There are two high courts in Texas. For election results for the supreme court, see: Texas Supreme Court elections.

There are nine justices on the Texas Court of Criminal Appeals. For more information about these elections, visit the Texas judicial elections page.

Judicial selection

See also: Judicial selection in Texas

The nine judges of the Texas Court of Criminal Appeals are selected in statewide partisan elections. The elected justices and judges serve six-year terms, after which they must run for re-election if they wish to remain on the court.^[1]

Qualifications

To serve on any of the appellate courts, a judge must be:

a U.S. citizen;
a resident of Texas;
licensed to practice law in the state;
between the ages of 35 and 75;*^[2]^[3] and
a practicing lawyer and/or judge for at least 10 years.^[1]

Presiding judge

The presiding judge of the Texas Criminal Court of Appeals is selected by voters at large. He or she serves in that capacity for a full six-year term.^[1]

Vacancies

See also: How vacancies are filled in state supreme courts

In the event of a midterm vacancy, the governor appoints a replacement who must be confirmed by the Texas Senate. The appointee serves until the next general election, in which he or she may compete to serve for the remainder of the unexpired term.^[1]

The map below highlights how vacancies are filled in state supreme courts across the country.

Elections

2020

See also: Texas Supreme Court elections, 2020

Place 3

General election

General election for Texas Court of Criminal Appeals Place 3

Incumbent Bert Richardson defeated Elizabeth Davis Frizell in the general election for Texas Court of Criminal Appeals Place 3 on November 3, 2020.

	Candidate	%	Votes
✔	Bert Richardson (R)	54.5	5,953,924
	Elizabeth Davis Frizell (D)	45.5	4,964,460

	Incumbents are bolded and underlined. The results have been certified. Source	Total votes: 10,918,384
= candidate completed the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection survey.
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Democratic primary election

Democratic primary for Texas Court of Criminal Appeals Place 3

Elizabeth Davis Frizell defeated Dan Wood and William Demond in the Democratic primary for Texas Court of Criminal Appeals Place 3 on March 3, 2020.

	Candidate	%	Votes
✔	Elizabeth Davis Frizell	68.7	1,184,280
	Dan Wood	19.2	331,715
	William Demond	12.0	207,651

	There were no incumbents in this race. The results have been certified. Source	Total votes: 1,723,646
= candidate completed the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection survey.
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Republican primary election

Republican primary for Texas Court of Criminal Appeals Place 3

Incumbent Bert Richardson defeated Gina Parker in the Republican primary for Texas Court of Criminal Appeals Place 3 on March 3, 2020.

	Candidate	%	Votes
✔	Bert Richardson	51.8	897,496
	Gina Parker	48.2	833,893

	Incumbents are bolded and underlined. The results have been certified. Source	Total votes: 1,731,389
= candidate completed the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection survey.
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Place 4

General election

General election for Texas Court of Criminal Appeals Place 4

Incumbent Kevin Patrick Yeary defeated Tina Yoo Clinton in the general election for Texas Court of Criminal Appeals Place 4 on November 3, 2020.

	Candidate	%	Votes
✔	Kevin Patrick Yeary (R)	54.8	5,974,016
	Tina Yoo Clinton (D)	45.2	4,924,207

	Incumbents are bolded and underlined. The results have been certified. Source	Total votes: 10,898,223
= candidate completed the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection survey.
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Democratic primary election

Democratic primary for Texas Court of Criminal Appeals Place 4

Tina Yoo Clinton defeated Steven Miears in the Democratic primary for Texas Court of Criminal Appeals Place 4 on March 3, 2020.

	Candidate	%	Votes
✔	Tina Yoo Clinton	80.5	1,380,356
	Steven Miears	19.5	334,474

	There were no incumbents in this race. The results have been certified. Source	Total votes: 1,714,830
= candidate completed the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection survey.
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Republican primary election

Republican primary for Texas Court of Criminal Appeals Place 4

Incumbent Kevin Patrick Yeary advanced from the Republican primary for Texas Court of Criminal Appeals Place 4 on March 3, 2020.

