Court vacancy|url=https://www.texastribune.org/2020/10/15/greg-abbott-rebeca-huddle-texas-supreme-court/|access-date=2020-10-30|website=The Texas Tribune|language=en|archive-date=October 26, 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201026040237/https://www.texastribune.org/2020/10/15/greg-abbott-rebeca-huddle-texas-supreme-court/|url-status=live}}</ref> Eva Guzman, the second-most senior member of the Court, resigned on June 11, 2021, and is preparing to challenge incumbent Attorney General [[Ken Paxton]] in the GOP primary for that office.<ref>{{Cite web|last=Svitek|first=Patrick|date=2021-06-14|title=Eva Guzman, former Texas Supreme Court justice, joins GOP primary challenge against Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton|url=https://www.texastribune.org/2021/06/09/eva-guzman-texas-supreme-court/|access-date=2021-06-15|website=The Texas Tribune|language=en}}</ref> === Position designations and seniority === The position of Chief Justice is designated Place 1 and is currently held by [[Nathan Hecht]], the longest-serving member of the Court. He succeeded [[Wallace B. Jefferson]], who is now a frequent advocate before the high court on behalf of private clients, as are several other former members of the Court. The other eight position numbers have no special significance except for identification purposes on the ballot. Informally, justices are ranked by seniority, and their profiles appear on the Court's website in that order.<ref name=":1">{{Cite web|url=https://www.txcourts.gov/supreme/about-the-court/justices/|title=TJB {{!}} SC {{!}} About the Court {{!}} Justices|website=www.txcourts.gov|access-date=2019-12-23|archive-date=December 23, 2019|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20191223200321/https://www.txcourts.gov/supreme/about-the-court/justices/|url-status=live}}</ref> Unlike their counterparts on the U.S. Supreme Court, the official title of incuments holding Place 2 through Place 9 is Justice, rather than Associate Justice. Their counterparts on the [[Texas Court of Criminal Appeals|Court of Criminal Appeals]], however, use the title Judge. ===Women on the court=== [[Hortense Sparks Ward]], who became the first woman to pass the Texas [[bar examination|Bar Exam]] in 1910, was appointed Special Chief Justice of an [[All-Woman Supreme Court|all-female Texas Supreme Court]] 15 years later. All of the court's male justices recused themselves from ''Johnson'' v. ''Darr'', a 1924 case involving the [[Woodmen of the World]], and, since nearly every member of the Texas Bar was a member of that fraternal organization, paying personal insurance premiums that varied with the claims decided against it, no male judges or attorneys could be found to hear the case.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.tshaonline.org/handbook/online/articles/jpa01|title=ALL-WOMAN SUPREME COURT|first=COTTRELL, DEBBIE|last=MAULDIN|date=June 9, 2010|website=www.tshaonline.org|access-date=May 4, 2018|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180103193520/https://tshaonline.org/handbook/online/articles/jpa01|archive-date=January 3, 2018|df=mdy-all}}</ref> After ten months of searching for suitable male replacements to decide the case, Governor [[Pat Neff]] decided on January 1, 1925, to appoint a special court composed of three women. This court, consisting of Ward, [[Hattie Leah Henenberg]], and [[Ruth Virginia Brazzil]], met for five months and ultimately ruled in favor of Woodmen of the World.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://tarlton.law.utexas.edu/justices/profile/view/112|title=Hortense Sparks Ward (1875–1944)|work=Justices of Texas 1836–1986|publisher=Tarlton Law Library, The University of Texas at Austin|date=October 16, 2009|access-date=July 16, 2013|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130707055323/http://tarlton.law.utexas.edu/justices/profile/view/112|archive-date=July 7, 2013|df=mdy-all}}</ref> On July 25, 1982, [[Ruby Kless Sondock]] became the court's first regular female justice, when she was appointed to replace the Associate Justice James G. Denton who had died of a heart attack. Sondock served the remainder of Denton's term, which ended on December 31, 1982, but did not seek election to the Supreme Court in her own right.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://tarlton.law.utexas.edu/justices/profile/view/102|title=Ruby Kless Sondock (born 1926)|work=Justices of Texas 1836–1986|publisher=Tarlton Law Library, [[The University of Texas at Austin]]|date=October 16, 2009|access-date=July 16, 2013|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130707055133/http://tarlton.law.utexas.edu/justices/profile/view/102|archive-date=July 7, 2013|df=mdy-all}}</ref> [[Rose Spector]] became the first woman elected to the court in 1992 and served until 1998 when she was defeated by [[Harriet O'Neill]].<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.scotxblog.com/elections/women-on-the-texas-supreme-court/#footnote_0_62|title=An Unusual History of Women Serving on the Texas Supreme Court|date=January 8, 2008|last=Cruse|first=Don|work=The Supreme Court of Texas Blog|access-date=July 16, 2013|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120316091626/http://www.scotxblog.com/elections/women-on-the-texas-supreme-court/#footnote_0_62|archive-date=March 16, 2012|df=mdy-all}}</ref> Following the recent departure of [[Eva Guzman]], the Texas Supreme Court currently has three women members.