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The Texas Courts of Appeals are part of the Texas judicial system. In Texas, all cases appealed from district and county courts, criminal and civil, go to one of the fourteen intermediate courts of appeals, with one exception: death penalty cases. The latter are taken directly to the Texas Court of Criminal Appeals, the court of last resort for criminal matters in the State of Texas. The highest court for civil and juvenile matters is the Texas Supreme Court. While the Supreme Court (SCOTX) and the Court of Criminal Appeals (CCA) each have nine members per the Texas Constitution, the sizes of the intermediate courts of appeals are set by statute and vary greatly, depending on historical case filings and so that the justices on each court can timely adjudicate the volume of cases regularly before them. The total number of intermediate appellate court seats currently stands at 80, ranging from three (Texarkana, El Paso, Waco, Eastland, and Tyler), four (Amarillo and Beaumont), six (Austin and Corpus Christi-Edinburg), seven (Fort Worth and San Antonio), nine (Houston-1st and Houston-14th), and thirteen (Dallas) per court.

Appellate courts consisting of more than three justices hear and decide cases in panels of three. Those courts with more than three justices sit in rotating panels and do not consistently sit with the same justices. In some cases, the justices will hear arguments from the parties' lawyers in what is called oral argument. The lawyers present their arguments one at a time, typically for twenty minutes each, followed by a brief rebuttal from the appellant, the party complaining of the decision of the lower court. During the lawyers' presentations, the justice commonly interject with questions that the lawyers answer on the spot. On rare occasions, all the justices of a court of appeals sit together en banc to reconsider a panel decision or to assure consistency in that court's jurisprudence. En banc consideration is 'disfavored" according to appellate rule 41.2(b). The en banc process is also used to overrule prior precedent of the same court which its panels would otherwise follow. The precedents established by a court of appeals are binding on the lower courts in its own district, but not in others.

The various courts of appeals occasionally but rarely hand down conflicting rulings on the same legal issue. In large part, the Texas Supreme Court (in civil cases) or Court of Criminal Appeals (in criminal cases) exist to resolve these rare conflicts and to set forth consistent legal precedent for the state's litigants. Decisions of the two courts of last resort on questions of law are binding on all state courts, and are also followed by federal courts when they hear cases governed by Texas state law.

The federal courts sitting in Texas apply state law when the case is not controlled by federal law or by the law of another jurisdiction based contractual choice of law or other basis for application of another's jurisdiction's law. Not infrequently the federal district courts sitting in Texas and the U.S. Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals make guesses as to how the Texas Supreme Court would rule on an issue of state law that is still unsettled due to a conflict among the intermediate courts of appeals.[1] Such an issue may also be referred to the Texas Supreme Court by certified question,[2] but this procedure is rarely employed.

Like the members of the Texas Supreme Court and the Court of Criminal Appeals, the Justices of the intermediate Texas Courts of Appeals are elected in partisan elections to six-year terms. Some, however, are initially appointed by the Texas Governor to fill vacancies and then run as incumbents in the next election.

In a small number of instances, (4-6% in recent years),[3][4][5][6][7] the Texas Supreme Court transfers a case from one court to another. Under Texas Rule of Appellate Procedure 41.3, the transferee court must apply controlling precedents of the court from which the case was sent, if they exist. All courts of appeals retain the discretion to recall retired justices to assist writing any backlog of opinions in the court.[citation needed]

In 2023, a law was passed creating a new appellate level court with jurisdiction over appeals from the new Texas business courts and state government related litigation, the Fifteenth Court of Appeals.[8] In June 2024, the Governor began appointing judges to the Fifteenth Court of Appeals.[9] These courts will be open for cases on September 1, 2024.[10] In August 2024, the Texas Supreme Court rejected a constitutional challenge to the appellate business court's creation.[11] In addition to hearing appeals from certain defined case types brought in the new Texas trial level business courts, the Fifteenth Court of Appeals will hear appeals statewide in cases brought by or against a wide range of state government entities, against state officers and employees arising out of their official conduct, and "matters in which a party to the proceeding files a petition, motion, or other pleading challenging the constitutionality or validity of a state statute or rule, and the attorney general is a party to the case."[12]

History

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The Old Harris County Courthouse, home of the First and Fourteenth Courts of Appeals of Texas