		Candidate	%	Votes
✔		Kevin Patrick Yeary	100.0	1,679,193

	Incumbents are bolded and underlined. The results have been certified. Source	Total votes: 1,679,193
= candidate completed the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection survey.
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Place 9

General election

General election for Texas Court of Criminal Appeals Place 9

Incumbent David Newell defeated Brandon Birmingham in the general election for Texas Court of Criminal Appeals Place 9 on November 3, 2020.

	Candidate	%	Votes
✔	David Newell (R)	55.3	6,015,909
	Brandon Birmingham (D)	44.7	4,863,142

	Incumbents are bolded and underlined. The results have been certified. Source	Total votes: 10,879,051
= candidate completed the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection survey.
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Watch the Candidate Conversation for this race!

Democratic primary election

Democratic primary for Texas Court of Criminal Appeals Place 9

Brandon Birmingham advanced from the Democratic primary for Texas Court of Criminal Appeals Place 9 on March 3, 2020.

		Candidate	%	Votes
✔		Brandon Birmingham	100.0	1,570,444

	There were no incumbents in this race. The results have been certified. Source	Total votes: 1,570,444
= candidate completed the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection survey.
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Republican primary election

Republican primary for Texas Court of Criminal Appeals Place 9

Incumbent David Newell advanced from the Republican primary for Texas Court of Criminal Appeals Place 9 on March 3, 2020.

		Candidate	%	Votes
✔		David Newell	100.0	1,676,841

	Incumbents are bolded and underlined. The results have been certified. Source	Total votes: 1,676,841
= candidate completed the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection survey.
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2018

See also: Texas Supreme Court elections, 2018

Presiding judge

General election

General election for Texas Court of Criminal Appeals Presiding Judge

Incumbent Sharon Keller defeated Maria T. Jackson and William Bryan Strange in the general election for Texas Court of Criminal Appeals Presiding Judge on November 6, 2018.

		Candidate	%	Votes
✔		Sharon Keller (R)	52.2	4,288,913
		Maria T. Jackson (D)	45.5	3,734,179
	Submit photo	William Bryan Strange (L)	2.3	187,384

	Incumbents are bolded and underlined. The results have been certified. Source	Total votes: 8,210,476
= candidate completed the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection survey.
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Democratic primary election

Democratic primary for Texas Court of Criminal Appeals Presiding Judge

Maria T. Jackson advanced from the Democratic primary for Texas Court of Criminal Appeals Presiding Judge on March 6, 2018.

		Candidate
✔		Maria T. Jackson

	There were no incumbents in this race. The results have been certified.
= candidate completed the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection survey.
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Republican primary election

Republican primary for Texas Court of Criminal Appeals Presiding Judge

Incumbent Sharon Keller defeated David Bridges in the Republican primary for Texas Court of Criminal Appeals Presiding Judge on March 6, 2018.

	Candidate	%	Votes
✔	Sharon Keller	52.1	671,361
	David Bridges	47.9	616,096

	Incumbents are bolded and underlined. The results have been certified.	Total votes: 1,287,457
= candidate completed the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection survey.
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Place 7

General election

General election for Texas Court of Criminal Appeals Place 7

Incumbent Barbara Hervey defeated Ramona Franklin in the general election for Texas Court of Criminal Appeals Place 7 on November 6, 2018.

	Candidate	%	Votes
✔	Barbara Hervey (R)	54.2	4,429,113
	Ramona Franklin (D)	45.8	3,750,114

	Incumbents are bolded and underlined. The results have been certified. Source	Total votes: 8,179,227
= candidate completed the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection survey.
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Democratic primary election

Democratic primary for Texas Court of Criminal Appeals Place 7

Ramona Franklin advanced from the Democratic primary for Texas Court of Criminal Appeals Place 7 on March 6, 2018.