<ref name=":1" /> One of them served as a family court judge in Fort Worth (Lehrmann), the second (Bland) was a district judge in the civil trial division of the Harris County district courts before she was appointed to the intermediate court of appeals, and the third (Huddle) previously served on an intermediate court of appeals in Houston.<ref name=":0" /> As of September 2019, women jurists filled almost half of the 80 intermediate appellate positions.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.txcourts.gov/media/1444865/judge-profile-sept-2019.pdf|title=Profile of Appellate and Trial Judges - Sep. 1, 2019|last=Texas Office of Court Administration|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200306065116/http://www.txcourts.gov/media/1444865/judge-profile-sept-2019.pdf|archive-date=March 6, 2020|access-date=2019-11-18}}</ref> Some of the fourteen intermediate courts of appeals have female majorities. The Fourth Court of Appeals, based in San Antonio, is composed entirely of women.<ref>{{Cite web|last=Fourth Court of Appeals|title=About the Court: Justices|url=https://www.txcourts.gov/4thcoa/about-the-court/|url-status=live|access-date=June 15, 2021}}</ref> Justice [[Eva Guzman]] resigned from Place 9 effective Friday, June 11, 2021 at 3 PM after delivering a final dissenting opinion in the morning.<ref>{{Cite web|last=Pollock|first=Cassandra|date=2021-06-07|title=Texas Supreme Court Justice Eva Guzman resigns|url=https://www.texastribune.org/2021/06/07/texas-supreme-court-eva-guzman-resigns/|access-date=2021-06-08|website=The Texas Tribune|language=en}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web|last=Supreme Court of Texas|title=Orders pronounced June 11, 2021|url=https://www.txcourts.gov/supreme/orders-opinions/2021/june/june-11-2021/|url-status=live|access-date=June 15, 2021}}</ref> Her unexpired term will be completed by a successor to be appointed by Governor Greg Abbott. === Current justices === {| class="wikitable sortable" style="text-align: center" |- ! Place ! Justice ! Born ! Date service began ! Originally ! Term ends ! Appointing governor ! Party affiliation ! Law school |- | Chief Justice | {{sortname|Nathan|Hecht}} | {{Birth date and age|1949|08|15}} | {{dts|1989|01|01}} | Elected{{efn|Elected to Place 6 in 1988; appointed Chief Justice by Gov. [[Rick Perry]] (R) in 2013}} | 2026 | [[Rick Perry]] | {{party shading/Republican}} | Republican | [[Dedman School of Law|Southern Methodist]] |- | 2 | {{sortname|Jimmy|Blacklock}} | {{Birth date and age|1980|08|28}} | {{dts|2018|01|02}} | Appointed{{efn|name=Abbott|Appointed by Gov. [[Greg Abbott]] (R). Subsequently elected in their own right.}} | 2024 | [[Greg Abbott]] | {{party shading/Republican}} | Republican | [[Yale Law School|Yale]] |- | 3 | {{sortname|Debra|Lehrmann}} | {{Birth date and age|1956|11|16}} | {{dts|2010|06|21}} | Appointed{{efn|name=Perry|Appointed by Gov. Rick Perry (R). Subsequently elected in their own right.}} | 2022 | [[Rick Perry]] | {{party shading/Republican}} | Republican | [[University of Texas School of Law|Texas]] |- | 4 | {{sortname|John P.|Devine}} | {{Birth date and age|1958|10|3}} | {{dts|2013|01|01}} | Elected | 2024 | N/A | {{party shading/Republican}} | Republican | [[South Texas College of Law|South Texas]] |- | 5 | {{sortname|Rebeca|Huddle}} | {{birth based on age as of date|45|2019|5|23}}<ref>{{Cite web |date=May 23, 2019 |title=Baker Bott's new partner-in-charge shares hiring and revenue strategy |url=https://www.bizjournals.com/houston/news/2019/05/23/houston-law-firms-new-partner-in-charge-aims-for-a.html |access-date=February 16, 2021 |website=www.bizjournals.com}}</ref> | {{dts|2020|10|30}} | Appointed | 2022 | [[Greg Abbott]] | {{party shading/Republican}} | Republican | [[University of Texas School of Law|Texas]] |- | 6 | {{sortname|Jane|Bland}} | {{Birth date and age|1965|6|1}} | {{dts|2019|09|04}} | Appointed{{efn|name=Abbott}} | 2026 | [[Greg Abbott]] | {{party shading/Republican}} | Republican | [[University of Texas School of Law|Texas]] |- | 7 | {{sortname|Jeffrey S.|Boyd}} | {{Birth date and age|1961|12|2}} | {{dts|2012|12|03}} | Appointed{{efn|name=Perry}} | 2026 | [[Rick Perry]] | {{party shading/Republican}} | Republican | [[Pepperdine University School of Law|Pepperdine]] |- | 8 | {{sortname|J. Brett|Busby}} | {{Birth date and age|1973|4|12}} | {{dts|2019|02|21}} | Appointed{{efn|name=Abbott}} | 2026 | [[Greg Abbott]] | {{party shading/Republican}} | Republican | [[Columbia Law School|Columbia]] |- | 9 | ''seat vacant'' | align="center" | {{sort|0|–}} | align="center" | {{sort|0|–}} | align="center" | {{sort|0|–}} | align="center" | {{sort|0|–}} | align="center" | {{sort|0|–}} | align="center" | {{sort|0|–}} | align="center" | {{sort|0|–}} |} {{notelist}} ===History of membership of the court=== {{main|List of justices of the Texas Supreme Court}} ===Succession of seats=== {{col-begin}} {{col-break}} {{start U.S. judge succession| seat title=Chief Justice (Place 1)}} {{U.S. judge succession note | text = Established by the [[Texas Constitution of 1876]] }} {{U.S. judge succession row | name = G. Moore | party = Democratic | term = 1878–1881 }} {{U.S. judge succession row | name = Gould | party = Democratic | term = 1881–1882 }} {{U.S. judge succession row | name = Willie | party = Democratic | term = 1882–1888 }} {{U.S. judge succession row | name = Stayton | party = Democratic | term = 1888–1894 }} {{U.S. judge succession row | name = Gaines | party = Democratic | term = 1894–1911 }} {{U.S. judge succession row | name = Brown | party = Democratic | term = 1911–1915 }} {{U.S. judge succession