Texas Supreme Court

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The Texas Supreme Court is the court of last resort for non-criminal matters (including juvenile delinquency which the law considers to be a civil matter and not criminal) in the state of Texas. The Texas Court of Criminal Appeals is the court of last resort for criminal matters.

The Court is composed of a Chief Justice and eight Associate Justices. The Court meets in Austin, Texas in a building located on the state Capitol grounds, behind the Texas capitol.

Contents 1 Regulation of the legal profession in Texas 2 Justices of the Court 2.1 Election of members of the Court 2.2 Current Justices 2.3 History of membership of the Court 2.3.1 Justices of the Republic of Texas, 1836–1845 2.3.1.1 Chief Justices 2.3.1.2 Associate Justices 2.3.2 Justices 1845–1876 2.3.2.1 Under the Constitutions of 1845 and 1861 2.3.2.1.1 Chief Justices 2.3.2.1.2 Associate Justices 2.3.2.2 Under the Constitution of 1866 (1866–1870) 2.3.2.3 Under the Constitution of 1868 (1870–1876) 2.3.3 Justices under the Constitution of 1876 (1876–present) 2.3.3.1 Justices 1876–1945 2.3.3.1.1 Chief Justices 2.3.3.1.2 Associate Justices 2.3.3.2 Justices from 1945 2.3.3.2.1 Chief Justice, Place 1 2.3.3.2.2 Justices, Place 2 2.3.3.2.3 Justices, Place 3 2.3.3.2.4 Justices, Place 4 2.3.3.2.5 Justices, Place 5 2.3.3.2.6 Justices, Place 6 2.3.3.2.7 Justices, Place 7 2.3.3.2.8 Justices, Place 8 2.3.3.2.9 Justices, Place 9 3 External links

[edit] Regulation of the legal profession in Texas

By law the Texas Supreme Court has administrative control over the State Bar of Texas, an agency of the judiciary (see Tex. Gov’t Code section 81.011). The Texas Supreme Court has the sole authority to license attorneys in Texas (see Tex. Gov't Code sections 81.061 and 82.021), and also appoints the members of the Board of Law Examiners (see Tex. Gov't Code section 82.001) which, under instructions of the Supreme Court, administers the Texas bar examination (see Tex. Gov't Code section 82.004).

[edit] Justices of the Court

The Court has a Chief Justice and eight associate justices. All members of the Court must be at least 35 years of age, a citizen of Texas, licensed to practice law in Texas, and must have practiced law (or have been a lawyer and a judge of a court of record together) for at least ten years (see Tex. Const., Art. 5, Sec. 2).

[edit] 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. 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. Five 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, are all 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".

[edit] Current Justices

Justice	Place	Date Service Began	Term Ends
Wallace B. Jefferson	Chief Justice	September 20, 2004	2008
Don R. Willett	2	August 24, 2005	2012
Harriet O'Neill	3	January 1, 1999	2010
David M. Medina	4	November 10, 2004	2012
Paul W. Green	5	January 1, 2005	2010
Nathan Hecht	6	January 1, 1989	2012
Dale Wainwright	7	January 1, 2003	2008
Phil Johnson	8	April 11, 2005	2008
Scott A. Brister	9	November 21, 2003	2010

[edit] History of membership of the Court

[edit] Justices of the Republic of Texas, 1836–1845

The Constitution of the Republic of Texas provided for a Supreme Court to consist of a Chief Justice and Associate Justices. The Associate Justices were the Judges of the eight district courts of Texas.

[edit] Chief Justices

• James Collingsworth (December 1836–July 1838)
• John Birdsall (November 1838–December 1838)
• Thomas Jefferson Rusk (December 1838–December 1840)
• John Hemphill (December 1840–December 1845)

The District Judges, whose first session was January 13, 1840, served with the Chief Justice as Associate Justices from January 13, 1840 to December 29, 1845, when Texas was admitted into the United States:

[edit] Associate Justices

Robert Emmett Bledsoe Baylor

E. T. Branch

George W. Terrell

John M. Hansford

Anderson Hutchinson

Patrick C. Jack

John B. Jones

William E. Jones

William J. Jones

John T. Mills

Richard Morris

M. P. Norton

William B. Ochiltree

J. W. Robinson

Richardson A. Scurry

Anthony B. Shelby

[edit] Justices 1845–1876

[edit] Under the Constitutions of 1845 and 1861

[edit] Chief Justices

John Hemphill (March 1846–October 1858)

Royall T. Wheeler (October 1858–April 1864)

Oran M. Roberts (November 1864–June 1866)

[edit] Associate Justices

Abner S. Lipscomb (March 1846–November 1856)

Oran M. Roberts (April 1857–October 1862)

George F. Moore (politician) (October 1862–June 1866)