Courts of civil appeals in Texas were established in 1891 by constitutional amendment to help handle the increasing load of the court system. They had jurisdiction to hear appeals and mandamus petitions of any civil case from their region, with the regions decided by the legislature. The amendment provided that three-judge courts of appeals were to be created by legislature, and in 1892, the legislature created 3 courts of appeals: The First Court of Civil Appeals in Galveston, the Second Court of Civil Appeals in Fort Worth, and the Third Court of Civil Appeals in Austin. In 1893, the legislature created the Fourth Court of Civil Appeals in San Antonio out of territory taken from the first and third courts, and the Fifth Court of Appeals in Dallas. In 1907, the legislature created the Sixth Court of Civil Appeals in Texarkana. Then in 1911, the Seventh Court of Civil Appeals in Amarillo and the Eighth Court of Civil Appeals in El Paso were created. Soon after that, the Ninth Court of Civil Appeals was created in Beaumont in 1915, the Tenth was created in Waco in 1923, and the Eleventh was created in Eastland in 1925.[13]

In 1957, after Hurricane Audrey severely damaged the Galveston County Courthouse, the legislature moved the First Court of Appeals to Houston (where it sits today) and required Harris County to provide facilities.[14]

It was not until the 1970s that any more courts were created with the Twelfth Court of Civil Appeals in Tyler, the Thirteenth in Corpus Christi and Edinburg, and the Fourteenth in Houston. The latter exercises concurrent jurisdiction with the First Court.[13]

In 1977, the legislature increased the number of judges of various courts and authorized courts of appeals to sit in "panels" of not fewer than three judges.[14]

On September 1, 1981, all Courts of Civil Appeals were given criminal jurisdiction, and in 1985 a constitutional amendment was passed so that all courts were known as "Courts of Appeals" instead of "Courts of Civil Appeals."[14] Until 1981, all criminal appeals cases went directly to the Texas Court of Criminal Appeals, and all cases involving capital punishment still do.[15][16]

In January 2019, a large number of newly elected justices took office, which required panels that included incumbents who were defeated in the November 2018 elections to be reconstituted, though in practice, this reconstitution caused little disruption in court productivity. Because of similar turnover in many metropolitan trial courts, the court procedure rules required pending mandamus cases to be abated and remanded for the new trial court judge to reconsider the challenged order of his or her predecessor.

The overall effect of the November 2018 Democratic sweep of the appellate courts in Houston, Dallas, and Austin was to make the intermediate appellate judiciary more diverse in terms of party affiliation, gender, and race/ethnicity, as can be seen by comparing the demographic statistics reported by the Office of Court Administration for 2018[17] and 2019.[18]

Jurisdictions

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Texas Courts of Appeals is located in Texas
Houston
Houston
Fort Worth
Fort Worth
Austin
Austin
San Antonio
San Antonio
Dallas
Dallas
Texarkana
Texarkana
Amarillo
Amarillo
El Paso
El Paso
Beaumont
Beaumont
Waco
Waco
Eastland
Eastland
Tyler
Tyler
Corpus Christi
Corpus Christi
Edinburg
Edinburg
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Locations of Courts of Appeals
Districts map

There are fourteen appellate districts each of which encompasses multiple counties and is presided over by a Texas Court of Appeals denominated by number:[19] The counties of Gregg, Rusk, Upshur, and Wood are in the jurisdictions of both the Sixth and Twelfth Courts, while Hunt County is in the jurisdiction of both the Fifth and Sixth Courts.

First Court of Appeals

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First Court of Appeals of Texas – Houston (formerly Galveston), covering Austin, Brazoria, Chambers, Colorado, Fort Bend, Galveston, Grimes, Harris, Waller, and Washington counties

Place Justice[20] Born Joined Term ends Mandatory retirement[a] Party affiliation Appointed by Law school
1 Terry Adams, Chief Justice 1958 or 1959 (age 65–66)[22] January 1, 2023[b] 2028 2038 Republican —[c] South Texas
9 Peter Kelly 1963 or 1964 (age 60–61)[23] January 1, 2019 2024 2040 Democratic —[c] UT
2 Gordon Goodman 1953 or 1954 (age 70–71)[23] January 1, 2019 2024 2028 Democratic —[c] UPenn
6 Sarah Beth Landau (1972-07-09) July 9, 1972 (age 52) January 1, 2019 2024 2048 Democratic —[c] Columbia
8 Richard Hightower 1956 or 1957 (age 67–68)[24] January 1, 2019 2024 2034 Democratic —[c] Baylor
7 Julie Countiss 1970 or 1971 (age 53–54)[22] January 1, 2019 2024 2046 Democratic —[c] Houston
3 Veronica Rivas-Molloy – January 1, 2021 2026 – Democratic —[c] Houston
5 Amparo Monique Guerra 1976 or 1977 (age 46–47) January 1, 2021 2026 2054 Democratic —[c] Houston
4 David M. Gunn (1961-07-03) July 3, 1961 (age 63)[25] September 3, 2024 2026 2038 Greg Abbott (R) Houston