row | name = N. Phillips | party = Democratic | term = 1915–1921 }} {{U.S. judge succession row | name = Cureton | party = Democratic | term = 1921–1940 }} {{U.S. judge succession row | name = W.F. Moore | party = Democratic | term = 1940–1941 }} {{U.S. judge succession row | name = Alexander | party = Democratic | term = 1941–1948 }} {{U.S. judge succession row | name = Hickman | party = Democratic | term = 1948–1961 }} {{U.S. judge succession row | name = Calvert | party = Democratic | term = 1961–1972 }} {{U.S. judge succession row | name = [[Joe R. Greenhill|Greenhill]] | party = Democratic | term = 1972–1982 }} {{U.S. judge succession row | name = [[Jack Pope (Texas jurist)|Pope]] | party = Democratic | term = 1982–1985 }} {{U.S. judge succession row | name = [[John Hill (Texas politician)|Hill]] | party = Democratic | term = 1985–1988 }} {{U.S. judge succession row | name = [[Thomas R. Phillips|Phillips]] | party = Republican | term = 1988–2004 }} {{U.S. judge succession row | name = [[Wallace B. Jefferson|Jefferson]] | party = Republican | term = 2004–2013 }} {{U.S. judge succession row | name = '''[[Nathan Hecht|Hecht]]''' | party = Republican | term = 2013–present }} {{end U.S. judge succession}} {{col-break}} {{start U.S. judge succession| seat title=Place 2}} {{U.S. judge succession note | text = Established by the [[Texas Constitution of 1876]] }} {{U.S. judge succession row | name = Gould | party = Democratic | term = 1876–1881 }} {{U.S. judge succession row | name = Stayton | party = Democratic | term = 1881–1888 }} {{U.S. judge succession row | name = Walker | party = Democratic | term = 1888–1889 }} {{U.S. judge succession row | name = Henry | party = Democratic | term = 1889–1893 }} {{U.S. judge succession row | name = Brown | party = Democratic | term = 1893–1911 }} {{U.S. judge succession row | name = Ramsey | party = Democratic | term = 1911–1912 }} {{U.S. judge succession row | name = N. Phillips | party = Democratic | term = 1912–1915 }} {{U.S. judge succession row | name = Yantis | party = Democratic | term = 1915–1918 }} {{U.S. judge succession row | name = Greenwood | party = Democratic | term = 1918–1934 }} {{U.S. judge succession row | name = Sharp | party = Democratic | term = 1934–1952 }} {{U.S. judge succession row | name = Culver | party = Democratic | term = 1953–1965 }} {{U.S. judge succession row | name = [[Jack Pope (Texas jurist)|Pope]] | party = Democratic | term = 1964–1982 }} {{U.S. judge succession row | name = [[Ted Z. Robertson|T. Robertson]] | party = Democratic | term = 1982–1988 }} {{U.S. judge succession row | name = [[Lloyd Doggett|Doggett]] | party = Democratic | term = 1989–1994 }} {{U.S. judge succession row | name = [[Priscilla Owen|Owen]] | party = Republican | term = 1995–2005 }} {{U.S. judge succession row | name = [[Don Willett|Willett]] | party = Republican | term = 2005–2018 }} {{U.S. judge succession row | name = '''[[Jimmy Blacklock|Blacklock]]''' | party = Republican | term = 2018–present }} {{end U.S. judge succession}} {{col-break}} {{start U.S. judge succession| seat title=Place 3}} {{U.S. judge succession note | text = Established by the [[Texas Constitution of 1876]] }} {{U.S. judge succession row | name = G. Moore | party = Democratic | term = 1876–1878 }} {{U.S. judge succession row | name = Bonner | party = Democratic | term = 1878–1882 }} {{U.S. judge succession row | name = West | party = Democratic | term = 1882–1885 }} {{U.S. judge succession row | name = S. Robertson | party = Democratic | term = 1885–1886 }} {{U.S. judge succession row | name = Gaines | party = Democratic | term = 1886–1894 }} {{U.S. judge succession row | name = Denman | party = Democratic | term = 1894–1899 }} {{U.S. judge succession row | name = Williams | party = Democratic | term = 1899–1911 }} {{U.S. judge succession row | name = Bibrell | party = Democratic | term = 1911–1913 }} {{U.S. judge succession row | name = Hawkins | party = Democratic | term = 1913–1921 }} {{U.S. judge succession row | name = Pierson | party = Democratic | term = 1921–1935 }} {{U.S. judge succession row | name = Critz | party = Democratic | term = 1935–1945 }} {{U.S. judge succession row | name = Simpson | party = Democratic | term = 1945–1949 }} {{U.S. judge succession row | name = Harvey | party = Democratic | term = 1949–1950 }} {{U.S. judge succession row | name = Calvert | party = Democratic | term = 1950–1961 }} {{U.S. judge succession row | name = [[Zollie Steakley|Steakley]] | party = Democratic | term = 1961–1980 }} {{U.S. judge succession row | name = Wallace | party = Democratic | term = 1981–1988 }} {{U.S. judge succession row | name = Cook | party = Republican | term = 1988–1992 }} {{U.S. judge succession row | name = Spector | party = Democratic | term = 1993–1998 }} {{U.S. judge succession row | name = [[Harriet O'Neill|O'Neill]] | party = Republican | term = 1999–2010 }} {{U.S. judge succession row | name = '''[[Debra Lehrmann|Lehrmann]]''' | party = Republican | term = 2010–present }} {{end U.S. judge succession}} {{col-end}} {{col-begin}} {{col-break}} {{start U.S. judge succession| seat title=Place 4}} {{U.S. judge succession note | text = Established in 1918 as Commissioner, Section B }} {{U.S. judge succession note | text = Made a Supreme Court judgeship in 1945 }} {{U.S. judge succession row | name = Sadler | party = Democratic | term = 1918–1920 }} {{U.S. judge succession row | name = Powell | party = Democratic | term = 1920–1927 }} {{U.S. judge succession row | name = Leddy | party = Democratic | term = 1927–1933 }} {{U.S. judge succession row | name = Smedley | party = Democratic | term = 1933–1954 }} {{U.S. judge succession row | name = Walker | party = Democratic | term = 1954–1975 }} {{U.S. judge succession row | name = Doughty | party = Democratic | term = 1975–1976 }} {{U.S. judge succession row | name = Yarbrough | party = Democratic | term = 1976–1977 }} {{U.S. judge succession row | name = [[Charles Barrow|Barrow]] | party = Democratic | term = 1977–1984 }} {{U.S. judge succession row | name = [[Raul A. Gonzalez|Gonzalez]] | party = Democratic | term = 1984–1998 }} {{U.S. judge succession row | name = [[Alberto Gonzales|Gonzales]] | party = Republican | term = 1999–2000 }} {{U.S. judge succession row | name = [[Wallace B. Jefferson|Jefferson]] | party = Republican | term = 2001–2004 }} {{U.S. judge succession row | name = [[David M. Medina|Medina]] | party = Republican | term = 2004–2012 }} {{U.S. judge succession row | name = '''[[John P. Devine|Devine]]''' | party = Republican | term = 2013–present }} {{end U.S. judge succession}} {{col-break}} {{start U.S. judge succession| seat title=Place 5}} {{U.S. judge succession note | text = Established in 1918 as Commissioner, Section B }} {{U.S. judge succession note | text = Made a Supreme Court judgeship in 1945 }} {{U.S. judge succession row | name = Montgomery | party = Democratic | term = 1918–1919 }} {{U.S. judge succession row | name = Kittrell | party = Democratic | term = 1919–1921 }} {{U.S. judge succession row | name = Hamilton | party = Democratic | term = 1921 }} {{U.S. judge succession row | name = Short | party = Democratic | term = 1925–1934 }} {{U.S. judge succession row | name = Taylor | party = Democratic | term = 1935–1950 }} {{U.S. judge succession row | name = Wilson | party = Democratic | term = 1950–1956 }} {{U.S. judge succession row | name = [[Abner Vernon McCall|McCall]] | party = Democratic | term = 1956 }} {{U.S. judge succession row | name = Norvell | party = Democratic | term = 1957–1968 }} {{U.S. judge succession row | name = [[Thomas Morrow Reavley|Reavley]] | party = Democratic | term = 1968–1977 }} {{U.S. judge succession row | name = Chadick | party = Democratic | term = 1977–1978 }} {{U.S. judge succession row | name = Campbell | party = Democratic | term = 1978–1988 }} {{U.S. judge succession row | name = Culver | party = Republican | term = 1988 }} {{U.S. judge succession row | name = [[Jack English Hightower|Hightower]] | party = Democratic | term = 1988–1996 }} {{U.S. judge succession row | name = [[Greg Abbott|Abbott]] | party = Republican | term = 1996–2001 }} {{U.S. judge succession row | name = [[Xavier Rodriguez|Rodriguez]] | party = Republican | term = 2001–2002 }} {{U.S. judge succession row | name = [[Steven Wayne Smith|Smith]] | party = Republican | term = 2002–2004 }} {{U.S. judge succession row | name = [[Paul W. Green|Green]] | party = Republican | term = 2005–2020 }} {{U.S. judge succession row | name = '''[[Rebeca Huddle|Huddle]]''' | party = Republican | term = 2020–present }} {{end U.S. judge succession}} {{col-break}} {{start U.S. judge succession| seat title=Place 6}} {{U.S. judge succession note | text = Established in 1918 as Commissioner, Section A }} {{U.S. judge succession note | text = Made a Supreme Court judgeship in 1945 }} {{U.S. judge succession row | name = Taylor | party = Democratic | term = 1919–1921 }} {{U.S. judge succession row | name = Randolph | party = Democratic | term = 1921–1923 }} {{U.S. judge succession row | name = Bishop | party = Democratic | term = 1923–1927 }} {{U.S. judge succession row | name = Critz | party = Democratic | term = 1927–1935 }} {{U.S. judge succession row | name = Hickman | party = Democratic | term = 1935–1948 }} {{U.S. judge succession row | name = Garwood | party = Democratic | term = 1948–1958 }} {{U.S. judge succession row | name = Hamilton | party = Democratic | term = 1959–1970 }} {{U.S. judge succession row | name = Denton | party = Democratic | term = 1971–1982 }} {{U.S. judge succession row | name = [[Ruby Kless Sondock|Sondock]] | party = Democratic | term = 1982 }} {{U.S. judge succession row | name = Kilgarlin | party = Democratic | term = 1983–1988 }} {{U.S. judge succession row | name = [[Nathan Hecht|Hecht]] | party = Republican | term = 1989–2013 }} {{U.S. judge succession row | name = [[Jeff Brown (judge)|Brown]] | party = Republican | term = 2013–2019 }} {{U.S. judge succession row | name = '''[[Jane Bland|Bland]]''' | party = Republican | term = 2019–present }} {{end U.S. judge succession}} {{col-end}} {{col-begin}} {{col-break}} {{start U.S. judge succession| seat title=Place 7}} {{U.S. judge succession note | text = Established in 1918 as Commissioner, Section B }} {{U.S. judge succession note | text = Made a Supreme Court judgeship in 1945 }} {{U.S. judge succession row | name = McClendon | party = Democratic | term = 1918–1923 }} {{U.S. judge succession row | name = Stayton | party = Democratic | term = 1923–1925 }} {{U.S. judge succession row | name = Speer | party = Democratic | term = 1925–1929 }} {{U.S. judge succession row | name = Ryan | party = Democratic | term = 1929–1937 }} {{U.S. judge succession row | name = Martin | party = Democratic | term = 1937–1939 }} {{U.S. judge succession row | name = Slatton | party = Democratic | term = 1939–1947 }} {{U.S. judge succession row | name = Hart | party = Democratic | term = 1947–1950 }} {{U.S. judge succession row | name = Smith | party = Democratic | term = 1950–1970 }} {{U.S. judge succession row | name = Daniel | party = Democratic | term = 