Texas Court of Criminal Appeals

Texas Court of Criminal Appeals
Court Information
Justices: 9
Founded: 1876
Location: Austin
Salary
Chief: $171,000 Associates: $168,000
Judicial Selection
Method: Partisan election of judges
Term: 6 years
Active justices
Barbara Hervey Bert Richardson David Newell (Texas) Jesse McClure Kevin Patrick Yeary Mary Lou Keel Michelle Slaughter Scott Walker (Texas) Sharon Keller

Judges of the Texas Court of Criminal Appeals

Founded in 1876, the Texas Court of Criminal Appeals is the state's court of last resort for criminal matters and has nine judgeships. The current chief of the court is Sharon Keller. In 2018, the court decided 6,231 cases.

As of January 2021, all nine judges on the court identified with the Republican party.

Texas has a Republican state government trifecta. A trifecta exists when one political party simultaneously holds the governor’s office and majorities in both state legislative chambers. As of April 8, 2021, there are 23 Republican trifectas, 15 Democratic trifectas, and 12 divided governments where neither party holds trifecta control.

In the 2020 election, Republicans had a net gain of two trifectas and two states under divided government became trifectas. Prior to that election, Texas had a Republican trifecta. There were 21 Republican trifectas, 15 Democratic trifectas, and 14 divided governments.

Jurisdiction

Courthouse of the Texas Supreme Court and the Texas Court of Criminal Appeals in Austin

The Texas Supreme Court has jurisdiction over all civil cases, while the Court of Criminal Appeals exercises discretionary review over criminal cases. This means the court may choose whether or not to review a case. The only cases that the court must hear are those that involve sentencing decisions in capital punishment cases and other cases involving liberty issues, such capital punishment cases, cases where bail has been denied and habeas cases where a prisoner or person being detained attempts to prove some constitutional right has been violated as a result of their detention. The court is based in the state capital, Austin, and includes nine judges. Article V of the Texas Constitution vests the judicial power of the state in the court, describes the court's jurisdiction. It also details the rules for judicial eligibility, elections and filling vacancies on the court between elections.

The Texas Court of Criminal Appeals hears both mandatory and discretionary cases. "All cases that result in the death penalty are automatically directed to the Court of Criminal Appeals from the trial court level. A significant portion of the Court’s workload also involves the mandatory review of applications for post conviction habeas corpus relief in felony cases without a death penalty, over which the Court has sole authority. In addition, decisions made by the intermediate courts of appeals in criminal cases may be appealed to the Court of Criminal Appeals by petition for discretionary review, which may be filed by the State, the defendant, or both. However, the Court may also review a decision on its own motion."

The following text from Article V, Section 5 of the Texas Constitution covers the organization and jurisdiction of the court:

“	Jurisdiction of Court of Criminal Appeals; Terms of Court; Clerk (a) The Court of Criminal Appeals shall have final appellate jurisdiction coextensive with the limits of the state, and its determinations shall be final, in all criminal cases of whatever grade, with such exceptions and under such regulations as may be provided in this Constitution or as prescribed by law. (b) The appeal of all cases in which the death penalty has been assessed shall be to the Court of Criminal Appeals. The appeal of all other criminal cases shall be to the Courts of Appeal as prescribed by law. In addition, the Court of Criminal Appeals may, on its own motion, review a decision of a Court of Appeals in a criminal case as provided by law. Discretionary review by the Court of Criminal Appeals is not a matter of right, but of sound judicial discretion. (c) Subject to such regulations as may be prescribed by law, the Court of Criminal Appeals and the Judges thereof shall have the power to issue the writ of habeas corpus, and, in criminal law matters, the writs of mandamus, procedendo, prohibition, and certiorari. The Court and the Judges thereof shall have the power to issue such other writs as may be necessary to protect its jurisdiction or enforce its judgments. The court shall have the power upon affidavit or otherwise to ascertain such matters of fact as may be necessary to the exercise of its jurisdiction.	”
—Texas Constitution, Article V, Section 5

Judges

The court is composed of a presiding judge and eight judges. Each judge serves a six-year term. They are elected in staggered partisan elections.