Second Court of Appeals

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Second Court of Appeals of Texas – Fort Worth, covering Archer, Clay, Cooke, Denton, Hood, Jack, Montague, Parker, Tarrant, Wichita, Wise, and Young counties

Place Justice[26] Born Joined Term ends Mandatory retirement[a] Party affiliation Appointed by Law school
1 Bonnie Sudderth, Chief Justice (1959-09-02) September 2, 1959 (age 65) January 7, 2015[d] 2024 2034 Republican Greg Abbott (R) UT
3 Elizabeth Kerr – January 7, 2017 2028 – Republican —[c] UT
4 J. Wade Birdwell (1959-07-08) July 8, 1959 (age 65) November 10, 2017 2024 2034 Republican Greg Abbott (R) Houston
5 Dabney Bassel (1957-10-02) October 2, 1957 (age 67) January 1, 2019 2024 2034 Republican —[c] Baylor
2 Dana Womack – January 7, 2019 2026 – Republican Greg Abbott (R) Baylor
6 Mike Wallach – September 7, 2019 2024 – Republican Greg Abbott (R) Houston
7 Brian Walker 1977 or 1978 (age 46–47)[27] January 1, 2021 2026 2054 Republican —[c] Houston

Third Court of Appeals

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Third Court of Appeals of Texas – Austin, covering Bastrop, Bell, Blanco, Burnet, Caldwell, Coke, Comal, Concho, Fayette, Hays, Irion, Lampasas, Lee, Llano, McCulloch, Milam, Mills, Runnels, San Saba, Schleicher, Sterling, Tom Green, Travis, and Williamson counties

Place Justice[28] Born Joined Term ends Mandatory retirement[a] Party affiliation Appointed by Law school
1 Darlene Byrne, Chief Justice – January 1, 2021 2026 – Democratic —[c] Houston
5 Thomas J. Baker (1956-07-30) July 30, 1956 (age 68) January 1, 2019 2024 2034 Democratic —[c] Houston
6 Gisela D. Triana 1966 or 1967 (age 57–58)[29] January 1, 2019 2024 2042 Democratic —[c] UT
3 Chari L. Kelly – January 1, 2019 2024 – Democratic —[c] UT
2 Edward Smith 1979 (age 44–45) January 1, 2019 2024 2054 Democratic —[c] A&M
4 Rosa Lopez Theofanis (1975-06-23) June 23, 1975 (age 49) January 1, 2023 2028 2050 Democratic —[c] UT

Fourth Court of Appeals

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Fourth Court of Appeals of Texas – San Antonio, covering Atascosa, Bandera, Bexar, Brooks, Dimmit, Duval, Edwards, Frio, Gillespie, Guadalupe, Jim Hogg, Jim Wells, Karnes, Kendall, Kerr, Kimble, Kinney, La Salle, Mason, Maverick, McMullen, Medina, Menard, Real, Starr, Sutton, Uvalde, Val Verde, Webb, Wilson, Zapata, and Zavala counties

Place Justice[30] Born Joined Term ends Mandatory retirement[a] Party affiliation Appointed by Law school
1 Rebeca Martinez, Chief Justice 1966 or 1967 (age 57–58)[31] January 1, 2019[e] 2026 2042 Democratic —[c] Boston
3 Patricia O'Connell Alvarez (1954-10-12) October 12, 1954 (age 70)[32] January 1, 2013 2024 2030 Democratic —[c] UT
4 Luz Elena Chapa (1973-06-24) June 24, 1973 (age 51)[33] January 1, 2013 2024 2048 Democratic —[c] St. Mary's
6 Irene Rios 1962 or 1963 (age 60–61)[34] January 1, 2017 2028 2038 Democratic —[c] St. Mary's
2 Beth Watkins (1976-10-19) October 19, 1976 (age 48) January 1, 2019 2024 2052 Democratic —[c] St. Mary's
5 Liza A. Rodriguez – January 1, 2019 2024 – Democratic —[c] St. Mary's
7 Lori I. Valenzuela – January 22, 2021 2024 – Republican Greg Abbott (R) St. Mary's

Fifth Court of Appeals

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Main article: Fifth Court of Appeals of Texas

