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Texas Supreme Court justice vacancy (July 2019)
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|---|
| Brown Vacancy Texas Supreme Court |
| Vacancy date |
| Vacancy status |
| Nomination date |
| August 26, 2019 |
| Table of contents |
|
Selection process About Justice Brown |
| See also |
| Recent news External links Footnotes |
Texas Supreme Court Justice Jeff Brown vacated his seat on the state supreme court after he was elevated to be a federal judge on the United States District Court for the Southern District of Texas. The U.S. Senate confirmed Brown to the federal district court on July 31, 2019.[1]
On August 26, 2019, Gov. Greg Abbott (R) nominated Jane Bland to fill the vacancy. Because the legislature was out of session at the time of the appointment, it did not require confirmation by the Texas State Senate. As a result, however, Bland needed to stand for election in 2020 to remain on the bench.
Under Texas law, the governor appointed a replacement in the event of a midterm vacancy on the supreme court. Bland was Greg Abbott's (R) third nominee to the nine-member supreme court.
The appointee
Bland was appointed to the Texas First District Court of Appeals in 2003 by Gov. Rick Perry (R). She held that seat until 2018 when she was defeated in the general election by Gordon Goodman (D).
Prior to joining the court, Bland was a clerk for Judge Thomas Gibbs Gee of the United States Court of Appeals for the 5th Circuit and practiced law at Baker Botts, L.L.P., where she specialized in civil trials and appellate work.
Bland received her bachelor's degree from the University of Texas at Austin, where she majored in accounting and honors business. She received her J.D. from the University of Texas.
The selection process
- See also: Gubernatorial appointment of judges
At the time of the vacancy, the governor appointed a replacement in the event of a midterm vacancy on the Texas Supreme Court. The appointee serves until the next general election, in which he or she may compete to serve for the remainder of the unexpired term.[2] Prior to the vacancy announcement, Brown's term was set to expire on December 31, 2024.
About Justice Brown
- See also: Jeff Brown (Texas)
Brown was the Republican Place 6 judge of the Texas Supreme Court from 2013 to 2019. Governor Rick Perry (R) appointed Brown to this court on September 26, 2013, to fill the seat of Nathan Hecht, who was elevated to chief justice.[3][4] Brown left the state supreme court after the U.S. Senate confirmed him as a federal judge on the United States District Court for the Southern District of Texas. Brown was confirmed to the federal judgeship on a vote of 50-40 on July 31, 2019.[1][5]
Brown was a judge on the Texas Fourteenth District Court of Appeals from 2007 to 2013. Gov. Perry appointed Brown to this court in 2007. In 2013, Brown became interim chief justice of the court.[5][6]
Brown also served as a judge on the 55th District Court in Harris County from 2001 to 2007. He was also appointed to this court by Gov. Perry.[5]
Brown received his bachelor's degree in English from the University of Texas at Austin in 1992 and his J.D., magna cum laude, from the University of Houston Law Center in 1995. During his legal studies, Brown was an editor on the Houston Law Review.[5][7]
Other state supreme court appointments in 2019
- See also: State supreme court vacancies, 2019
The following table lists vacancies to state supreme courts that opened in 2019. Click the link under the Court column for a particular vacancy for more information on that vacancy.
Click here for vacancies that opened in 2020.