1971–1978 }} {{U.S. judge succession row | name = Spears | party = Democratic | term = 1979–1990 }} {{U.S. judge succession row | name = [[John Cornyn|Cornyn]] | party = Republican | term = 1991–1997 }} {{U.S. judge succession row | name = Hankinson | party = Republican | term = 1997–2002 }} {{U.S. judge succession row | name = [[Dale Wainwright|Wainwright]] | party = Republican | term = 2002–2012 }} {{U.S. judge succession row | name = '''[[Jeffrey S. Boyd|Boyd]]''' | party = Republican | term = 2012–present }} {{end U.S. judge succession}} {{col-break}} {{start U.S. judge succession| seat title=Place 8}} {{U.S. judge succession note | text = Established in 1918 as Commissioner, Section A }} {{U.S. judge succession note | text = Made a Supreme Court judgeship in 1945 }} {{U.S. judge succession row | name = Sonfield | party = Democratic | term = 1918–1921 }} {{U.S. judge succession row | name = Gallagher | party = Democratic | term = 1921–1923 }} {{U.S. judge succession row | name = Blanks | party = Democratic | term = 1923–1924 }} {{U.S. judge succession row | name = Chapman | party = Democratic | term = 1924–1925 }} {{U.S. judge succession row | name = Nickels | party = Democratic | term = 1925–1929 }} {{U.S. judge succession row | name = Sharp | party = Democratic | term = 1929–1934 }} {{U.S. judge succession row | name = German | party = Democratic | term = 1935–1941 }} {{U.S. judge succession row | name = Brewster | party = Democratic | term = 1941–1957 }} {{U.S. judge succession row | name = Greenhill | party = Democratic | term = 1957–1972 }} {{U.S. judge succession row | name = H. Phillips | party = Democratic | term = 1972 }} {{U.S. judge succession row | name = S. Johnson | party = Democratic | term = 1973–1979 }} {{U.S. judge succession row | name = [[William Lockhart Garwood|Garwood]] | party = Republican | term = 1978–1980 }} {{U.S. judge succession row | name = Ray | party = Democratic | term = 1980–1990 }} {{U.S. judge succession row | name = Gammage | party = Democratic | term = 1990–1995 }} {{U.S. judge succession row | name = Baker | party = Republican | term = 1995–2002 }} {{U.S. judge succession row | name = [[Michael H. Schneider Sr.|Schneider]] | party = Republican | term = 2002–2004 }} {{U.S. judge succession row | name = [[Phil Johnson (judge)|P. Johnson]] | party = Republican | term = 2004–2018 }} {{U.S. judge succession row | name = '''[[J. Brett Busby|Busby]]''' | party = Republican | term = 2019–present }} {{end U.S. judge succession}} {{col-break}} {{start U.S. judge succession| seat title=Place 9}} {{U.S. judge succession note | text = Established in 1918 as Commissioner, Section A }} {{U.S. judge succession note | text = Made a Supreme Court judgeship in 1945 }} {{U.S. judge succession row | name = Strong | party = Democratic | term = 1918–1920 }} {{U.S. judge succession row | name = Spencer | party = Democratic | term = 1920–1923 }} {{U.S. judge succession row | name = German | party = Democratic | term = 1923–1925 }} {{U.S. judge succession row | name = Harvey | party = Democratic | term = 1925–1943 }} {{U.S. judge succession row | name = Folley | party = Democratic | term = 1943–1949 }} {{U.S. judge succession row | name = Griffin | party = Democratic | term = 1949–1968 }} {{U.S. judge succession row | name = McGee | party = Democratic | term = 1969–1986 }} {{U.S. judge succession row | name = Mauzy | party = Democratic | term = 1987–1992 }} {{U.S. judge succession row | name = [[Craig T. Enoch|Enoch]] | party = Republican | term = 1993–2003 }} {{U.S. judge succession row | name = [[Scott Brister|Brister]] | party = Republican | term = 2003–2009 }} {{U.S. judge succession row | name = [[Eva Guzman|Guzman]] | party = Republican | term = 2009–2021 }} {{U.S. judge succession row | name = '''vacant''' | party = N/A | term = 2021–present }} {{end U.S. judge succession}} {{col-end}} ==Supreme Court committees== '''[http://www.courts.state.tx.us/jcit/ Judicial Committee on Information Technology]''' (JCIT) Created in 1997 JCIT was established to set standards and guidelines for the systematic implementation and integration of information technology into the trial and appellate courts in Texas. JCIT approaches this mission by providing a forum for state-local, inter-branch, and public-private collaboration, and development of policy recommendations for the Supreme Court of Texas. Court technology, and the information it carries, are sprawling topics, and Texas is a diverse state with decentralized funding and decision-making for trial court technology. JCIT provides a forum for discussion of court technology and information projects. With this forum, JCIT reaches out to external partners such as the Conference of Urban Counties, the County Information Resource Agency, Texas.gov, and TIJIS (Texas Integrated Justice Information Systems), and advises or is consulted by the Office of Court Administration on a variety of projects. Three themes consistently recur in the JCIT conversation: expansion and governance of electronic filing; the evolution and proliferation of court case management systems; and the evolution and governance of technology standards for reporting and sharing information across systems in civil, family, juvenile, and criminal justice. The Founding Chair of JCIT from 1997 to 2009 was Peter S. Vogel, a partner at Gardere Wynne Sewell LLP in Dallas, and since 2009 the JCIT Chair has been [[Rebecca Simmons|Justice Rebecca Simmons]]. == Texas Supreme Court judicial elections == === 2020 === Two members of the Court (Chief Justice Hecht and Justice Boyd) were up for re-election in 2020, and two more (Busby and Bland) were on the ballot to seek voter approval to serve out the remainder of their respective unexpired terms, following their appointment to supreme court vacancies by Governor Abbott. Although there was some speculation about Texas turning blue in the [[2020 United States elections|November 3, 2020 general elections]], all GOP candidates in statewide races won, including the four Supreme Court incumbents.