Judge	Appointed By
Bert Richardson	Elected
Kevin Patrick Yeary	Elected
David Newell	Elected
Barbara Hervey	Elected
Michelle Slaughter	Elected
Sharon Keller	Elected
Scott Walker	Elected
Mary Lou Keel	Elected
Jesse McClure	Greg Abbott (R)

Judicial selection

All judges in Texas are chosen in partisan elections. The governor, subject to senate confirmation, may appoint a judge to serve out the remainder of any unexpired term until the next general election.

Qualifications

A qualified candidate must be between 35 and 74 years of age, a United States citizen and a citizen of Texas. Judicial candidates must also be licensed to practice law in the state and have practiced law for at least ten years.

Presiding judge

The position of presiding judge is a separately designated elected seat. Sharon Keller is the presiding judge of the Texas Court of Criminal Appeals. Judge Keller is a Republican. She was the first woman judge elected to the Texas Court of Criminal Appeals in 1994. She was elected presiding judge in 2004 and re-elected in 2006.

Elections

In Texas, judges are appointed to fill midterm vacancies. Newly appointed judges must stand in the following general election to serve the remainder of their predecessor's term. After the term expires, justices must win another partisan general election to gain their first full, six-year term.

2020

See also: Texas Supreme Court elections, 2020

Texas is one of two states with two courts of last resort. The terms of four Texas Supreme Court justices expired on December 31, 2020. The terms of three Texas Court of Criminal Appeals justices expired on December 31, 2020. All seven seats were up for partisan election on November 3, 2020. A primary was scheduled for March 3, 2020, and a primary runoff was scheduled for July 14, 2020.

Judges with expiring terms

This is a list of the justices who had to stand for partisan election in 2020 in order to remain on the bench. Justices could choose not to stand for election.

Texas Supreme Court
■ Jeffrey S. Boyd
■ Brett Busby
■ Nathan Hecht
■ Jane Bland

Texas Court of Criminal Appeals
■ David Newell
■ Bert Richardson
■ Kevin Patrick Yeary

2018

See also: Texas Supreme Court elections, 2018

Presiding judge

General election

General election for Texas Court of Criminal Appeals Presiding Judge

Incumbent Sharon Keller defeated Maria T. Jackson and William Bryan Strange in the general election for Texas Court of Criminal Appeals Presiding Judge on November 6, 2018.

		Candidate	%	Votes
✔		Sharon Keller (R)	52.2	4,288,913
		Maria T. Jackson (D)	45.5	3,734,179
		William Bryan Strange (L)	2.3	187,384

---

Incumbents are bolded and underlined. The results have been certified. Source

Total votes: 8,210,476

Democratic primary election

Democratic primary for Texas Court of Criminal Appeals Presiding Judge

Maria T. Jackson advanced from the Democratic primary for Texas Court of Criminal Appeals Presiding Judge on March 6, 2018.

		Candidate
✔		Maria T. Jackson

---

There were no incumbents in this race. The results have been certified.

Republican primary election

Republican primary for Texas Court of Criminal Appeals Presiding Judge

Incumbent Sharon Keller defeated David Bridges in the Republican primary for Texas Court of Criminal Appeals Presiding Judge on March 6, 2018.

		Candidate	%	Votes
✔		Sharon Keller	52.1	671,361
		David Bridges	47.9	616,096

---

Incumbents are bolded and underlined. The results have been certified.

Total votes: 1,287,457

Place 7

General election

General election for Texas Court of Criminal Appeals Place 7

Incumbent Barbara Hervey defeated Ramona Franklin in the general election for Texas Court of Criminal Appeals Place 7 on November 6, 2018.

		Candidate	%	Votes
✔		Barbara Hervey (R)	54.2	4,429,113
		Ramona Franklin (D)	45.8	3,750,114

---

Incumbents are bolded and underlined. The results have been certified. Source

Total votes: 8,179,227

Democratic primary election

Democratic primary for Texas Court of Criminal Appeals Place 7

Ramona Franklin advanced from the Democratic primary for Texas Court of Criminal Appeals Place 7 on March 6, 2018.

		Candidate
✔		Ramona Franklin

---

There were no incumbents in this race. The results have been certified.

Republican primary election

Republican primary for Texas Court of Criminal Appeals Place 7

Incumbent Barbara Hervey advanced from the Republican primary for Texas Court of Criminal Appeals Place 7 on March 6, 2018.

