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'{{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 = 1840<ref>http://www.supreme.courts.state.tx.us/advisories/anniversary_011310.htm</ref> | country = [[Texas]] {{flagicon|Texas}}, United States {{flagicon|USA}} | location = [[Austin, Texas]] | coordinates = | type = | authority = [[Texas Constitution]] | appeals = [[Supreme Court of the United States]] | terms = | positions = | website = http://www.supreme.courts.state.tx.us/ | chiefjudgetitle = Chief Justice | chiefjudgename = [[Nathan Hecht]] | termstart = October 1, 2013 | termend = | termend2 = }} [[File:TexasSupremeCourtBuilding.JPG|thumb|Texas Supreme Court Building]] The '''Supreme Court of Texas''' is the [[supreme court|court of last resort]] for civil matters (including [[juvenile delinquency]] which the law considers to be a [[Civil procedure|civil matter]] and not [[Criminal procedure|criminal]]) in the state of [[Texas]]. A different court, the [[Texas Court of Criminal Appeals]], is the court of last resort for criminal matters in the State of Texas. The Court is composed of a Chief Justice and eight Associate Justices. The Court meets in [[Downtown Austin|Downtown]] [[Austin, Texas]] in a building located on the state Capitol grounds, behind the [[Texas State Capitol]]. ==Regulation of the legal profession in Texas== 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> and 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 examination.<ref>Tex. Gov't Code section 82.004.</ref> ==Justices of the Court== The Court has a [[Chief Justice]] and eight associate justices. Each member of the Court 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]] is appointed by the Justices and serves a four-year term. ===Election of members of the Court=== The Chief Justice and the associate justices are elected to staggered six-year terms in state-wide partisan [[elections in Texas|elections]]. When a vacancy arises the [[Governor of Texas]] may appoint Justices, subject to Senate confirmation, to serve out the remainder of an unexpired term until the next general election. {{As of|2010}}, six of the current Justices, a majority, were originally appointed by [[Governor]] [[Rick Perry]]. The current Justices, like all the Judges of the [[Texas Court of Criminal Appeals]] except for [[Lawrence E. Meyers]], are all [[United States Republican Party|Republican]]. The place numbers have no special meaning as all justices are elected state-wide, except that the Chief Justice position is considered "Place 1". ===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-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>http://www.tshaonline.org/handbook/online/articles/jpa01</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|accessdate=July 16, 2013}}</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|accessdate = July 16, 2013}}</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|accessdate = July 16, 2013}}</ref> ===Current Justices=== {| class="wikitable" |- ! Justice !! Party Affiliation !! Place!! Date Service Began !! Term Ends |- | <center>[[Nathan L. Hecht]] || {{party shading/Republican}}|<center>Republican || <center>Chief Justice || <center>January 1, 1989|| <center>2014 |- | <center>[[Don R. Willett]] || {{party shading/Republican}}|<center>Republican || <center>2 || <center>August 24, 2005 || <center>2018 |- | <center>[[Debra Lehrmann]] || {{party shading/Republican}}|<center>Republican || <center>3 || <center>June 21, 2010|| <center>2016 |- | <center>[[John P. Devine]] || {{party shading/Republican}}|<center>Republican || <center>4 || <center>January 1, 2013 || <center>2018 |- | <center>[[Paul W. Green]] || {{party shading/Republican}}|<center>Republican || <center>5 || <center>January 1, 2005 || <center>2016 |- | <center>[[Jeff Brown (judge)|Jeff Brown]] || {{party shading/Republican}}|<center>Republican || <center>6 || <center>October 3, 2013 || <center>2014{{efn|Term ends in 2018 but must run in 2014 to keep position}} |- | <center>[[Jeffrey S. Boyd]] || {{party shading/Republican}}|<center>Republican || <center>7 || <center>December 3, 2012 || <center>2014 |- | <center>[[Phil Johnson (judge)|Phil Johnson]] || {{party shading/Republican}}|<center>Republican || <center>8 || <center>April 11, 2005 || <center>2014 |- | <center>[[Eva Guzman]] || {{party shading/Republican}}|<center>Republican || <center>9 || <center>October 8, 2009 || <center>2016 |} {{notelist}} ===History of membership of the Court=== {{main|History of membership 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 L. Hecht|Hecht]]''' | party = Republican | term = 2004-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 = 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-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 = 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 = R. Gonzales | party = Democratic | term = 1984-1998 }} {{U.S. judge succession row | name = [[Alberto Gonzales|A. 