<ref>{{Cite web|last=Platoff|first=Emma|date=2020-11-04|title=Democrats' hopes of flipping Texas again fall short as Republicans dominate the state's 2020 elections|url=https://www.texastribune.org/2020/11/04/texas-republicans-election-results/|access-date=2020-11-13|website=The Texas Tribune|language=en}}</ref> === 2018 === While Republican incumbents suffered massive defeats in the Courts of Appeals on November 6, 2018, bringing about a switch of majorities from Republicans to Democrats in Dallas, Houston,<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.chron.com/news/houston-texas/houston/article/GOP-Free-Zone-Republican-judges-swept-out-by-13376806.php|title=Republican judges swept out by voters in Harris County election|last=Rogers|first=Brian|date=2018-11-08|website=Houston Chronicle|access-date=2019-12-23|archive-date=December 23, 2019|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20191223200322/https://www.chron.com/news/houston-texas/houston/article/GOP-Free-Zone-Republican-judges-swept-out-by-13376806.php|url-status=live}}</ref> and Austin, the three Republican incumbents on the Texas Supreme Court who faced the entire Texas electorate in statewide races won comfortably.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://ballotpedia.org/Texas_Supreme_Court_elections,_2018|title=Texas Supreme Court elections, 2018|website=Ballotpedia|language=en|access-date=2019-12-23|archive-date=January 3, 2019|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190103131426/https://ballotpedia.org/Texas_Supreme_Court_elections,_2018|url-status=live}}</ref> Incumbent John Devine prevailed over his opponent R.K. Sandill, a sitting district court judge of Asian-American descent in Houston, with 53.75% of the vote and secured a second term. Justice Jeff Brown beat off a challenge by Democratic candidate Kathy Cheng (who unlike her fellow Democratic challengers did not have comparable judicial experience) with the same vote margin. The high court's most recent appointed member, Jimmy Blacklock, defeated Steven Kirkland, who like Sandill serves as a district court judge in Houston, with 53.17% of the vote. Neither Sandill nor Kirkland were up for reelection this year and are expected to remain on their respective district court benches. Justice Blacklock faced the electorate for the first time, having recently been appointed. Blacklock was Governor Abbott's replacement for Justice Don Willett, who ascended to the Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals before his term on the Texas Supreme Court had expired, thus creating a vacancy and an opportunity for the Governor to fill it with an already-vetted candidate of his own. All appellate court races were clearly driven by party-line voting. That worked in favor of Republican incumbents at the statewide level as usual, but against Republican incumbents in the court of appeals, whose members are each elected from one of fourteen appellate districts. Some of those districts favored Democrats in the 2018 midterm elections, which entailed heavy Republican losses at the trial court level likewise.<ref>Texas Secretary of State 2018 General Election - Unofficial Election Results as of 11/7/2018 2:53 PM https://enrpages.sos.state.tx.us/public/nov06_331_state.htm?x=0&y=9589&id=472 {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20181108025902/https://enrpages.sos.state.tx.us/public/nov06_331_state.htm?x=0&y=9589&id=472 |date=November 8, 2018 }}</ref> Under the leadership of Governor Greg Abbott Texas Republicans have since moved to change the way Texas selects judges and justices in the major metropolitan jurisdictions.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.facingsouth.org/2019/11/texas-considers-ending-judicial-elections-democrats-gain-ground|title=Texas considers ending judicial elections as Democrats gain ground|date=2019-11-06|website=Facing South|language=en|access-date=2019-12-23|archive-date=December 24, 2019|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20191224051544/https://www.facingsouth.org/2019/11/texas-considers-ending-judicial-elections-democrats-gain-ground|url-status=live}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.texastribune.org/2019/07/15/texas-partisan-judicial-elections-reform-abbott-support/|title=State leaders again want to review how Texas elects judges. Will they end partisan judicial elections?|last=Platoff|first=Emma|date=2019-07-15|website=The Texas Tribune|language=en|access-date=2019-12-23|archive-date=December 23, 2019|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20191223200323/https://www.texastribune.org/2019/07/15/texas-partisan-judicial-elections-reform-abbott-support/|url-status=live}}</ref> Their legislative initiative to amend the Texas constitution to forestall Democratic gains in third branch of government was unsuccessful, but a commission was formed to look at alternative selection methods.