Royall T. Wheeler (March 1846–October 1858)

James H. Bell (October 1858–August 1864)

Reuben A. Reeves (November 1864–June 1866)

[edit] Under the Constitution of 1866 (1866–1870)

Removed by U.S. military authorities in 1867:

George F. Moore (Chief Justice, August 1866–September 1867)

Richard Coke (August 1866–September 1867)

S. P. Donley (October 1866–September 1867)

Asa H. Willie (August 1866–September 1867)

George W. Smith (August 1866–September 1867)

Appointed by U.S. military authorities to replace them:

Amos Morrill (Chief Justice, September 1867–July 1870)

Livingston Lindsay (September 1867–July 1870)

Albert H. Latimer (September 1867–November 1869)

James Denison (January 1870–July 1870)

Colbert Caldwell (September 1867–October 1869)

C. B. Sabin (March 1870, no record of service)

Andrew J. Hamilton (November 1867–October 1869)

Moses B. Walker (December 1869–July 1870)

[edit] Under the Constitution of 1868 (1870–1876)

Three Justices from July 5, 1870 to January 29, 1874

Lemuel D. Evans (Chief Justice, July 1870–August 1873)

Wesley Ogden (July 1870–August 1873; Chief Justice, August 1873–January 1874)

Moses B. Walker (July 1870–January 1874)

J. D. McAdoo (August 1873–January 1874)

Five Justices from January 29, 1874 to April 18, 1876

Oran M. Roberts (Chief Justice, January 1874–April 1876)

Reuben A. Reeves (January 1874–April 1876)

Thomas J. Devine (January 1874–September 1875)

John Ireland (September 1875–April 1876)

George F. Moore (politician) (February 1874–April 1876)

William P. Ballinger (February 3, 1874, resigned same day)

Peter W. Gray (February 1874–April 1876)

Robert S. Gould (May 1874–April 1876)

[edit] Justices under the Constitution of 1876 (1876–present)

[edit] Justices 1876–1945

[edit] Chief Justices

George F. Moore (politician) (November 1878–November 1881)

Robert S. Gould (November 1881–December 1882)

Asa H. Willie (December 1882–March 1888)

John W. Stayton (March 1888–July 1894)

Reuben R. Gaines (July 1894–January 1911)

Thomas J. Brown (January 1911–May 1915)

Nelson Phillips (June 1915–November 1921)

C. M. Cureton (December 1921–April 1940)

W. F. Moore (April 1940–January 1941)

James P. Alexander (January 1941–September 1945)

[edit] Associate Justices

Robert S. Gould (April 1876–November 1881)

John W. Stayton (November 1881–March 1888)

A. S. Walker (April 1888–January 1889)

J. L. Henry (January 1889–May 1893)

T. J. Brown (May 1893–January 1911)

W. F. Ramsey (January 1911–April 1912)

Nelson Phillips (April 1912–June 1915)

J. E. Yantis (June 1915–March 1918)

Thomas B. Greenwood (April 1918–December 1934)

John H. Sharp (December 1934–September 1945)

George F. Moore (politician) (April 1876–October 1878)

Micajah H. Bonner (November 1878–December 1882)

Charles S. West (December 1882–September 1885)

Sawnie Robertson (October 1885–September 1886)

Reuben R. Gaines (September 1886–July 1894)

Leroy G. Denman (July 1894–May 1899)

F. A. Williams (May 1899–April 1911)

Joseph Burton Dibrell, Jr. (April 1911–January 1913)

William E. Hawkins (January 1913–January 1921)

William Pierson (politician) (January 1921–April 1935)

Richard Critz (May 1935–January 1945)

Gordon Simpson (January 1945–September 1945)

[edit] Justices from 1945

[edit] Chief Justice, Place 1

James P. Alexander (September 21, 1945 to January 1, 1948)

J. E. Hickman (January 7, 1948 to January 3, 1961)

Robert W. Calvert (January 3, 1961 to October 4, 1972)

Joe R. Greenhill (October 4, 1972 to October 25, 1982)

Jack Pope (November 29, 1982 to January 4, 1985)

John L. Hill Jr. (January 5, 1985 to January 4, 1988)

Thomas R. Phillips (January 4, 1988 to September 3, 2004)

Wallace B. Jefferson (September 20, 2004 to present. Term ends in 2006)

[edit] Justices, Place 2

John H. Sharp (September 21, 1945 to December 31, 1952)

Frank P. Culver Jr. (January 1, 1953 to December 21, 1964)

Jack Pope (January 4, 1965 to November 29, 1982)

Ted Robertson (December 2, 1982 to December 31, 1988)

Lloyd Doggett (January 1, 1989 to December 31, 1994)

Priscilla R. Owen (January 1, 1995 to June 6, 2005. Appointed as a judge on the United States Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit.)