Fifth Court of Appeals of Texas – Dallas, covering Collin, Dallas, Grayson, Hunt, Kaufman, and Rockwall counties

Sixth Court of Appeals

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Sixth Court of Appeals of Texas – Texarkana, covering Bowie, Camp, Cass, Delta, Fannin, Franklin, Gregg, Harrison, Hopkins, Hunt, Lamar, Marion, Morris, Panola, Red River, Rusk, Titus, Upshur, and Wood counties

Place Justice[35] Born Joined Term ends Mandatory retirement[a] Party affiliation Appointed by Law school
1 Scott E. Stevens, Chief Justice – January 1, 2019[f] 2028 – Republican —[c] South Texas
3 L. Charles van Cleef (1967-10-25) October 25, 1967 (age 57) May 4, 2022 2028 2044 Republican Greg Abbott (R) South Texas
2 Jeff Rambin (1968-09-16) September 16, 1968 (age 56) January 1, 2023 2024 2046 Republican Greg Abbott (R) Baylor

Seventh Court of Appeals

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Seventh Court of Appeals of Texas – Amarillo, covering Armstrong, Bailey, Briscoe, Carson, Castro, Childress, Cochran, Collingsworth, Cottle, Crosby, Dallam, Deaf Smith, Dickens, Donley, Floyd, Foard, Garza, Gray, Hale, Hall, Hansford, Hardeman, Hartley, Hemphill, Hockley, Hutchinson, Kent, King, Lamb, Lipscomb, Lubbock, Lynn, Moore, Motley, Ochiltree, Oldham, Parmer, Potter, Randall, Roberts, Sherman, Swisher, Terry, Wheeler, Wilbarger, and Yoakum counties.

Place Justice[36] Born Joined Term ends Mandatory retirement[a] Party affiliation Appointed by Law school
1 Brian Quinn, Chief Justice (1956-06-23) June 23, 1956 (age 68) January 1, 1995[g] 2026 2032 Republican Rick Perry (R) Texas Tech
2 Judy C. Parker (1960-09-06) September 6, 1960 (age 64) August 17, 2017 2024 2036 Republican Greg Abbott (R) Texas Tech
4 Lawrence M. Doss (1968-08-22) August 22, 1968 (age 56) November 1, 2019 2028 2044 Republican Greg Abbott (R) Texas Tech
3 Alex L. Yarbrough – August 24, 2022 2024 – Republican Greg Abbott (R) Texas Tech

Eighth Court of Appeals

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Eighth Court of Appeals of Texas – El Paso, covering Andrews, Brewster, Crane, Crockett, Culberson, El Paso, Hudspeth, Jeff Davis, Loving, Pecos, Presidio, Reagan, Reeves, Terrell, Upton, Ward, and Winkler counties

Place Justice[37] Born Joined Term ends Mandatory retirement[a] Party affiliation Appointed by Law school
1 Jeff Alley, Chief Justice 1960 (age 63–64) December 8, 2023[h] 2024 2036 Republican Greg Abbott (R) Texas Tech
3 Gina M. Palafox – January 1, 2017 2024 – Democratic —[c] Pepperdine
2 Lisa Soto 1971 or 1972 (age 52–53)[38] January 1, 2023 2024 2046 Democratic —[c] UT

Ninth Court of Appeals

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Ninth Court of Appeals of Texas – Beaumont, covering Hardin, Jasper, Jefferson, Liberty, Montgomery, Newton, Orange, Polk, San Jacinto, and Tyler counties

Place Justice[39] Born Joined Term ends Mandatory retirement[a] Party affiliation Appointed by Law school
1 Scott Golemon, Chief Justice 1959 (age 64–65) January 1, 2021[i] 2026 2036 Republican —[c] Houston
4 Hollis Horton – January 1, 2005 2024 – Republican Rick Perry (R) UT
3 Leanne Johnson (1961-10-18) October 18, 1961 (age 63) November 12, 2013 2024 2036 Republican Rick Perry (R) UA
2 Jay Wright (1959-04-09) April 9, 1959 (age 65) August 24, 2022 2028 2034 Republican —[c] Houston

Tenth Court of Appeals

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Tenth Court of Appeals of Texas – Waco, covering Bosque, Brazos, Burleson, Coryell, Ellis, Falls, Freestone, Hamilton, Hill, Johnson, Leon, Limestone, Madison, McLennan, Navarro, Robertson, Somervell, and Walker counties

