A justice on the First Court of Appeals has resigned, days after reports that she was sitting on the bench while diagnosed with Alzheimer’s.
Justice Laura Carter Higley submitted her resignation to Gov. Greg Abbott, the court’s clerk confirmed Tuesday. In the letter, she did not offer a reason for stepping down from the bench, clerk Christopher Prine said.
“Her service is appreciated by us and the state of Texas,” Prine said.
The Houston Chronicle reported on Higley’s cognitive condition after her sons launched an effort in Harris County Probate Court No. 2 to become her legal guardians. The justice, who is 72, had been continuing with her daily work routine contrary to her failing health, the sons said.
“Due to the recent (and rapid) progression of her Alzheimer’s disease, Justice Higley’s mental state has deteriorated to the point that she is no longer able to care for her own physical health or manage her own financial affairs,” sons Garrett C. Higley and Robert Carter Higley said in the filing for guardianship.
She has continued driving herself to work downtown, and had not resigned from her job, despite “clear indicators and explicit warnings” that she is no longer capable of serving, the brothers said.
Higley became the subject of the guardianship case in mid-October, just a week after receiving an official diagnosis of Alzheimer’s disease, according to probate court documents. Her wellness issues began more than a year earlier with a diagnosis of an unspecified mild neurocognitive disorder, the sons said in their attempt to pull decisions regarding Higley’s care away from her husband, West University Place Mayor Bob Higley.
The justice, a Republican, has held Place 5 on the state’s First Court of Appeals since 2002. She was re-elected in 2008 and 2014, and her term ends December 2020.
Prior to being a judge, she was an attorney at Baker Botts, L.L.P., and before that, the mayor of West University Place.
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