| 2019 judicial vacancies filled by appointment | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Court | Date of Vacancy | Justice | Reason | Date Vacancy Filled | Successor |
| Florida Supreme Court | January 7, 2019 | Fred Lewis | Retirement | January 9, 2019 | Barbara Lagoa |
| Florida Supreme Court | January 7, 2019 | Barbara Pariente | Retirement | January 14, 2019 | Robert J. Luck |
| Florida Supreme Court | January 7, 2019 | Peggy Quince | Retirement | January 22, 2019 | Carlos Muñiz |
| Kentucky Supreme Court | January 31, 2019 | Bill Cunningham | Retirement | March 27, 2019 | David Buckingham |
| Mississippi Supreme Court | January 31, 2019 | William Waller | Retirement | December 19, 2018 | Kenny Griffis |
| North Carolina Supreme Court | February 28, 2019 | Mark Martin | Private sector[8] | March 1, 2019 | Cheri Beasley |
| North Carolina Supreme Court | March 1, 2019 | Cheri Beasley | Apppointed to new post[9] | March 11, 2019 | Mark Davis |
| Arizona Supreme Court | March 1, 2019 | John Pelander | Retirement | April 26, 2019 | James Beene |
| Oklahoma Supreme Court | April 10, 2019 | Patrick Wyrick | Elevation to a federal judgeship[10] | November 20, 2019 | Dustin Rowe |
| Oklahoma Supreme Court | April 30, 2019 | John Reif | Retirement | September 17, 2019 | M. John Kane IV |
| Arizona Supreme Court | July 3, 2019 | Scott Bales | Private sector[11] | September 4, 2019 | Bill Montgomery |
| Texas Supreme Court | July 31, 2019 | Jeff Brown | Elevation to a federal judgeship[12] | August 26, 2019 | Jane Bland |
| New Hampshire Supreme Court | August 23, 2019 | Robert Lynn | Retirement | January 7, 2021 | Gordon MacDonald |
| Virginia Supreme Court | September 1, 2019 | Elizabeth McClanahan | Retirement | February 15, 2019 | Teresa M. Chafin |
| Vermont Supreme Court | September 1, 2019 | Marilyn Skoglund | Retirement | December 5, 2019 | William Cohen |
| Kansas Supreme Court | September 8, 2019 | Lee Johnson | Retirement | December 16, 2019 | Evelyn Z. Wilson |
| Delaware Supreme Court | October 30, 2019 | Leo E. Strine Jr. | Retirement | November 7, 2019 | Collins Seitz Jr. |
| Iowa Supreme Court | November 15, 2019 | Mark Cady | Death | January 28, 2020 | Dana Oxley |
| Florida Supreme Court | November 19, 2019 | Robert J. Luck | Elevation to a federal judgeship[13] | September 14, 2020 | Jamie Rutland Grosshans |
| Florida Supreme Court | November 20, 2019 | Barbara Lagoa | Elevation to a federal judgeship[14] | May 26, 2020 | John D. Couriel |
| Kansas Supreme Court | December 17, 2019 | Lawton Nuss | Retirement | March 11, 2020 | Keynen Wall |
| Maine Supreme Court | December 2019 | Jeffrey Hjelm | Retirement | January 6, 2020 | Catherine Connors |
See also
External links
- Search Google News for this topic
- Biography from the Federal Judicial Center
- Texas Supreme Court
- United States District Court for the Southern District of Texas
- United States Court of Appeals for the 5th Circuit
Footnotes
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 Congress.gov, "PN510 — Jeffrey Vincent Brown — The Judiciary," accessed April 10, 2019
- ↑ American Judicature Society, "Methods of Judicial Selection: Texas," archived October 3, 2014
- ↑ Statesman.com, "Perry names Houston justice to Supreme Court," September 26, 2013
- ↑ Office of the Governor, "Gov. Perry Appoints Brown to Supreme Court of Texas," September 26, 2013
- ↑ 5.0 5.1 5.2 5.3 U.S. Senate Committee on the Judiciary, "Questionnaire for judicial nominees: Jeffrey Vincent Brown," accessed April 10, 2019
- ↑ Texas Judicial Branch, "Justice Jeff Brown," accessed February 1, 2019
- ↑ Fourteenth Court of Appeals, "Official biography of Justice Brown," accessed August 21, 2014
- ↑ Martin left the court to become the dean of Regent University Law School in Virginia Beach, Virginia.
- ↑ Beasley was appointed chief justice of the court.
- ↑ Wyrick was confirmed to a seat on the Western District of Oklahoma on April 9, 2019.
- ↑ Bales left the court to become executive director of the Institute for the Advancement of the American Legal System at the University of Denver.
- ↑ Brown was confirmed to a seat on the Southern District of Texas on July 31, 2019.
- ↑ Luck was confirmed to a seat on the United States Court of Appeals for the 11th Circuit on November 19, 2019.
- ↑ Lagoa was confirmed to a seat on the United States Court of Appeals for the 11th Circuit on November 20, 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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