Jeffrey S. Boyd

Jeffrey Scott Boyd (born December 2, 1961) is a member of the Texas Supreme Court, the body of final appeal in civil and juvenile law in Texas. He was appointed to Place 7 on the court by Governor Rick Perry in the fall of 2012 to fill the seat vacated by Justice Dale Wainwright, and he won a full six-year term on the Court in the 2014 election.

Boyd is the third of four children of a military family and grew up living on or near numerous Air Force bases around the world. After being transferred from Germany to Austin just before his senior year of high school, he graduated from Round Rock High School in Round Rock in Williamson County, Texas in 1979. He received his undergraduate degree in Biblical studies from Abilene Christian University in Abilene, Texas in 1983. He then served as youth and family minister for the Brentwood Oaks Church of Christ in Austin for five years before beginning law school. Boyd received his Juris Doctor summa cum laude from Pepperdine University near Malibu, California, where he graduated second in his law school class and was editor-in-chief of the Pepperdine Law Review.

From 1991-1992, Boyd served as law clerk for Judge Thomas M. Reavley on the United States Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit.^[2][3] In 1992, Boyd joined the Austin office of Thompson & Knight as a civil trial associate, and became a partner on his first year of eligibility in 1998. In 2000, Boyd left the firm to accept an appointment as Deputy Attorney General for Civil Litigation in the office of John Cornyn, the Attorney General of Texas who in 2002 was elected to the U.S. Senate. In this position, Boyd managed over 300 litigators in eleven divisions and oversaw all civil litigation involving the State of Texas and its officials. When General Cornyn left for the U.S. Senate in 2002, Boyd continued to serve as Deputy A.G. under the new Attorney General (and now Texas Governor) Greg Abbott until August 2003. Boyd then returned to Thompson & Knight as a senior partner and served as practice leader for the firm's government litigation practice group. In January 2011, Boyd left the firm to accept a position as general counsel for the Office of the Governor. After eight months in that role, Governor Perry appointed him as chief of staff for the Governor's office, where Boyd remained until Perry appointed him to the Court in December 2012.^[4]

Although four of the Court's justices were on the ballot in 2014, Boyd was the only one -- and in fact the only statewide Texas candidate -- who was unopposed in the Republican primary election held on March 4, 2014. In the November 4 general election, he defeated the Democrat candidate, Gina Benavides, 2,711,363 (58.9 percent) to 1,731,031 (37.6 percent).^[5]

Boyd resides in Austin with his wife of nearly 30 years, Jackie Boyd (nee Tubbs), who has served as director of Children's Ministries at the Brentwood Oaks Church of Christ since 2005. Their twin daughters, Hanna and Abbie, both graduated from Abilene Christian University, and their son Carter is a student at Savannah College of Art and Design in Savannah, Georgia.

References

Current statewide political officials of Texas U.S. Senators John Cornyn Ted Cruz State government Greg Abbott, Governor Dan Patrick, Lieutenant Governor & President of the Senate Carlos Cascos, Secretary of State (appointed) Ken Paxton, Attorney General Glenn Hegar, Comptroller (Treasurer equivalent) George P. Bush, Land Commissioner Sid Miller, Agriculture Commissioner Christi Craddick, Ryan Sitton, David J. Porter, Railroad Commissioners Senate Juan Hinojosa, President pro tempore In the Texas Senate, there are no majority or minority leaders. House Joe Straus, Speaker Dennis Bonnen, Speaker pro tempore In the Texas House, there are no majority or minority leaders. Supreme Court (civil) Nathan Hecht, Chief Justice Don Willett Debra Lehrmann John P. Devine Paul W. Green Jeff Brown Jeffrey S. Boyd Phil Johnson Eva Guzman Texas Court of Criminal Appeals Sharon Keller, Presiding Justice Lawrence E. Meyers Bert Richardson Kevin Patrick Yeary Cheryl Johnson Michael Keasler Barbara Hervey Elsa Alcala David Newell