Agreeing to Agree: Justices Increasingly Turn to Concurrences to Invite Appeals, Advise Lawmakers

A handful of Texas Supreme Court justices are elevating their voices above the quiet of a congenial court. In a growing body of concurring opinions, which occur more than twice as often as dissents, they are urging litigants to present issues for future review, highlighting conflicts among the intermediate appellate courts and suggesting statutory changes.

In a few cases, they even telegraph what a justice believes about a contentious social issue, such as gun restrictions on criminal stalkers and how far a parent can go in disciplining their child. Some seem crafted to attract attention from conservative legal groups scouting for the federal bench, court watchers say.