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
- Texas Supreme Court elections
- Texas Court of Criminal Appeals
- Texas Court of Appeals
- Texas District Courts
- Texas Supreme Court elections
- Judicial selection in Texas
- Texas judicial news
- Judicial Activist Organizations in Texas
- Texas blogs
External links
- The Supreme Court of Texas: A Balanced Court -- A Special Issue Report (October 2008)
- Interstate Comity: Cheers for Texas
- Fringe Tactics: Special Interest Groups Target Judicial Races
- Texas Supreme Court Official Site
- Website of the Texas Court of Criminal Appeals
- 2008 Judicial Elections Page
- Administration of judiciary in Texas
- Supreme Court of Texas blog
- Texas Supreme Court Webcasts - St. Mary University School of Law
- The Texas Reports, the decisions of the Texas Supreme Court from 1846 to 1885, hosted by the Portal to Texas History
- Texas Judiciary page from The Handbook of Texas Online
- Texas Supreme Court Historical Society
- Texas SC Opinions
- Texas high court: Removal of sect kids 'not warranted', CNN.com
References
- ↑ Texas Supreme Court home page
- ↑ Wikipedia: Texas Supreme Court
- ↑ University of Texas: Caseload of the Supreme Court
- ↑ Texas Supreme Court home page
- ↑ Press Release "JUSTICE BRISTER ANNOUNCES HIS RESIGNATION FROM COURT" August 17, 2009
- ↑ Texas Supreme Court advisory "STATEMENT BY JUSTICE HARRIET O’NEILL" August 6, 2009
- ↑ Supreme Court of Texas: Republic History
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