Place Justice[40] Born Joined Term ends Mandatory retirement[a] Party affiliation Appointed by Law school
1 Tom Gray, Chief Justice 1956 (age 67–68) December 9, 2003 2024 2034 Republican Rick Perry (R) Baylor
2 Matt Johnson 1962 or 1963 (age 60–61)[41] January 1, 2021 2026 2038 Republican —[c] OCU
3 Steven Lee Smith 1951 or 1952 (age 72–73)[42] August 6, 2021 2026 2026 Republican Greg Abbott (R) UT

Eleventh Court of Appeals

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Eleventh Court of Appeals of Texas – Eastland, covering Baylor, Borden, Brown, Callahan, Coleman, Comanche, Dawson, Eastland, Ector, Erath, Fisher, Gaines, Glasscock, Haskell, Howard, Jones, Knox, Martin, Midland, Mitchell, Nolan, Palo Pinto, Scurry, Shackelford, Stephens, Stonewall, Taylor, and Throckmorton counties

Place Justice[43] Born Joined Term ends Mandatory retirement[a] Party affiliation Appointed by Law school
1 John M. Bailey, Chief Justice – October 31, 2013[j] 2024 – Republican Greg Abbott (R) Texas Tech
3 W. Stacy Trotter (1959-01-01) January 1, 1959 (age 65) December 3, 2020 2028 2034 Republican —[c] Texas Tech
2 W. Bruce Williams (1955-01-15) January 15, 1955 (age 69) January 1, 2021 2026 2030 Republican —[c] Texas Tech

Twelfth Court of Appeals

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Twelfth Court of Appeals of Texas – Tyler, covering Anderson, Angelina, Cherokee, Gregg, Henderson, Houston, Nacogdoches, Rains, Rusk, Sabine, San Augustine, Shelby, Smith, Trinity, Upshur, Van Zandt, and Wood counties

Place Justice[44] Born Joined Term ends Mandatory retirement[a] Party affiliation Appointed by Law school
1 James T. Worthen, Chief Justice (1954-05-21) May 21, 1954 (age 70) January 1, 1999[k] 2026 2030 Republican —[c] South Texas
2 Brian Hoyle (1970-03-14) March 14, 1970 (age 54) August 28, 2006 2028 2046 Republican Rick Perry (R) Baylor
3 Greg Neeley (1957-07-19) July 19, 1957 (age 67) January 1, 2015 2024 2034 Republican Rick Perry (R) Texas Tech

Thirteenth Court of Appeals

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Thirteenth Court of Appeals of Texas – Corpus Christi and Edinburg, covering Aransas, Bee, Calhoun, Cameron, De Witt, Goliad, Gonzales, Hidalgo, Jackson, Kenedy, Kleberg, Lavaca, Live Oak, Matagorda, Nueces, Refugio, San Patricio, Victoria, Wharton, and Willacy counties

Place Justice[45] Born Joined Term ends Mandatory retirement[a] Party affiliation Appointed by Law school
1 Dori Contreras, Chief Justice (1958-02-25) February 25, 1958 (age 66) January 1, 2003[l] 2024 2034 Democratic —[c] Houston
5 Gina M. Benavides (1962-12-06) December 6, 1962 (age 61) January 1, 2007 2024 2040 Democratic —[c] Houston
2 Nora Longoria (1964-12-10) December 10, 1964 (age 59)[46] January 1, 2013 2024 2040 Democratic —[c] UT
4 Jaime E. Tijerina (1963-09-12) September 12, 1963 (age 61)[47] April 24, 2019 2024 2040 Republican Greg Abbott (R) Texas Southern
6 Clarissa Silva (1982-04-15) April 15, 1982 (age 42) January 1, 2021 2026 2060 Republican —[c] Texas Southern
3 Aaron Peña (1959-06-08) June 8, 1959 (age 65) January 1, 2023 2028 2034 Republican —[c] Texas Southern

Fourteenth Court of Appeals

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Fourteenth Court of Appeals of Texas – Houston, covering Austin, Brazoria, Chambers, Colorado, Fort Bend, Galveston, Grimes, Harris, Waller, and Washington counties

