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Appellate

UPDATED: Houston Appellate Races Tighten Between Red & Blue (Again); Dems Sweep Dallas COA Races

The four races for seats on Houston’s First and Fourteenth courts of appeals are incredibly close. Three incumbent Republican justices are leading their opponents by 1%, while one Democratic candidate is ahead of the GOP incumbent justice by 1%. By contrast, three Democratic district court judges are leading the incumbent Republican justices on the Dallas Court of Appeals by significant margins. Natalie Posgate has the details.

Natalie Posgate

TX Supreme Court Stays Solidly All Republican

At a time when political analysts say Texas is trending blue, the state’s voters overwhelmingly decided to keep the Texas Supreme Court totally Republican. With 90% of the counties reporting, all four incumbent state Supreme Court justices cruised to re-election Tuesday. In fact, all four justices won their races by larger vote margins than did their colleagues in 2018. The Texas Lawbook has the details.

Mark Curriden

Texas Judicial Election Results

The Texas Lawbook has five journalists tonight - election night - covering the judicial appellate and trial court races and will provide details as the election results are provided.

Allen Pusey

Rebeca Huddle Sworn In as Newest Member of Texas Supreme Court

In a live-streamed, fully-masked and socially-distanced ceremony Friday, Rebeca Aizpuru Huddle, a former partner at Baker Botts in Houston, was sworn by Gov. Greg Abbott as the newest justice on the Supreme Court of Texas. Huddle is only the 10th woman to serve as a justice on the court.

Allen Pusey

SCOTX Faces New Questions On Tortfeasor Exemptions From TWC

Less than four months after its controversial “tired trucker” ruling absolved an employer whose employee died after being required to work excessive hours, the Texas Supreme Court is weighing a $43.5 million jury verdict tossed on appeal because of the court's broadened limits on a worker's right to sue.

Janet Elliott

SCOTX Election Overview: Incumbency Has its Privileges

The four races in the Supreme Court of Texas bring notable aspects from both groups of candidates. The incumbents have the advantage of much more campaign finance support from the legal community. The incumbents' opponents - all women - comprise the most diverse slate of challenger candidates the court has seen.

Bruce Tomaso

Fifth District COA Candidates Make Their Case in Refreshingly Civil Virtual Forum

The Democratic and Republican candidates for three seats on the Fifth District Court of Appeals in Dallas did something Thursday evening that, in 2020, could strike many voters as odd. They engaged in a cordial, thoughtful, informative discussion of their qualifications to the bench, their legal experience and their judicial philosophies. Bruce Tomaso details what was said at the forum, which was moderated by The Texas Lawbook.

Bruce Tomaso

Rebeca Huddle of Baker Botts Named to SCOTX

Gov. Greg Abbott has selected El Paso native Rebeca Huddle to fill the open seat on the Texas Supreme Court left by Justice Paul Green, who retired from the bench at the end of August. Huddle, a former justice on the First Court of Appeals in Houston, was most recently the partner-in-charge of Baker Botts' Houston office.

Allen Pusey

Analysis: Even Lawyers See Difficulty in Informed Voting for Judges

U.S. Chief Justice John Roberts said there are no “Obama” or “Bush” judges, but the Texas Constitution mandates that all judges here be elected, making Texas one of only seven states where these positions are political and partisan. There are clear and definitive differences between the Democratic and Republican judicial candidates that impact cases large and small. But if lawyers even have difficulty figuring it out, what chance does the general public have?

Natalie Posgate

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