		Candidate
✔		Ramona Franklin

	There were no incumbents in this race. The results have been certified.
= candidate completed the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection survey.
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Republican primary election

Republican primary for Texas Court of Criminal Appeals Place 7

Incumbent Barbara Hervey advanced from the Republican primary for Texas Court of Criminal Appeals Place 7 on March 6, 2018.

		Candidate
✔		Barbara Hervey

	Incumbents are bolded and underlined. The results have been certified.
= candidate completed the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection survey.
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Place 8

General election

General election for Texas Court of Criminal Appeals Place 8

Michelle Slaughter defeated Mark Ash in the general election for Texas Court of Criminal Appeals Place 8 on November 6, 2018.

	Candidate	%	Votes
✔	Michelle Slaughter (R)	74.7	4,760,576
	Mark Ash (L)	25.3	1,614,119

	There were no incumbents in this race. The results have been certified. Source	Total votes: 6,374,695
= candidate completed the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection survey.
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Republican primary election

Republican primary for Texas Court of Criminal Appeals Place 8

Michelle Slaughter defeated Jay Brandon and Dib Waldrip in the Republican primary for Texas Court of Criminal Appeals Place 8 on March 6, 2018.

		Candidate	%	Votes
✔		Michelle Slaughter	52.8	666,763
	Submit photo	Jay Brandon	30.7	387,751
		Dib Waldrip	16.4	207,209

	There were no incumbents in this race. The results have been certified.	Total votes: 1,261,723
= candidate completed the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection survey.
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2016

Main article: Texas Court of Criminal Appeals elections, 2016

Three seats on the Texas Court of Criminal Appeals were on the general election ballot on November 8, 2016. These seats were held by Lawrence Meyers (D), Cheryl Johnson (R), and Michael Keasler (R) heading into the election. Each justice elected to the court serves a six-year term. The court had an 8-1 Republican majority heading into the election.

General election candidates

Place 2

■ Lawrence Meyers (D) (Incumbent)
■ Mary Lou Keel (R)
■ Mark Ash (Lib.)
■ Adam Reposa (Green)

Place 5

■ Betsy Johnson (D)
■ Scott Walker (R)
■ William Bryan Strange (Lib.)
■ Judith Sanders-Castro (Green)

Place 6

■ Robert D. Burns III (D)
■ Michael Keasler (R) (Incumbent)
■ Mark Bennett (Lib.)

Election results

November 8 general election

Mary Lou Keel (R) defeated incumbent Lawrence Meyers (D), Mark Ash (L), and Adam Reposa (G) in the general election for the Texas Court of Criminal Appeals, Place 2.

Texas Court of Criminal Appeals, Place 2, 2016
Party		Candidate	Vote %	Votes
	Republican	Mary Lou Keel	54.88%	4,790,800
	Democratic	Lawrence Meyers Incumbent	40.05%	3,496,205
	Libertarian	Mark Ash	3.68%	321,568
	Green	Adam Reposa	1.39%	121,467
Total Votes (100% reporting)				8,730,040
Source: Texas Secretary of State Official Results

Scott Walker (Texas) defeated Betsy Johnson (Texas), William Bryan Strange and Judith Sanders-Castro in the general election for the Texas Court of Criminal Appeals, Place 5.

Texas Court of Criminal Appeals, Place 5, 2016
Party		Candidate	Vote %	Votes
	Republican	Scott Walker (Texas)	54.75%	4,782,144
	Democratic	Betsy Johnson (Texas)	40.20%	3,511,950
	Libertarian	William Bryan Strange	2.84%	248,109
	Green	Judith Sanders-Castro	2.21%	192,913
Total Votes (100% reporting)				8,735,116
Source: Texas Secretary of State Official Results

Incumbent Michael Keasler defeated Robert D. Burns III and Mark Bennett (Texas) in the general election for the Texas Court of Criminal Appeals, Place 6.

