Texas Supreme Court justice vacancy (December 2020)
| Texas Supreme Court |
|---|
 |
| Keasler vacancy |
| Date: December 31, 2020 |
| Status: Seat filled |
| Nomination |
| Nominee: Jesse McClure |
| Date: December 21, 2020 |
Texas Governor Greg Abbott (R) appointed Jesse McClure to the Texas Court of Criminal Appeals on December 21, 2020. McClure succeeded Judge Michael Keasler, who retired on December 31, 2020. Keasler reached the mandatory retirement age of 78.[1]
McClure was Gov. Abbott's first nominee to the nine-member Court of Criminal Appeals and fourth nominee to a Texas court of last resort.
At the time of the appointment, the governor would appoint a replacement in the event of a midterm vacancy. The nominee had to be confirmed by the Texas State Senate.
Texas was one of two states with two courts of last resort. The Texas Supreme Court had jurisdiction over all civil cases, while the Court of Criminal Appeals exerciseddiscretionary review over criminal cases.
Ballotpedia has compiled the following resources on the process to fill the Texas Court of Criminal Appeals vacancy:
- An overview of the appointee.
- An overview of the selection process.
- Noteworthy events that occurred during the nomination process.
- An overview of the court following the vacancy.
- An overview of the justice who left office.
- A list of other state supreme court appointments in 2020.
The appointee
- See also: Jesse McClure
McClure was a judge on the Texas 339th District Court from 2019 to 2020. He was appointed by Gov. Abbott but lost re-election.[1]
McClure previously worked as a prosecutor for the Texas Department of Insurance, as an attorney with the Department of Homeland Security, and as an assistant district attorney in Tarrant County, Texas.[1]
McClure earned a B.A. in philosophy from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill and a J.D. from the University of Texas School of Law.[2]
The selection process
- See also: Judicial selection in Texas
At the time of the appointment, the governor would appoint a replacement in the event of a midterm vacancy on the Texas Court of Criminal Appeals. The nominee had to be confirmed by the Texas State Senate. The appointee would serve until the next general election, in which they would have to compete in a partisan election to serve for the remainder of the unexpired term.[3]
Otherwise, the nine Court of Criminal Appeals judges were selected in statewide partisan elections. The elected judges would serve six-year terms, after which they must run for re-election if they wish to remain on the court.[3]
Noteworthy events
Possible 2020 election
- See also: Texas Supreme Court elections, 2020
Judge Keasler's term expired on December 31, 2020. Keasler was required to leave office by a mandatory-retirement provision in the Texas Constitution.
Mike Snipes (D) had declared his candidacy for the seat prior to Texas' statewide filing deadline. However, Keasler's seat was ultimately not up for election in 2020.[4] Click here for more information on the 2020 elections to the Texas Supreme Court and Texas Court of Criminal Appeals.
Makeup of the court
- See also: Texas Court of Criminal Appeals
Justices
As of September 10, 2020, aside from Keasler, the Texas Court of Criminal Appeals included the following members:
| ■ Barbara Hervey | Elected in 2000 | |
| ■ Sharon Keller | Elected in 2000 | |
| ■ David Newell | Elected in 2014 | |
| ■ Bert Richardson | Elected in 2014 | |
| ■ Kevin Patrick Yeary | Elected in 2014 | |
| ■ Mary Lou Keel | Elected in 2016 | |
| ■ Scott Walker | Elected in 2016 | |
| ■ Michelle Slaughter | Elected in 2016 |
About the court
Founded in 1876, the Texas Court of Criminal Appeals is the state's court of last resort for criminal matters and has nine judgeships. The current presiding judge of the court is David Schenck.
As of January 2025, all nine judges on the court identified with the Republican party.
The Texas Court of Criminal Appeals meets in Austin, Texas.
In Texas, state supreme court justices are elected in partisan elections. There are eight states that use this selection method. To read more about the partisan election of judges, click here.
About Judge Keasler
- See also: Michael Keasler
Michael Keasler was first elected to the Texas Court of Criminal Appeals in 1998. He was re-elected in 2004, 2010, and 2016. Before joining the court, Keasler was a judge of the 292nd District Court in Dallas, from 1981 to 1998. He was an assistant district attorney for Dallas County from 1969 to 1981.
Keasler earned his B.A. and L.L.B. degrees from the University of Texas at Austin.
Other state supreme court appointments in 2020
- See also: State supreme court vacancies, 2020
The following table lists vacancies to state supreme courts that opened in 2020. Click the link under the Court column for a particular vacancy for more information on that vacancy.
Click here for vacancies that opened in 2021.
See also
External links
Footnotes
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 1.2 Texas Tribune, "Houston judge Jesse McClure appointed to Texas Court of Criminal Appeals by Gov. Greg Abbott," December 21, 2020
- ↑ Facebook, "Judge Jesse McClure on December 21, 2020," accessed December 23, 2020
- ↑ 3.0 3.1 American Judicature Society, "Methods of Judicial Selection: Texas," archived October 3, 2014
- ↑ Off the Kuff, "You really have to plan for every election," November 10, 2019
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Federal courts:
Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals • U.S. District Court: Eastern District of Texas, Western District of Texas, Northern District of Texas, Southern District of Texas • U.S. Bankruptcy Court: Eastern District of Texas, Western District of Texas, Northern District of Texas, Southern District of Texas
State courts:
Texas Supreme Court • Texas Court of Appeals • Texas Court of Criminal Appeals • Texas District Courts • Texas County Courts • Texas County Courts at Law • Texas Statutory Probate Courts • Texas Justice of the Peace Courts
State resources:
Courts in Texas • Texas judicial elections • Judicial selection in Texas
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