		Candidate
✔		Barbara Hervey

---

Incumbents are bolded and underlined. The results have been certified.

Place 8

General election

General election for Texas Court of Criminal Appeals Place 8

Michelle Slaughter defeated Mark Ash in the general election for Texas Court of Criminal Appeals Place 8 on November 6, 2018.

		Candidate	%	Votes
✔		Michelle Slaughter (R)	74.7	4,760,576
		Mark Ash (L)	25.3	1,614,119

---

There were no incumbents in this race. The results have been certified. Source

Total votes: 6,374,695

Republican primary election

Republican primary for Texas Court of Criminal Appeals Place 8

Michelle Slaughter defeated Jay Brandon and Dib Waldrip in the Republican primary for Texas Court of Criminal Appeals Place 8 on March 6, 2018.

		Candidate	%	Votes
✔		Michelle Slaughter	52.8	666,763
		Jay Brandon	30.7	387,751
		Dib Waldrip	16.4	207,209

---

There were no incumbents in this race. The results have been certified.

Total votes: 1,261,723

2016

Main article: Texas Court of Criminal Appeals elections, 2016

Three seats on the Texas Court of Criminal Appeals were on the general election ballot on November 8, 2016. These seats were held by Lawrence Meyers (D), Cheryl Johnson (R), and Michael Keasler (R) heading into the election. Each justice elected to the court serves a six-year term. The court had an 8-1 Republican majority heading into the election.

General election candidates

Place 2

■ Lawrence Meyers (D) (Incumbent)
■ Mary Lou Keel (R)
■ Mark Ash (Lib.)
■ Adam Reposa (Green)

Place 5

■ Betsy Johnson (D)
■ Scott Walker (R)
■ William Bryan Strange (Lib.)
■ Judith Sanders-Castro (Green)

Place 6

■ Robert D. Burns III (D)
■ Michael Keasler (R) (Incumbent)
■ Mark Bennett (Lib.)

Election results

November 8 general election

Mary Lou Keel defeated incumbent Lawrence Meyers, Mark Ash and Adam Reposa in the general election for the Texas Court of Criminal Appeals, Place 2.

Texas Court of Criminal Appeals, Place 2, 2016
Party		Candidate	Vote %	Votes
	Republican	Mary Lou Keel	54.88%	4,790,800
	Democratic	Lawrence Meyers Incumbent	40.05%	3,496,205
	Libertarian	Mark Ash	3.68%	321,568
	Green	Adam Reposa	1.39%	121,467
Total Votes (100% reporting)				8,730,040
Source: Texas Secretary of State Official Results

Scott Walker (Texas) defeated Betsy Johnson (Texas), William Bryan Strange and Judith Sanders-Castro in the general election for the Texas Court of Criminal Appeals, Place 5.

Texas Court of Criminal Appeals, Place 5, 2016
Party		Candidate	Vote %	Votes
	Republican	Scott Walker (Texas)	54.75%	4,782,144
	Democratic	Betsy Johnson (Texas)	40.20%	3,511,950
	Libertarian	William Bryan Strange	2.84%	248,109
	Green	Judith Sanders-Castro	2.21%	192,913
Total Votes (100% reporting)				8,735,116
Source: Texas Secretary of State Official Results

Incumbent Michael Keasler defeated Robert D. Burns III and Mark Bennett (Texas) in the general election for the Texas Court of Criminal Appeals, Place 6.

Texas Court of Criminal Appeals, Place 6, 2016
Party		Candidate	Vote %	Votes
	Republican	Michael Keasler Incumbent	54.97%	4,785,012
	Democratic	Robert D. Burns III	40.89%	3,558,844
	Libertarian	Mark Bennett (Texas)	4.14%	360,167
Total Votes (100% reporting)				8,704,023
Source: Texas Secretary of State Official Results

May 24 primary runoff

Place 2

Texas Court of Criminal Appeals Republican Runoff, Place 2, 2016
Party		Candidate	Vote %	Votes
	Republican	Mary Lou Keel	50.87%	184,405
	Republican	Ray Wheless	49.13%	178,114
Total Votes (100% Reporting)				362,519
Source: Texas Secretary of State Official Results