Texas Court of Criminal Appeals, Place 6, 2016
Party		Candidate	Vote %	Votes
	Republican	Michael Keasler Incumbent	54.97%	4,785,012
	Democratic	Robert D. Burns III	40.89%	3,558,844
	Libertarian	Mark Bennett (Texas)	4.14%	360,167
Total Votes (100% reporting)				8,704,023
Source: Texas Secretary of State Official Results

May 24 primary runoff

Place 2

Texas Court of Criminal Appeals Republican Runoff, Place 2, 2016
Party		Candidate	Vote %	Votes
	Republican	Mary Lou Keel	50.87%	184,405
	Republican	Ray Wheless	49.13%	178,114
Total Votes (100% Reporting)				362,519
Source: Texas Secretary of State Official Results

Place 5

Texas Court of Criminal Appeals Republican Runoff, Place 5, 2016
Party		Candidate	Vote %	Votes
	Republican	Scott Walker (Texas)	58.02%	206,922
	Republican	Brent Webster	41.98%	149,714
Total Votes (100% Reporting)				356,636
Source: Texas Secretary of State Official Results

March 1 primary election

Place 2

Texas Court of Criminal Appeals, Place 2, Republican Primary, 2016
Party		Candidate	Vote %	Votes
	Republican	Mary Lou Keel	39.42%	785,448
	Republican	Ray Wheless	35.43%	705,909
	Republican	Chris Oldner	25.15%	501,063
Total Votes (100% Reporting)				1,992,420
Source: Texas Secretary of State Official Results

Texas Court of Criminal Appeals, Place 2, Democratic Primary, 2016
Party		Candidate	Vote %	Votes
	Democratic	Lawrence Meyers Incumbent (unopposed)	100.00%	971,670
Total Votes (100% Reporting)				971,670
Source: Texas Secretary of State Official Results

Place 5

Texas Court of Criminal Appeals, Place 5, Republican Primary, 2016
Party		Candidate	Vote %	Votes
	Republican	Scott Walker	41.48%	833,757
	Republican	Brent Webster	20.45%	411,119
	Republican	Steve Smith	19.60%	393,992
	Republican	Sid Harle	18.47%	371,303
Total Votes (100% Reporting)				2,010,171
Source: Texas Secretary of State Official Results

Texas Court of Criminal Appeals, Place 5, Democratic Primary, 2016
Party		Candidate	Vote %	Votes
	Democratic	Betsy Johnson (unopposed)	100.00%	985,406
Total Votes (100% Reporting)				985,406
Source: Texas Secretary of State Official Results

Place 6

Texas Court of Criminal Appeals, Place 6, Republican Primary, 2016
Party		Candidate	Vote %	Votes
	Republican	Michael Keasler Incumbent	56.87%	1,102,194
	Republican	Richard Dean Davis	43.13%	835,758
Total Votes (100% Reporting)				1,937,952
Source: Texas Secretary of State Official Results

Texas Court of Criminal Appeals, Place 6, Democratic Primary, 2016
Party		Candidate	Vote %	Votes
	Democratic	Robert D. Burns III (unopposed)	100.00%	958,408
Total Votes (100% Reporting)				958,408
Source: Texas Secretary of State Official Results

2014

Place 3

Candidate	Incumbency	Party	Primary Vote	Election Vote
WaltherBarbara Walther	No	Republican	39.6%
BennettMark Bennett (Texas)	No	Libertarian		3.6% D
GranbergJohn Granberg	No	Democratic	100%A	36.5% D
RichardsonBert Richardson A	No	Republican	60.4%A	59.8% A

