Texas Supreme Court

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The Texas Supreme Court was established in 1836 by the Constitution of the Republic of Texas, which put the judicial power of the Republic in "…one Supreme Court and such inferior courts as the Congress may establish."[1] The Court meets in Austin, Texas in a building located on the state Capitol grounds.[2]

Jurisdiction

The caseload of the Texas Supreme Court is determined by whether the court decides to grant a review of a judgement, and, the court has mandatory jurisdiction over writs of mandamus and habeas corpus.

Case load

In fiscal year 2003, there were 3,844 new cases petitioned to the Texas Supreme Court.[3] Of the total, 115 were regular causes, 968 were petitions for review, and 2,761 were other writs and motions.

The court's justices

The court consists of nine justices: a chief justice and eight associate justices.[4]

Selection of justices

The nine justices are elected to staggered six-year terms in state-wide partisan elections. The current Supreme Court bench consists of Justices that identify with the Republican Party. The place numbers have no special meaning as all justices are elected state-wide, except that the Chief Justice position is considered "Place 1."

In the case of a vacancy, the Governor of Texas may appoint a replacement to complete the unexpired term. If the governor does appoint a replacement, the responsibility must go to a confirmation vote in the Texas state senate. Five of the current nine justices were originally appointed by Governor Rick Perry.

Qualifications

To be considered a qualified candidate for the Supreme Court, a person must be licensed to practice law in Texas and be at least 35 years of age. He must also have no less than 10 years experience practicing law.

Current justices

Both Scott Brister and Harriet O'Neill have announced that they will be leaving the court within the year, leaving two seats up for election/appointment. [5][6]

Justice Party Affiliation Place Date Service Began Term Ends
Wallace Jefferson Republican Chief Justice appointed March, 2001 2014
Don Willett Republican 2 appointed August 24, 2005 2012
Harriet O'Neill Republican 3 January 1, 1999 2010
David Medina Republican 4 appointed November 10, 2004 2012
Paul Green Republican 5 January 1, 2005 2010
Nathan Hecht Republican 6 January 1, 1989 2012
J. Dale Wainwright Republican 7 January 1, 2003 2014
Phil Johnson Republican 8 appointed March 15, 2005 2014
Eva Guzman Republican 9 appointed October 8, 2009 2010

Chief justice

Wallace B. Jefferson is the Chief Justice of the Supreme Court of Texas. He ran for re-election to the court in 2008 against Democratic challenger Jim Jordan, and won with 53% of the vote. (See Texas Supreme Court elections for more information). Justice Jefferson is aligned with the Republican party.

History of the court

The Republic of Texas' Constitution created a Supreme Court. The court consisted of a Chief Justice and Associate Justices, who were from the eight district courts of the state. These judges served with the Chief Justice from january 13, 1840 to December 29, 1845. At the end of 1845, Texas was admitted into the Union.[7]

See also

External links

References