Place 5

Texas Court of Criminal Appeals Republican Runoff, Place 5, 2016
Party		Candidate	Vote %	Votes
	Republican	Scott Walker (Texas)	58.02%	206,922
	Republican	Brent Webster	41.98%	149,714
Total Votes (100% Reporting)				356,636
Source: Texas Secretary of State Official Results

March 1 primary election

Place 2

Texas Court of Criminal Appeals, Place 2, Republican Primary, 2016
Party		Candidate	Vote %	Votes
	Republican	Mary Lou Keel	39.42%	785,448
	Republican	Ray Wheless	35.43%	705,909
	Republican	Chris Oldner	25.15%	501,063
Total Votes (100% Reporting)				1,992,420
Source: Texas Secretary of State Official Results

Texas Court of Criminal Appeals, Place 2, Democratic Primary, 2016
Party		Candidate	Vote %	Votes
	Democratic	Lawrence Meyers Incumbent (unopposed)	100.00%	971,670
Total Votes (100% Reporting)				971,670
Source: Texas Secretary of State Official Results

Place 5

Texas Court of Criminal Appeals, Place 5, Republican Primary, 2016
Party		Candidate	Vote %	Votes
	Republican	Scott Walker	41.48%	833,757
	Republican	Brent Webster	20.45%	411,119
	Republican	Steve Smith	19.60%	393,992
	Republican	Sid Harle	18.47%	371,303
Total Votes (100% Reporting)				2,010,171
Source: Texas Secretary of State Official Results

Texas Court of Criminal Appeals, Place 5, Democratic Primary, 2016
Party		Candidate	Vote %	Votes
	Democratic	Betsy Johnson  (unopposed)	100.00%	985,406
Total Votes (100% Reporting)				985,406
Source: Texas Secretary of State Official Results

Place 6

Texas Court of Criminal Appeals, Place 6, Republican Primary, 2016
Party		Candidate	Vote %	Votes
	Republican	Michael Keasler Incumbent	56.87%	1,102,194
	Republican	Richard Dean Davis	43.13%	835,758
Total Votes (100% Reporting)				1,937,952
Source: Texas Secretary of State Official Results

Texas Court of Criminal Appeals, Place 6, Democratic Primary, 2016
Party		Candidate	Vote %	Votes
	Democratic	Robert D. Burns III  (unopposed)	100.00%	958,408
Total Votes (100% Reporting)				958,408
Source: Texas Secretary of State Official Results

2014

See also Texas judicial elections, 2014

Place 3

Candidate	Incumbency	Party	Primary Vote	Election Vote
WaltherBarbara Walther	No	Republican	39.6%
BennettMark Bennett (Texas)	No	Libertarian		3.6%   D
GranbergJohn Granberg	No	Democratic	100%A	36.5%   D
RichardsonBert RichardsonA	No	Republican	60.4%A	59.8%   A

Place 4

Candidate	Incumbency	Party	Primary Vote	Election Vote
YearyKevin Patrick YearyA	No	Republican	54.7%A	76.2%   A
DavisRichard Dean Davis	No	Republican	28.0%
Sanders-CastroJudith Sanders-Castro	No	Green		10.4%   D
ParkerQuanah Parker	No	Libertarian		13.3%   D
WoodJani Jo Wood	No	Republican	17.4%

Place 9

Candidate	Incumbency	Party	Primary Vote	Election Vote
KirkendallWilliam Kirkendall	No	Republican	47.7%
StrangeWilliam Bryan Strange	No	Libertarian		13.1%   D
NewellDavid NewellA	No	Republican	52.3%A	78.3%   A

• Election history, 2012 (click to expand)

  2012

  Candidate	Incumbency	Party	Place	Primary Vote	Election Vote
  HerveyBarbara Hervey   A	Yes	Republican	Place 7	100%A	77.9%   A
  AlcalaElsa Alcala   A	Yes	Republican	Place 8	100%A	78.1%   A
  HamptonKeith Hampton	No	Democratic	Presiding Judge	100%A	41.2%   A
  StottLance Stott	No	Libertarian	Presiding Judge		3.3%   A
  BennettMark Bennett (Texas)	No	Libertarian	Place 6		22.1%   A
  KellerSharon Keller   A	Yes	Republican		100%A	55.5%   A
  StrangeWilliam Bryan Strange	No	Libertarian	Place 5		21.9%   A

Caseloads

The table below details the number of cases filed with the court and the number of dispositions (decisions) the court reached in each year.