Place Justice[48] Born Joined Term ends Mandatory retirement[a] Party affiliation Appointed by Law school
1 Tracy Christopher, Chief Justice (1956-07-17) July 17, 1956 (age 68) December 2, 2009[m] 2026 2032 Republican Rick Perry (R) UT
7 Ken Wise – October 11, 2013 2026 – Republican Rick Perry (R) Houston
2 Kevin Jewell – January 1, 2017 2028 – Republican —[c] Houston
5 Frances Bourliot – January 1, 2019 2024 – Democratic —[c] Houston
3 Jerry Zimmerer – January 1, 2019 2024 – Democratic —[c] South Texas
4 Charles A. Spain – January 1, 2019 2024 – Democratic —[c] Baylor
6 Meagan Hassan – January 1, 2019 2024 – Democratic —[c] Temple
8 Margaret “Meg” Poissant – January 1, 2019 2024 – Democratic —[c] Houston
9 Randy Wilson – January 1, 2021 2028 – Republican Greg Abbott (R) Houston

Fifteenth Court of Appeals

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Fifteenth Court of Appeals of Texas – statewide jurisdiction over civil appeals to which the state is a party and appeals from the Texas Business Court

Place Justice[49] Born Joined Term ends Mandatory retirement[a] Party affiliation Appointed by Law school
1 Scott Brister, Chief Justice (1955-01-08) January 8, 1955 (age 69) September 1, 2024 2026 2030 Republican Greg Abbott (R) Harvard
2 Scott Field – September 1, 2024 2026 – Republican Greg Abbott (R) UT
3 April Farris – September 1, 2024 2026 – Republican Greg Abbott (R) Harvard

Opinion output and public access to opinions and orders

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Collectively the Texas Courts of Appeals issue close to 10,000 opinions a year (9,909 in FY 2018) which are almost equally divided between civil and criminal cases.[50] The number is high because appeals to these courts are "of right" and each case must be decided with an opinion, even if the disposition is in the form of a voluntary dismissal or an involuntary dismissal for noncompliance with briefing rules or a fatal jurisdictional defect.

Although the COA follow different conventions in the formatting of their opinions, all are issued in standard PDF and are posted on the COA's respective websites, where they can be looked up through the online docket sheet created for each case. The courts' Case Search portal allows searches by appellate case number, but also by party name and attorney name or bar number, and by other case attributes. Most COAs also make other documents filed in a case available online, including briefs, letters, and notices. The issued opinions can also be found on Google Scholar (CaseLaw) and on other repositories of appellate opinions. Google Scholar additionally includes procedural orders in its database, which are linked to the pages featuring the opinions by the hot-linked appellate case number. Whereas the courts issue majority and dissenting/concurring opinions as separate PDF documents, Google Scholar combines them into one page and displays onscreen in a larger font and more user-friendly format, in addition to providing much better search functionality and hotlinks to cited cases if they are available from its database.

Dissents and concurrences

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Only about 1% of the issued COA opinions are dissents. Concurrences (separate opinions in which a justice agrees with the disposition, but not with the reasons for it, or only in part) accounted for 1% in 2018, up from 0.5% the previous year.[51] The proportion of dissents and concurrences was only slightly higher in 2019, 1.9% for concurrences (including opinions concurring and dissenting) and 2% for dissents.[52] Similar numbers followed in 2020.

Party affiliation and mixed composition are not the only sources of disagreement that manifest themselves in dissents. Kem Thompson Frost, the Chief Justice of the Fourteenth Court of Appeals, is known as an independent thinker and prolific dissenter. She wrote a total of 21 concurring or dissenting opinions in FY 2018 while her counterpart in the First Court of Appeals, Chief Justice Sherry Radack, wrote none.[53] Both presided over all-Republican courts, although one member on the First Court who had been elected as a Republican, Justice Terry Jennings,[54] switched to the Democrats and also wrote large number of separate opinions (19).

Statewide, there were 175 dissents and concurrences in Fiscal Year 2018, out of a total of 6,540 merits opinions. The total tally was 9,909, which includes per curiam opinions. As seen by the data for the Houston Courts of Appeals, individual justices can have a big impact on their respective court's comparative ranking, and on the statewide total.

By definition, a dissent in the Court of Appeals does not decide the case. Dissents (and concurrences) are nevertheless important because they typically highlight unsettled areas of the law or splits among the Courts of Appeals, and increase the chance that Texas Supreme Court will exercise discretionary review if a petition is filed in a case that drew a dissent in the Court of Appeals.

