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Abbott Appoints Jane Bland to Texas Supreme Court

August 26, 2019 Mark Curriden

Former Houston judge and appellate law expert Jane Bland will soon have her third job in nine months, but this one is a dream job: Justice on the Texas Supreme Court.

Gov. Greg Abbott announced Monday that he intends to appoint Bland, who is now a partner at Vinson & Elkins in Houston, to the state’s highest court.

Jane Bland

Bland, who is considered one of the more intellectual appellate judges in the state, will replace Justice Jeff Brown, who was recently confirmed by the U.S. Senate to a seat on the U.S. District Court in the Southern District of Texas.

Bland applied for an open seat on the Texas Supreme Court in November, about a week after she – and a couple dozen other Republican appellate judges across Texas – lost re-election to her seat on the First Court of Appeals in Houston. She authored more than 1,200 opinions during her 15 years on the appellate bench.

V&E hired Bland in February as a partner.

The appointment of Bland, who is widely viewed as a judicial conservative, will have minimal impact on a supreme court that already is already stacked with eight conservative Republicans and no Democrats, according to legal experts.

“Jane Bland is an experienced and proven legal expert whose respect for the Constitution is unmatched,” Gov. Abbott said in a written statement. “As she assumes her new role on the Supreme Court, the people of Texas can rest assured that she will uphold the rule of law and be a good steward of the justice system. I am honored to appoint Jane to the highest court in Texas and am grateful for her service to our great state.” 

Bland also served for six years as a civil trial judge in Harris County.

This is not the first time Gov. Abbott has considered Bland for a position on the Texas Supreme Court. Sources say she has been on his short list for the past couple years.

“It’s a dream job,” Bland told The Texas Lawbook in 2017.

Bracewell partner Stephen Crain says Bland brings “remarkable depth of knowledge, intelligence, and experience” to the Texas Supreme Court.

“Judge Bland, who I have known since our first year in law school, is a serious legal scholar and a compassionate, fair person.  If she has a weakness, I’ve not seen it,” said Crain, who chairs Bracewell’s litigation section.

“She was a great trial judge and has already proven to be a great appellate judge. In terms of the voice she will bring, I can only say that Judge Bland is one of those people whose insights cause people to stop and listen.”

Mark Curriden

Mark Curriden is a lawyer/journalist and founder of The Texas Lawbook. In addition, he is a contributing legal correspondent for The Dallas Morning News.

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