Texas Court of Criminal Appeals caseload data
Year	Filings	Dispositions
2018	5,957	6,231
2017	6,380	6,375
2016	6,838	6,849
2015	6,908	6,876
2014	7,246	7,299
2013	7,661	7,855
2012	7,762	7,502
2011	7,169	7,147
2010	6,903	6,823
2009	7,644	7,914
2008	8,189	8,416
2007	9,047	9,222

Noteworthy cases

The following are noteworthy cases heard before the Texas Supreme Court. For a full list of opinions published by the court, click here. Know of a case we should cover here? Let us know by emailing us.

• A third party informant is enough to obtain a warrant, Texas high court rules (2013)	Click for summary→
Police officers in Texas may now acquire search warrants "based on predictions of the commission of future crimes," wrote a dissenting judge in an opinion from the Texas Court of Criminal Appeals. The court's December 11 ruling closed a case that began in the summer of 2010, when Parker County police walked into the home of Mark Wehrenberg without a warrant and arrested him and his associates. The police, having received a confidential tip revealing Wehrenberg's plans to cook methamphetamine, had staked out the home for a month prior to making the arrests. Only afterwards did the police seek a warrant to confiscate the meth-making supplies, which included ammonia, rock salt, stripped lithium batteries, clear tubing, funnels and boxes of pseudoephedrine. On the warrant application, however, the police neglected to mention that they had entered Wehrenberg's home before receiving authorization to do so, noting only the testimony of the confidential informant. During Wehrenberg's trial, his lawyer asserted that the material evidence was invalid because it was found during an illegal search. The trial court judge overruled this claim, citing a federal independent source doctrine which validates such evidence when a third party has informed police about it beforehand. Wehrenberg was sentenced to five years in prison, pleading guilty to possession and intent to manufacture. Upon appeal, the Second District Court of Appeals overturned the ruling, but the December decision by the high court has allowed the original ruling to stand. Republican Judge Elsa Alcala penned the majority opinion, which again cited federal precedent. The opinion explained that the illegally-obtained evidence, normally not admissible in court, may be admitted through the independent source doctrine because it was later obtained lawfully. Judge Lawrence Meyers, the only dissenter, reasoned that the police only applied for the warrant because they had previously entered the house and seen the evidence, and that the third party tip was functionally a prediction and not a confirmation. He wrote in the dissent: “ Had the officers entered the home and found the occupants only baking cupcakes, the officers would not have bothered to then obtain the warrant at all. It was only after unlawfully entering and finding suspicious activity that they felt the need to then secure the warrant in order to cover their tracks and collect the evidence without the taint of their entry. ”

History of the court

The Texas Constitution of 1876 alleviated the heavy civil caseload of the Supreme Court of Texas. Article V of the constitution established a three judge court of appeals to hear all appellate criminal cases. In 1891, Texas voters approved an amendment to keep the Supreme Court and established the Court of Civil Appeals. The Texas Court of Criminal Appeals was the state's highest criminal court, and its three judges were elected to six-year terms. In 1978, a constitutional amendment increased the size of the Court of Criminal Appeals to nine judges.

Former justices

All former justices of the Texas Court of Criminal Appeals:	click for list →
Name:	Dates served:
Michael Keasler	1999-2020
Tom Price	1996-2014
Michael Jerry McCormick	1981-2000
Bill Marvin White	1985-1997
Samuel Houston Clinton, Jr.	1979-1996
Charles Frankin ("Chuck") Campbell	1983-1994
Charles Edward ("Chuck") Miller	1983-1994
Marvin Odell Teague	1981-1991
W. C. ("Bill") Davis	1978-1990
John Frank ("Jack") Onion, Jr.	1967-1988
Thomas Gilmer Davis	1977-1987
Wendell Albert Odom	1971-1984
Carl E. F. Dally	1978-1983
Truman Ernest Roberts	1971-1982
William T. Phillips	1976-1980
Leon Burr Douglas	1969-1980
Jim D. Vollers	1978
Thurman Morris Gupton	1976
William Arthur Morrison	1951-1976
Ernest Walter Belcher	1967-1970
Kenneth Koch Woodley	1953-1970
Meade Felix Griffin	1949-1969
James Wesley Dice, Jr.	1967-1968
William Thomas McDonald, Sr.	1960-1966
Lloyd Witten Davidson	1955-1961
Harry Newton Graves	1937-1955
Tom L. Beauchamp	1939-1953
Frank Lee Hawkins	1921-1951
Wright Chalfant Morrow	1917-1939
Offa Shivers Lattimore	1919-1937
William Lewis Davidson	1891-1921
Albert Collins Prendergast	1911-1918
Alfred John Harper	1911-1917
William Franklin Ramsey	1907-1912
Felix Johnson McCord	1910-1911
MiCahah Madison Brooks	1899-1910
John Nathaniel Henderson	1894-1907
James Mann Hurt	1880-1898
John Preston White	1876-1892
Samuel A. Willson	1882-1891
Clinton McKamy Winkler	1876-1882
George W. Clark	1879-1880
Mathew Duncan Ector	1876-1879

