Texas
Supreme Court
Texas’s highest court for civil matters is the Supreme Court of Texas. The court has eight justices and one chief justice. The chief justice is selected according to the same procedures as the associate justices. (Source: Texas Constitution)
Judicial Selection
Texas Supreme Court justices are selected for six-year terms through a partisan election, where multiple candidates may vie for the seat. Justices may seek additional terms through partisan elections. When a seat opens in the middle of a justice’s term, the governor appoints a candidate to fill the vacancy. The governor’s selection must be confirmed by a majority of the state senate. The appointed justice holds office until Texas’ next general election. The elected justice serves a six-year term. There is no limit on the number of terms a justice may serve; however, a justice may not stand for election after turning 75. A justice who turns 75 during the first four years of a six-year term must vacate the seat at the end of the calendar year of the term’s fourth year. A justice who turns 75 in the final two years of the term is permitted to complete the term.
Court of Criminal Appeals
Texas’s highest court for criminal matters is the Texas Court of Criminal Appeals. The court has eight judges and one presiding judge. The presiding judge is chosen by election. (Source: Texas Constitution)
Judicial Selection
Texas Court of Criminal Appeals judges are selected for six-year terms through a partisan election, where multiple candidates may vie for the seat. Justices may seek additional terms through partisan elections. When a seat on the Texas Court of Criminal Appeals becomes open in the middle of a judge’s term, the governor appoints a candidate to fill the vacancy. The governor’s selection must be confirmed by a majority of the state senate. The appointed judge holds office until Texas’ next general election. The elected judge serves a six-year term. There is no limit on the number of terms a judge may serve; however, a judge may not stand for election after turning 75. A judge who turns 75 during the first four years of a six-year term must vacate the seat at the end of the calendar year of the term’s fourth year. A judge who turns 75 in the final two years of the seat’s term is permitted to complete the term.
State Constitution
Texas has had five state constitutions adopted between 1845 and 1876. As of January 1, 2024, it had 129 amendments. (Source: John Dinan, 2024)
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State Court Oral Arguments to Watch for in October
Issues on the dockets include New York’s Voting Rights Act, investigations of gender-affirming care for minors, and Meta’s challenge to a disclosure law for political ads.
New York Courts Should Reject Texas’s Attempt to Enforce its Abortion Ban Beyond its Borders
Precedent supports the refusal to enforce out-of-state civil judgments that punish an individual in the name of protecting the public.
Book Excerpt: Impermissible Punishments: How Prison Became a Problem for Democracy
The U.S. prison system violates democratic social orders aiming to lessen racist and class hierarchies. Its development was not inevitable.
The Next Round of Partisan Gerrymandering Fights
An unprecedented cycle of mid-decade redistricting highlights a state-by-state legal patchwork, with significant national implications.
Book Excerpt: Sedition: How America's Constitutional Order Emerged from Violent Crisis
Throughout history, state constitutional drafting has involved failure and violent crisis and has sometimes torn us apart rather than brought us together.
How Will Federal Funding Cuts Impact State Budgets?
Fiscal provisions found in every state constitution constrain states’ ability to work around budget shortfalls.
State Court Oral Arguments to Watch for in September
Issues on the dockets include charter schools, minimum wage for live-in caregivers, online arbitration agreements, and a controversial handwritten date requirement for mail ballots.
Mount Laurel at 50: New Jersey’s Blueprint for Dismantling Residential Segregation
Fifty years ago, the New Jersey Supreme Court created a groundbreaking affordable housing framework. A new law gives it real teeth.