Place 4

Candidate	Incumbency	Party	Primary Vote	Election Vote
YearyKevin Patrick Yeary A	No	Republican	54.7%A	76.2% A
DavisRichard Dean Davis	No	Republican	28.0%
Sanders-CastroJudith Sanders-Castro	No	Green		10.4% D
ParkerQuanah Parker	No	Libertarian		13.3% D
WoodJani Jo Wood	No	Republican	17.4%

Place 9

Candidate	Incumbency	Party	Primary Vote	Election Vote
KirkendallWilliam Kirkendall	No	Republican	47.7%
StrangeWilliam Bryan Strange	No	Libertarian		13.1% D
NewellDavid Newell A	No	Republican	52.3%A	78.3% A

(See also Texas judicial elections, 2014)

2012

Candidate	Incumbency	Party	Place	Primary Vote	Election Vote
HerveyBarbara Hervey A	Yes	Republican	Place 7	100%A	77.9% A
AlcalaElsa Alcala A	Yes	Republican	Place 8	100%A	78.1% A
HamptonKeith Hampton	No	Democratic	Presiding Judge	100%A	41.2% A
StottLance Stott	No	Libertarian	Presiding Judge		3.3% A
BennettMark Bennett (Texas)	No	Libertarian	Place 6		22.1% A
KellerSharon Keller A	Yes	Republican		100%A	55.5% A
StrangeWilliam Bryan Strange	No	Libertarian	Place 5		21.9% A

External links

Suggest a link

Footnotes

↑ ^1.0 ^1.1 ^1.2 ^1.3 Cite error: Invalid <ref> tag; no text was provided for refs named TXgeneral
↑ Texas State Historical Association, "Judiciary," accessed September 12, 2014
↑ While no judge older than 74 may run for office, sitting judges who turn 75 are permitted to remain on the court until their terms expire.

Texas courts

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

[TXgeneral-1] 1.0 ^1.1 ^1.2 ^1.3 Cite error: Invalid <ref> tag; no text was provided for refs named TXgeneral

[hist-2] Texas State Historical Association, "Judiciary," accessed September 12, 2014

[3] While no judge older than 74 may run for office, sitting judges who turn 75 are permitted to remain on the court until their terms expire.

[1]

[2]

[3]

Texas	Judicial Selection	More Courts

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Texas Court of Criminal Appeals elections

Judicial selection

Qualifications

Presiding judge

Vacancies

Elections

2020

Place 3

General election

General election for Texas Court of Criminal Appeals Place 3

Democratic primary election

Democratic primary for Texas Court of Criminal Appeals Place 3

Republican primary election

Republican primary for Texas Court of Criminal Appeals Place 3

Place 4

General election

General election for Texas Court of Criminal Appeals Place 4

Democratic primary election

Democratic primary for Texas Court of Criminal Appeals Place 4

Republican primary election

Republican primary for Texas Court of Criminal Appeals Place 4

Place 9

General election

General election for Texas Court of Criminal Appeals Place 9

Democratic primary election

Democratic primary for Texas Court of Criminal Appeals Place 9

Republican primary election

Republican primary for Texas Court of Criminal Appeals Place 9

2018

Presiding judge

General election

General election for Texas Court of Criminal Appeals Presiding Judge

Democratic primary election

Democratic primary for Texas Court of Criminal Appeals Presiding Judge

Republican primary election

Republican primary for Texas Court of Criminal Appeals Presiding Judge

Place 7

General election

General election for Texas Court of Criminal Appeals Place 7

Democratic primary election

Democratic primary for Texas Court of Criminal Appeals Place 7

Republican primary election

Republican primary for Texas Court of Criminal Appeals Place 7

Place 8

General election

General election for Texas Court of Criminal Appeals Place 8

Republican primary election

Republican primary for Texas Court of Criminal Appeals Place 8

2016

General election candidates

Place 2

Place 5

Place 6

Election results

November 8 general election

May 24 primary runoff

Place 2

Place 5

March 1 primary election

Place 2

Place 5

Place 6

2014

2012

See also

External links

Footnotes

Information about voting

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