A state court of last resort / Established 1934

Supreme Court of Texas

Austin · A court of last resort in Texas.

The Supreme Court of Texas is the court of last resort for civil cases in Texas. Its justices are chosen by partisan election. This page lists every justice to serve on the court, current and former, with when they joined the bench and whom they succeeded.

Justices in history

Currently serving

Partisan

Selection

6-yr

Term

Current bench verified against the court’s official roster, 2026-07-02.

Current justices

Former justices

Justice	Years
Jeffrey Brown	2013–2019
Jeffrey S. Boyd	2012–2026
Eva Guzman	2009
Paul W. Green	2005
Phil Johnson	2005
Don R. Willett	2005–2013
David M. Medina	2004–2013
Scott A. Brister	2003–2009
Dale Wainwright	2003–2013
Michael H. Schneider Sr.	2002–2004
Steven Wayne Smith	2002–2005
Wallace B. Jefferson	2001–2013
Xavier Rodriguez	2001–2002
Alberto R. Gonzales	1999–2000
Harriet O'Neill	1999–2010
Deborah Hankinson	1997–2002
Greg W. Abbott	1995–2001
James A. Baker	1995–2002
Priscilla Richman Owen	1995–2005
Craig T. Enoch	1993–2003
Rose Spector	1993–1998
John Cornyn	1991–1997
Bob Gammage	1991–1995
Lloyd Doggett II	1989–1994
Nathan Lincoln Hecht · Chief	1989–2026
Eugene A. Cook	1988–1992
Barbara Culver	1988–1988
Jack Hightower	1988–1996
Thomas R. Phillips	1988–2004
Oscar H. Mauzy	1987–1993
John L. Hill Jr.	1985–1988
Raul A. Gonzalez	1984–1998
William W. Kilgarlin	1983–1988
Ted Robertson	1982–1989
Ruby Kless Sondock	1982–1982
James P. Wallace	1981–1988
C.L. Ray Jr.	1980–1990
Will Garwood	1979–1980
Franklin S. Spears	1979–1990
Robert M. Campbell	1978–1988
Charles W. Barrow	1977–1984
Don Yarbrough	1977–1977
Ross E. Doughty	1975–1976
Sam Johnson	1973–1979
Hawthorne Phillips	1972–1972
Price Daniel Sr.	1971–1978
James G. Denton	1971–1982
Sears McGee	1969–1986
Thomas Morrow Reavley	1968–1977
Jack Pope	1965–1985
Zollie Steakley	1962–1981
Robert W. Hamilton	1959–1970
T C. Chadick	1957–1977
Joe R. Greenhill	1957–1982
James R. Norvell	1957–1968
Abner V. McCall	1956–1956
Ruel C. Walker	1954–1975
Frank P. Culver Jr.	1953–1965
Will Wilson	1951–1956
Robert W. Calvert	1950–1972
Clyde E. Smith	1950–1970
Meade Felix Griffin	1949–1968
R.H. Harvey	1949–1950
W. St. John Garwood	1948–1958
James P. Hart	1947–1950
Few Brewster	1945–1957
A J. Folley	1945–1949
J E. Hickman	1945–1961
Gordon Simpson	1945–1949
C S. Slatton	1945–1947
Graham B. Smedley	1945–1954
William M. Taylor	1945–1950
James P. Alexander	1941–1948
William Folsom Moore	1940–1941
Richard Critz	1935–1944
John H. Sharp	1934–1952

How a justice reaches this court. Justices of the Supreme Court of Texas are chosen in partisan elections to 6-year terms. Texas’s court of last resort for civil matters; midterm vacancies are filled by gubernatorial appointment with Senate confirmation, then partisan election. Selection methods vary by jurisdiction and have changed over time; this page reflects the court’s current method (source: National Center for State Courts). Open any justice to see their tenure and whom they succeeded.

Source: Current roster: Texas Judicial Branch (txcourts.gov) — Supreme Court of Texas, Justices and CourtListener / Free Law Project (bulk data); selection method from the National Center for State Courts. Data as of 2026-07-02 (official roster); historical bench 2026-03-31 (CourtListener bulk snapshot). Verify against the primary source before relying. Not a consumer report (FCRA).