References

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  1. ^ Boren v. U.S. Nat'l Bank Ass'n, 807 F.3d 99, 105-6 (5th Cir. 2015)(Where, as here, the proper resolution of the case turns on the interpretation of Texas law, we are bound to apply Texas law as interpreted by the state's highest court." Am. Int'l Specialty Lines Ins. Co. v. Rentech Steel LLC, 620 F.3d 558, 564 (5th Cir.2010) (internal quotations and alterations omitted). Because the Texas Supreme Court has not decided whether a lender may abandon its acceleration of a loan by its own unilateral actions and, if so, what actions it must take to effect abandonment, we must make an "Erie guess" as to how the Court would resolve this issue. Id.)
  2. ^ TEX. CONST. Art. V, § 3-c(a) ("The supreme court [has] jurisdiction to answer questions of state law certified from a federal appellate court."); TEX. R. APP. P. 58 (certified questions of law).
  3. ^ COA Activity 2016 txcourts.gov
  4. ^ COA Activity 2017 txcourts.gov
  5. ^ COA Activity 2018 txcourts.gov
  6. ^ COA Activity 2019 txcourts.gov
  7. ^ COA Activity 2020 txcourts.gov
  8. ^ "Bill Text: TX HB19 | 2023-2024 | 88th Legislature | Enrolled".
  9. ^ "Governor Abbott Appoints Inaugural Members To Fifteenth Court Of Appeals". gov.texas.gov. Retrieved 2024-06-29.
  10. ^ "Breaking Down Texas' New Business Courts - San Antonio Chamber of Commerce". www.sachamber.org. Retrieved 2024-08-28.
  11. ^ Manfredi, Richard (2024-08-24). "Texas Supreme Court Unanimously Upholds Constitutionality Of Fifteenth Court Of Appeals". Gibson Dunn. Retrieved 2024-08-27.
  12. ^ "Texas' New Business Courts and Court of Appeals | Insights | Dickinson Wright". www.dickinson-wright.com. Retrieved 2024-08-31.
  13. ^ a b "About the Court". Archived from the original on 2010-07-25. Retrieved 2007-09-17.
  14. ^ a b c Welcome to the official site of the First Court of Appeals of Texas!
  15. ^ Justices of Texas 1836–1986 – Timeline of the Texas Supreme Court and Court of Criminal Appeals Archived 2007-08-10 at the Wayback Machine
  16. ^ Texas Court of Criminal Appeals
  17. ^ Office of Court Administration (Texas). "Profile of Appellate and Trial Judges as of Sep. 1, 2018" (PDF). Retrieved November 21, 2019.
  18. ^ Office of Court Administration (Texas). "Profile of Appellate and Trial Judges as of Sep. 1, 2019" (PDF). Retrieved November 21, 2019.
  19. ^ Tex. Govt. Code Ann. §22.201 (Vernon 2005)
  20. ^ "First Court of Appeals - About the Court". Texas Judicial Branch.
  21. ^ Cardona, Megan (November 10, 2023). "Texas Chief Justice Nathan Hecht, others set to step down early after Prop 13's rejection". KERA News.
  22. ^ a b "Editorial: We recommend Countiss, Farris, Thomas and Wilson for courts of appeals". Houston Chronicle. October 19, 2022.
  23. ^ a b "Endorsements: Democratic primary for 1st and 14th Court of Appeals (Editorial)". Houston Chronicle. February 11, 2024.
  24. ^ "For 1st Court of Appeals, Place 8: Richard Hightower". Houston Chronicle. October 20, 2018.
  25. ^ "David M. Gunn". MoreLaw.
  26. ^ "Second Court of Appeals - About the Court". Texas Judicial Branch.
  27. ^ "For Texas Supreme Court: Brian Walker, Randy Sarosdy and Bonnie Lee Goldstein (Editorial)". Houston Chronicle. February 18, 2024.
  28. ^ "Third Court of Appeals - About the Court". Texas Judicial Branch.
  29. ^ "Our recommendation in the Democratic Primary for Texas Supreme Court Place 8". The Dallas Morning News. February 12, 2020.
  30. ^ "Fourth Court of Appeals - About the Court". Texas Judicial Branch.
  31. ^ "Chief Justice for the 4th Court of Appeals: Rebeca Martinez Q&A". Laredo Morning Times. October 12, 2020.
  32. ^ "San Antonio Express-News Judicial Questionnaire 2012 - Patricia O. Alvarez" (PDF). San Antonio Express-News.
  33. ^ "San Antonio Express-News Judicial Questionnaire 2012 - Luz Elena D. Chapa" (PDF). San Antonio Express-News.
  34. ^ Contreras, Guillermo (November 8, 2016). "Challenger wins 4th Court of Appeals seat". San Antonio Express-News.
  35. ^ "Sixth Court of Appeals - About the Court". Texas Judicial Branch.
  36. ^ "Seventh Court of Appeals - About the Court". Texas Judicial Branch.
  37. ^ "Eighth Court of Appeals - About the Court". Texas Judicial Branch.