Don R. Willett (August 24, 2005 to present. Term ends December 31, 2006.)

[edit] Justices, Place 3

Gordon Simpson (September 21, 1945 to March 1, 1949)

R. H. Harvey (March 1, 1949 to September 8, 1950, died in office)

Robert W. Calvert (September 18, 1950 to January 3, 1961)

Zollie Steakley (January 3, 1961 to December 31, 1980)

James P. Wallace (January 1, 1981 to September 1, 1988)

Eugene A. Cook (September 1, 1988 to December 31, 1992)

Rose Spector (January 1, 1993 to December 31, 1998)

Harriet O'Neill (January 1, 1999 to present. Term ends in 2010)

[edit] Justices, Place 4

Graham B. Smedley (September 21, 1945 to June 16, 1954)

Ruel C. Walker (October 19, 1954 to September 30, 1975)

Ross E. Doughty (October 1, 1975 to December 31, 1976)

Don Yarbrough (January 1, 1977 to July 1977)

Charles W. Barrow (July 25, 1977 to September 30, 1984)

Raul A. Gonzalez (October 8, 1984 to December 31, 1998)

Alberto R. Gonzales (January 14, 1999 to December 22, 2000. Resigned to become White House counsel to President George W. Bush.)

Wallace B. Jefferson (April 18, 2001 to September 20, 2004. Appointed chief justice in September 2004.)

David M. Medina (November 10, 2004 to present. Term ends in 2006)

[edit] Justices, Place 5

M. Taylor (September 21, 1945 to December 31, 1950)

Will Wilson (January 2, 1951 to June 1, 1956)

Abner V. McCall (June 15, 1956 to December 31, 1956)

James R. Norvell (January 1, 1957 to October 10, 1968)

Thomas M. Reavley (October 10, 1968 to October 1, 1977)

T. C. Chadick (October 5, 1977 to December 31, 1978)

Robert M. Campbell (December 1, 1978 to February 1, 1988)

Barbara Culver (February 1, 1988 to December 7, 1988)

Jack Hightower (December 7, 1988 to January 1, 1996)

Greg Abbott (January 2, 1996 to June 6, 2001)

Xavier Rodriguez (September 7, 2001 to November 6, 2002)

Steven Wayne Smith (November 20, 2002 to December 31, 2004)

Paul W. Green (January 1, 2005 to present. Term ends in 2010)

[edit] Justices, Place 6

J. E. Hickman (September 21, 1945 to January 5, 1948)

W. St. John Garwood (January 14, 1948 to December 31, 1958)

Robert W. Hamilton (January 1, 1959 to December 31, 1970)

James G. Denton (January 1, 1971 to June 10, 1982, died in office.)

Ruby Kless Sondock (June 25, 1982 to December 31, 1983)

William W. Kilgarlin (January 1, 1983 to December 31, 1988)

Nathan L. Hecht (January 1, 1989 to present. Term ends in 2006.)

[edit] Justices, Place 7

C. S. Slatton (September 21, 1945 to October 1, 1947)

James P. Hart (October 1, 1947 to November 15, 1950)

Clyde E. Smith (November 15, 1950 to December 31, 1970)

Price Daniel (January 1, 1971 to December 31, 1978)

Franklin S. Spears (January 1, 1979 to December 31, 1990)

John Cornyn (January 2, 1991 to October 18, 1997)

Deborah Hankinson (October 28, 1997 to December 31, 2002)

Dale Wainwright (January 1, 2003 to present. Term ends in 2008.)

[edit] Justices, Place 8

Few Brewster (September 21, 1945 to September 20, 1957)

Joe R. Greenhill (October 1, 1957 to October 4, 1972

Hawthorne Phillips (October 4, 1972 to December 31, 1972)

Sam Johnson (January 1, 1973 to October 16, 1979)

Will Garwood (November 15, 1979 to December 31, 1980)

C. L. Ray Jr. (November 25, 1980 to December 31, 1990)

Bob Gammage (January 1, 1991 to August 31, 1995)

James A. Baker (September 1, 1995 to August 31, 2002)

Michael H. Schneider (September 6, 2002 to September 20, 2004)

Phil Johnson (April 11, 2005 to present. Term ends in 2008.)

[edit] Justices, Place 9

A. J. Folley (September 21, 1945 to April 1, 1949)

Meade F. Griffin (April 1, 1949 to December 31, 1968)

Sears McGee (January 1, 1969 to December 31, 1986)

Oscar H. Mauzy (January 3, 1987 to December 31, 1993)

Craig T. Enoch (January 1, 1993 to October 1, 2003)

Scott A. Brister (November 21, 2003 to present. Term ends in 2010.)

[edit] External links

• Official Website for the Texas Supreme Court
• Texas Judiciary page from The Handbook of Texas Online

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