Far down the Texas ballot are six statewide judgeships that will shape how the state's criminal cases and its own lawsuits are decided.
A court voters have never chosen
Voters have never before chosen the judges of the 15th Court of Appeals. Lawmakers created it in 2023 to take appeals involving the state, its officials and challenges to state laws, along with appeals from the new Texas Business Court, the San Antonio Report explains in its guide to this year's judicial races, posted Wednesday.
Those cases used to go to regional appeals courts whose judges are elected by voters in their own areas. The guide reports that experts in both parties see the new court as a likely flashpoint.
Gov. Greg Abbott appointed all three of its first justices, all Republicans. Each now faces a Democrat:
- Chief justice: Scott Brister (R), a Harvard Law graduate and onetime associate justice of the Texas Supreme Court, against Jerry Zimmerer (D), a former 14th Court of Appeals justice who worked 12 years at AT&T Mobility.
- Place 2: Scott Field (R), a former Williamson County district judge and Third Court of Appeals justice, against Tom Baker (D), a Navy veteran and former appeals court justice.
- Place 3: April Farris (R), who moved to the new court from Houston's 1st Court of Appeals, against Marc Meyer (D), a Montgomery attorney and registered nurse who retired from the Houston Fire Department.
Court of Criminal Appeals
Texas sends its final criminal appeals to the Court of Criminal Appeals. Its nine judges, all Republicans, serve staggered six-year terms. The guide notes heavy turnover after Attorney General Ken Paxton targeted judges in the 2024 Republican primary who had ruled that his office lacked broad power to bring election fraud cases on its own.