  38. ^ "8th Court of Appeals, Place 2". El Paso Matters. October 21, 2022.
  39. ^ "Ninth Court of Appeals - About the Court". Texas Judicial Branch.
  40. ^ "Tenth Court of Appeals - About the Court". Texas Judicial Branch.
  41. ^ Witherspoon, Tommy (November 9, 2023). "Waco judge running for chief justice of the intermediate appellate court". KWTX-TV.
  42. ^ Rodriguez, Megan (August 31, 2021). "Brazos County Judge Steve Smith makes transition to Waco appellate court". The Bryan-College Station Eagle.
  43. ^ "Eleventh Court of Appeals - About the Court". Texas Judicial Branch.
  44. ^ "Twelfth Court of Appeals - About the Court". Texas Judicial Branch.
  45. ^ "Thirteenth Court of Appeals - About the Court". Texas Judicial Branch.
  46. ^ "Nora Longoria running for reelection for 13th Court of Appeals". Progress Times. March 1, 2018.
  47. ^ "Judge Jaime Tijerina seeks the 92nd District Court judge position". Texas Border Business. September 14, 2014.
  48. ^ "Fourteenth Court of Appeals - About the Court". Texas Judicial Branch.
  49. ^ "Fifteenth Court of Appeals - About the Court". Texas Judicial Branch.
  50. ^ Office of Court Administration [Texas]. "Annual Statistical Report for the Texas Judiciary - Fiscal Year 2018" (PDF). Retrieved 2019-11-28.
  51. ^ Office of Court Administration [Texas]. "Annual Report for the Texas Judiciary - Fiscal Year 2017" (PDF). Retrieved 2019-11-28.
  52. ^ Opinion summary 2019 txcourts.gov
  53. ^ Office of Court Administration. "Annual Statistical Supplement FY 2018 - Courts of Appeals Activity". Retrieved December 9, 2019.
  54. ^ Christian, Carol; Chronicle, Chron com / Houston (2016-10-13). "Texas Republican judge who performed same-sex wedding, switched parties reports 'no backlash'". Houston Chronicle. Retrieved 2019-12-09.
  1. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n Under Article 5 of the Texas Constitution, justices who reach the age of 75 during the first four years of their 6-year term, must retire by December 31st of the 4th year of their term. If justices reach the age of 75 during the 5th or 6th year of their term, they will be able to serve out the remainder of their term.[21]
  2. ^ Previously appointed by Governor Abbott as Associate Justice (Place 5) from July 23, 2020–December 31, 2020.
  3. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n o p q r s t u v w x y z aa ab ac ad ae af ag ah ai aj ak al am an ao ap aq Took office after being elected in a partisan election.
  4. ^ Originally appointed by Governor Rick Perry (R) as Associate Justice (Place 4). Subsequently elevated by Governor Greg Abbott (R) as Chief Justice on October 5, 2017.
  5. ^ Originally took office as Associate Justice (Place 7) after being elected in a partisan election. Subsequently elected as Chief Justice in 2020, and took office on January 1, 2021.
  6. ^ Originally elected as Associate Justice (Place 2). Subsequently elected as Chief Justice in 2022 and took office on January 1, 2023.
  7. ^ Originally elected as Associate Justice in 1994. Subsequently appointed as Chief Justice by Governor Rick Perry (R) and took office in May 2005.
  8. ^ Originally appointed by Governor Greg Abbott (R) as Chief Justice from October 3, 2019 – December 31, 2020. Subsequently appointed as Associate Justice (Place 2) from January 4, 2021 – December 31, 2022. Reappointed as Chief Justice on December 8, 2023.
  9. ^ Originally elected as Associate Justice in 1994. Subsequently appointed as Chief Justice by Governor Rick Perry (R) and took office in May 2005.
  10. ^ Originally appointed as Associate Justice by Governor Rick Perry (R). Subsequently appointed by Governor Greg Abbott (R) and took office as Chief Justice on September 17, 2018.
  11. ^ Originally elected as Associate Justice in 1998. Subsequently elected as Chief Justice in 2002, and took office on January 1, 2003.
  12. ^ Originally elected as Associate Justice (Place 4). Took office as Chief Justice on January 1, 2019, after being elected in 2018.
  13. ^ Originally appointed as Associate Justice (Place 9) by Governor Rick Perry (R). Subsequently elected Chief Justice in 2020 and took office January 1, 2021.
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