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://capitol.texas.gov/tlodocs/86R/billtext/html/HB03040F.htm|title=86(R) HB 3040 - Enrolled version - Bill Text|website=capitol.texas.gov|access-date=2019-12-23|archive-date=December 23, 2019|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20191223200322/https://capitol.texas.gov/tlodocs/86R/billtext/html/HB03040F.htm|url-status=live}}</ref> === 2016 === The six-year terms of office of the members of the Texas Supreme Court are staggered. Three Republican incumbents—Green, Guzman, and Lehrmann were up for reelection in 2016 and won easily, as was expected, given the statewide nature of their electoral constituency in a Red state. Debra Lehrmann had been challenged by Michael Massengale, then a justice on the First Court of Appeals in Houston, in the Republican primary for not being conservative enough with respect to med-mal suits.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.texastribune.org/2016/02/09/supreme-court-races-incumbents-face-unusual-challe/|title=Three Supreme Court Justices Face Challenges|last=Rudner|first=Jordan|date=2016-02-09|website=The Texas Tribune|language=en|access-date=2019-11-21|archive-date=October 8, 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201008182451/https://www.texastribune.org/2016/02/09/supreme-court-races-incumbents-face-unusual-challe/|url-status=live}}</ref> Massengale later lost his re-election bid for the First Court of Appeals position to a Democrat, [https://www.txcourts.gov/1stcoa/about-the-court/justices/justice-richard-hightower/ Richard Hightower], in the Democratic sweep of the intermediate courts of appeals in November 2018. === 2014 === [[Texas]] is one of seven states that elects Supreme Court justices on partisan ballots. Four justices of the Texas Supreme Court faced re-election in 2014.<ref>{{cite web|title=Texas Supreme Court Elections 2014|url=http://judgepedia.org/Texas_Supreme_Court_elections,_2014|website=Judgepedia|access-date=October 28, 2014|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20141028214548/http://judgepedia.org/Texas_Supreme_Court_elections,_2014|archive-date=October 28, 2014|df=mdy-all}}</ref> Three of the four sitting Supreme Court Justices, Chief Justice [[Nathan Hecht]], [[Jeff Brown (judge)|Justice Jeff Brown]] and Justice [[Phil Johnson (judge)|Phil Johnson]], were required to defeat challengers in a March primary before the general election in November. The candidates challenging the incumbent Supreme Court Justices, according to reports filed with the [[Texas Ethics Commission]], were recruited for the election and funded by a [[Houston]] plaintiff lawyer and Ali Davari, owner of two strip clubs: Sexy City and Erotic Zone.<ref name=Yates>{{cite news|last1=Yates|first1=David|title=Lanier Law Firm funding challengers in Texas Supreme Court's GOP primary|url=http://legalnewsline.com/news/246777-lanier-law-firm-funding-challengers-in-texas-supreme-courts-gop-primary|access-date=October 28, 2014|work=Legal Newsline Legal Journal|date=January 27, 2014|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150306081409/http://legalnewsline.com/news/246777-lanier-law-firm-funding-challengers-in-texas-supreme-courts-gop-primary|archive-date=March 6, 2015|df=mdy-all}}</ref><ref name="Lobby Watch">{{cite web|title=Lawyer Cash, Racial Profiling Shape Supreme Court Races Plaintiff Lawyers, Strip-Club Mogul Fund GOP's John Devine|url=http://info.tpj.org/Lobby_Watch/pdf/Supremes2012Race.pdf|website=Texans For Public Justice|access-date=October 28, 2014|ref=Lobby Watch|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20141028223645/http://info.tpj.org/Lobby_Watch/pdf/Supremes2012Race.pdf|archive-date=October 28, 2014|df=mdy-all}}</ref> ''Texas for Lawsuit Reform'' commented on the Texas election by saying, "Plaintiff trial lawyers are making an unprecedented attempt to regain the control of the Supreme Court that they enjoyed in the 1970s and 1980s, when Texas was known as 'The Lawsuit Capitol of the World.'" Also, an airing of [[60 Minutes|Sixty Minutes]] entitled ''Justice for Sale'' gave a devastating critique of the Texas Supreme Court.<ref name=TLR>{{cite web|last1=Trabulsi Jr.|first1=Richard|title=Re-Election of Texas Supreme Court Justices in 2014 Is Critically Important|url=http://www.tlrpac.com/press-release/re-election-texas-supreme-court-justices-2014-critically-important|website=Texans for Lawsuit Reform: Political Action Committee|access-date=October 28, 2014|ref=Texans for Lawsuit Reform|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20141028225931/http://www.tlrpac.com/press-release/re-election-texas-supreme-court-justices-2014-critically-important|archive-date=October 28, 2014|df=mdy-all}}</ref> [[Houston]] plaintiff lawyer [[W. Mark Lanier|Mark Lanier]], funded the bulk of the campaign to remove the Texas Supreme Court and business groups. Funding was disclosed in an article titled "Plaintiff Trial Lawyers Attempt to Distort Role of Judges and Juries".<ref name=TLR2>{{cite web|title=Plaintiff Trial Lawyers Attempt to Distort Role of Judges and Juries|url=http://www.tortreform.com/advocate/tlr-advocate-summer-2014#Plaintiff|website=TLR: Texans for Lawsuit Reform|access-date=October 28, 2014|ref=TLR.com|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20141018195841/http://www.tortreform.com/advocate/tlr-advocate-summer-2014#Plaintiff|archive-date=October 18, 2014|df=mdy-all}}</ref> In the years preceding the Texas Judicial Election, [[W. Mark Lanier|Lanier]] had become a vocal critic of the Texas Supreme Court after the Supreme Court reversed his signature trial verdict against [[Merck & Co.]] on behalf of a widow whose husband died after taking [[Rofecoxib|Vioxx]].