Courts in Texas

See also: Courts in Texas

In addition to the federal courts in Texas, there are two courts of last resort, an intermediate appeals division, and several types of trial courts. Their infrastructure and relationship are illustrated in the flow chart below.

The structure of Texas' state court system.

Partisan control of Texas state government

A state government trifecta is a term that describes single-party government, when one political party holds the governor's office and has majorities in both chambers of the legislature in a state government. A state supreme court plays a role in the checks and balances system of a state government. Republicans in Texas gained a state government trifecta as a result of the 2002 elections by taking control of the state House. The table below shows state government trifectas in Texas from 1992 to 2019.

Texas Party Control: 1992-2021
Three years of Democratic trifectas  •  Nineteen years of Republican trifectas
Scroll left and right on the table below to view more years.

Year	92	93	94	95	96	97	98	99	00	01	02	03	04	05	06	07	08	09	10	11	12	13	14	15	16	17	18	19	20	21
Governor	D	D	D	R	R	R	R	R	R	R	R	R	R	R	R	R	R	R	R	R	R	R	R	R	R	R	R	R	R	R
Senate	D	D	D	D	D	R	R	R	R	R	R	R	R	R	R	R	R	R	R	R	R	R	R	R	R	R	R	R	R	R
House	D	D	D	D	D	D	D	D	D	D	D	R	R	R	R	R	R	R	R	R	R	R	R	R	R	R	R	R	R	R

State profile

Demographic data for Texas
	Texas	U.S.
Total population:	27,429,639	316,515,021
Land area (sq mi):	261,232	3,531,905
Race and ethnicity**
White:	74.9%	73.6%
Black/African American:	11.9%	12.6%
Asian:	4.2%	5.1%
Native American:	0.5%	0.8%
Pacific Islander:	0.1%	0.2%
Two or more:	2.5%	3%
Hispanic/Latino:	38.4%	17.1%
Education
High school graduation rate:	81.9%	86.7%
College graduation rate:	27.6%	29.8%
Income
Median household income:	$53,207	$53,889
Persons below poverty level:	19.9%	11.3%
Source: U.S. Census Bureau, "American Community Survey" (5-year estimates 2010-2015) Click here for more information on the 2020 census and here for more on its impact on the redistricting process in Texas. **Note: Percentages for race and ethnicity may add up to more than 100 percent because respondents may report more than one race and the Hispanic/Latino ethnicity may be selected in conjunction with any race. Read more about race and ethnicity in the census here.

Presidential voting pattern

See also: Presidential voting trends in Texas

Texas voted Republican in all five presidential elections between 2000 and 2016.

More Texas coverage on Ballotpedia

• Elections in Texas
• United States congressional delegations from Texas
• Public policy in Texas
• Influencers in Texas
• Texas fact checks
• More...

Recent news

The link below is to the most recent stories in a Google news search for the terms Texas Court Criminal Appeals. These results are automatically generated from Google. Ballotpedia does not curate or endorse these articles.

Texas Court of Criminal Appeals - Google News

See also

• Texas Supreme Court
• Courts in Texas
• Judicial selection in Texas

External links

• Texas Judicial Branch, "Texas Court of Criminal Appeals"
• Texas Tribune, "Texas Weekly: One-third of criminal appeals court ready to leave," September 17, 2013
• Star-Telegram, "Filing ends, ballot set for 2014 election," December 10, 2013
• Wikipedia, "Texas Court of Criminal Appeals"