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]]''' | 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-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–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 = 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-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-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 1997-2009 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]]. ==2014 Texas Supreme Court Judicial Election== [[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|accessdate=28 October 2014}}</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|accessdate=28 October 2014|work=Legal Newsline Legal Journal|date=Jan 27, 2014}}</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|accessdate=28 October 2014|ref=Lobby Watch}}</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|accessdate=28 October 2014|ref=Texans for Lawsuit Reform}}</ref> [[Houston]] plaintiff lawyer [[W. Mark Lanier|Mark Lanier]], along with employees, relatives, and associates of his law firm, 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|accessdate=28 October 2014|ref=TLR.com}}</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=http://www.nytimes.com/2008/05/30/business/30drug.html?_r=1&|accessdate=28 October 2014|work=New York Times.com|publisher=New York Times|date=May 30, 2008}}</ref> After [[W. Mark Lanier|Lanier]] suffered a second high profile loss of a [[Rofecoxib|Vioxx]] case, in which the Court said that [[W. Mark Lanier|Lanier]], “failed to show,” that the ingestion of [[Rofecoxib|Vioxx]] caused his client’s death. Chief Justice Adele Hedges wrote that [[W. Mark Lanier|Lanier's]] client deserved nothing because he had not proven that [[Rofecoxib|Vioxx]] caused heart attack.<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|accessdate=28 October 2014|date=May 29, 2008}}</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’s]] retaliated against the Supreme Court decision 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" />}} [[W. Mark Lanier|Lanier's]] ultimately lost all of his [[Rofecoxib|Vioxx]] appeals, and disputed the $315 million awarded in legal fees in the national [[Rofecoxib|Vioxx]] litigation.<ref name=Searcey>{{cite web|last1=Searcey|first1=Dionne|title=The Vioxx Endgame: It’s All About the Fees|url=http://blogs.wsj.com/law/2011/03/03/the-vioxx-endgame-its-all-about-the-fees/|website=The Wall Street Journal: Law Blog|accessdate=28 October 2014|ref=The Wall Street Journal}}</ref> Ultimately, a federal judge was required to resolve the fierce fee dispute between plaintiff lawyers over attorney fees.<ref>{{cite news|last1=Frankel|first1=Alison|title=Vioxx judge steps in to split $350 ml plaintiffs lawyer pie|url=http://blogs.reuters.com/alison-frankel/2011/08/11/vioxx-judge-steps-in-to-split-350-ml-plaintiffs-lawyer-pie/|accessdate=28 October 2014|work=Reuters.com US|publisher=Reuters|date=August 11, 2011|ref=Frankel}}</ref> The Texas Supreme Court reversal of the [[Rofecoxib|Vioxx]] cases, along with the historic attorney fee dispute over $315 million in [[Attorney's fee|attorney fees]] in the [[Rofecoxib|Vioxx]] case, led scholars to consider tort reform and a [[federal judge]] to order the capping [[Attorney's fee|attorney fees]].<ref name=TLR2 /> Articles on the subject include "The Vioxx Litigation: A Critical Look at Trial Tactics, the Tort System, and the Roles of Lawyers in Mass Tort Litigation"<ref name=McClellan>{{cite web|last1=McClellan|first1=Frank|title=The Vioxx Litigation: A Critical Look at Trial Tactics, the Tort System, and the Roles of Lawyers in Mass Tort Litigation|url=http://papers.ssrn.com/sol3/papers.cfm?abstract_id=1861337|website=SSRN: Social Science Research Network|publisher=De Paul Law Review|accessdate=28 October 2014|ref=SSRN}}</ref> and "10 Years of Tort Reform in Texas Bring Fewer Suits, Lower Payouts"<ref>{{cite web|title=10 Years of Tort Reform in Texas Bring Fewer Suits, Lower Payouts|url=http://www.insurancejournal.com/news/southcentral/2013/09/03/303718.htm|website=Insurance Journal|publisher=Associated Press|accessdate=28 October 2014|date=September 3, 2013}}</ref> 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|accessdate=28 October 2014|date=February 26, 2014}}</ref> ==Notes== {{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.supreme.courts.state.tx.us/ Official Website for the Texas Supreme Court] * [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] {{coord|30.275853|-97.741054|region:US_type:landmark|display=title}} {{State agencies of Texas}} {{US Judiciaries}} [[Category:State supreme courts of the United States|Texas]] [[Category:Texas state courts]]'