<ref name="New York Times">{{cite news|last1=Berenson|first1=Alex|title=Courts Reject Two Major Vioxx Verdicts|url=https://www.nytimes.com/2008/05/30/business/30drug.html?_r=1&|access-date=October 28, 2014|work=New York Times.com|date=May 30, 2008|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180504231009/https://www.nytimes.com/2008/05/30/business/30drug.html?_r=1&|archive-date=May 4, 2018|df=mdy-all}}</ref> After [[W. Mark Lanier|Lanier]] suffered a second high-profile loss of a [[Rofecoxib|Vioxx]] case, in which the Fourteenth Court of Appeals in Houston concluded in MERCK & CO., INC. v. Ernst, a wrongful death case by a widow, that [[W. Mark Lanier|Lanier]] failed to show that the ingestion of [[Rofecoxib|Vioxx]] caused the death of his client's spouse.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.search.txcourts.gov/SearchMedia.aspx?MediaVersionID=96340519-ccd1-4d2d-b9cf-704a01f1a124&coa=coa14&DT=Opinion&MediaID=2923daf8-724a-4036-9392-09b63216ccd5|title=Opinion of May, 29, 2008 Withdrawn|website=www.search.txcourts.gov|access-date=May 4, 2018|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180328104727/http://www.search.txcourts.gov/SearchMedia.aspx?MediaVersionID=96340519-ccd1-4d2d-b9cf-704a01f1a124&coa=coa14&DT=Opinion&MediaID=2923daf8-724a-4036-9392-09b63216ccd5|archive-date=March 28, 2018|df=mdy-all}}</ref><ref name=Longstreth>{{cite web|last1=Longstreth|first1=Andrew|title=Mark Lanier's Faith Tested: He Loses Two Vioxx Appeals in One Day|url=http://amlawdaily.typepad.com/amlawdaily/2008/05/mark-laniers-ba.html|website=The AM Law Daily|access-date=October 28, 2014|date=May 29, 2008|url-status=live|archive-url=http://archive.wikiwix.com/cache/20141029143556/http://amlawdaily.typepad.com/amlawdaily/2008/05/mark-laniers-ba.html|archive-date=October 29, 2014|df=mdy-all}}</ref> [[W. Mark Lanier|Lanier's]] publicly criticized the Texas Supreme Court stating that it employs "a simpleton approach that basically white washes the trial, ignores the evidence, and is very conclusion based".<ref name="Longstreth" /> [[W. Mark Lanier|Lanier]] responded to the appellate setbacks in a press release: {{blockquote|Activist judges are protecting corporate executives and stripping away the rights of widows and every other victim of corporate misconduct…This decision was handed down by a group of judges who regularly accept campaign contributions from law firms representing corporations that appear in their courts. We will appeal this decision to the United States Supreme Court if necessary.<ref name="Longstreth" />}} All judicial challengers recruited and funded by the Texas plaintiff lawyers lost to the incumbent Texas Supreme Court justices who won the 2014 Texas election.<ref>{{cite web|last1=Bachelder|first1=Kate|title=Stacking the Texas Supreme Court|url=http://parkercountyblog.com/2014/02/28/stacking-the-texas-supreme-court/|website=Parker County Blog|publisher=The Wall Street Journal|access-date=October 28, 2014|date=February 26, 2014|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20141028225411/http://parkercountyblog.com/2014/02/28/stacking-the-texas-supreme-court/|archive-date=October 28, 2014|df=mdy-all}}</ref> ==School funding decision== In May 2016, in a 100-page ruling, the Supreme Court ruled that public school financing, a long-term political issue in Texas, is imperfect but constitutional. Specifically, the court ruled that the funding "satisfies minimum constitutional requirements". More than half of the school districts across the state had wanted the court to force the [[Texas State Legislature]] to guarantee equal tax revenues to wealthy and poorer districts alike. The court, which has only one Democrat member among the nine justices, said that legislators must tackle school funding and not expect the court to make specific policy decisions.<ref>Andrea Zelinski and Mike Ward, "School financing system left intact: Court says it's awful but constitutional", ''[[San Antonio Express-News]]'', May 14, 2016, pp. 1, A7</ref> ==References== {{Reflist|2}} ==Further reading== * Haley, James L. ''The Texas Supreme Court: A Narrative History, 1836–1986'' (Austin: University of Texas Press, 2013). xxviii, 322 pp. ==External links== {{Portal|Texas|Law}} * [http://www.txcourts.gov/supreme Official Website for the Texas Supreme Court] Texas Supreme Court History: Links to Resources<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.txcourts.gov/supreme/about-the-court/court-history/|title=TJB - SC - About the Court - Court History|website=www.txcourts.gov|access-date=May 4, 2018|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180403114258/http://www.txcourts.gov/supreme/about-the-court/court-history|archive-date=April 3, 2018|df=mdy-all}}</ref> * [http://www.txcourts.gov/supreme/about-the-court/court-history] * [http://texashistory.unt.edu/browse/collection/TXRPT/ The Texas Reports, the decisions of the Texas Supreme Court from 1846 to 1885], hosted by the [http://texashistory.unt.edu/ Portal to Texas History] * [http://www.tshaonline.org/handbook/online/articles/jzj01 "Judiciary" (by Paul Womack) from ''The Handbook of Texas Online''] ([[Texas State Historical Association]]) * [http://www.texascourthistory.org/ Texas Supreme Court Historical Society] {{State agencies of Texas}} {{US Judiciaries}} {{authority control}} [[Category:State supreme courts of the United States|Texas]] [[Category:Texas state courts]] [[Category:1840 establishments in the Republic of Texas]] [[Category:Government agencies established in 1840]]'