Texas Supreme Court
Chief Justice Jimmy Blacklock* (R)
jimmyblacklock.com
Jimmy Blacklock Campaign
POB 1588
Austin, TX 78767
First appointed to the Supreme Court in 2018, won reelection in 2024. Before joining the Court, Chief Justice Blacklock served as Governor Abbott’s General Counsel and in the Attorney General’s Office under then-AG Abbott. While at the AG’s Office, he handled appeals and trials of constitutional cases in state and federal court involving matters such as federalism, religious liberty, and the separation of powers. As Deputy Attorney General for Legal Counsel, he oversaw the Open Records and Opinions divisions of the AG’s Office. Earlier in his career, Chief Justice Blacklock was appointed by President George W. Bush to serve in the Civil Rights Division of the U.S. Department of Justice, and he worked in private practice in Houston and Austin. He clerked for Judge Jerry Smith on the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit after graduating with a bachelor’s degree from the University of Texas and a J.D. from Yale Law School. Chief Justice Blacklock was born in Houston and now lives in Austin with his wife and three daughters.
Supreme Court, Place 7 – Kyle Hawkins (R)
justicekylehawkins.com
Kyle Hawkins Campaign
POB 160606
Austin TX 78716
First appointed to the Court in 2025. Justice Hawkins previously served in the U.S. Department of Justice as Counselor to the Solicitor General, where he represented the United States before the U.S. Supreme Court. Previously, he served as the Texas Solicitor General, the state’s chief appellate advocate charged with representing the state, its agencies, and its officers in state and federal appellate courts. Earlier in his career, he served as a law clerk for U.S. Supreme Court Justice Samuel A. Alito, Jr., and for Judge Edith H. Jones of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit. As an appellate practitioner, Justice Hawkins argued five cases in the U.S. Supreme Court, nine in the Texas Supreme Court, and dozens more in other federal and state appellate courts. In addition to his government service, Justice Hawkins served as a partner in the Dallas and Houston offices of Gibson, Dunn & Crutcher LLP, and he chaired the Texas appellate practice of Lehotsky Keller Cohn LLP, a national litigation boutique. Justice Hawkins has served as an Adjunct Professor of Law at the University of Texas School of Law. Justice Hawkins lives in Austin, Texas, with his wife and four children.
Supreme Court, Place 8 – Brett Busby (R)
brettbusby.com
Justice Brett Busby Campaign
PO Box 417
Austin TX 78767
First appointed to the Court in 2019. Reelected in 2020. He previously practiced as an appellate litigator in Houston, served on the Fourteenth Court of Appeals and the Texas Multi-District Litigation Panel, and taught at U.T. Law School as an adjunct professor. After graduating with high honors from Duke University and Columbia Law School, he served as a law clerk to Justices Byron R. White (Ret.) and John Paul Stevens, U.S. Supreme Court, and to Judge Gerald Bard Tjoflat, U.S. Court of Appeals, Eleventh Circuit. In private practice, Justice Busby presented oral argument in the U.S. Supreme Court and handled dozens of appeals in that Court, the Supreme Court of Texas, and federal and state appellate courts. He is board certified in civil appellate law, and his fellow Texas appellate lawyers elected him as Chair of the State Bar of Texas Appellate Section in 2018. He has also served as Chair of the Texas Bar Committee on Pattern Jury Charges (Business, Consumer, Insurance, and Employment) and as a Director of the Texas Young Lawyers Association. Justice Busby and his wife Erin, a clinical professor at U.T. Law School, met as law clerks at the U.S. Supreme Court. They have two children.
15th Court of Appeals
Chief Justice Scott Brister (R)
justicescottbrister.com
Scott Brister Campaign
1005 Congress Avenue,
Suite 400, Austin, TX 78701
First appointed in 2024. He previously served on four other trial and appellate courts in Texas for 20 years: 6 years on the Texas Supreme Court (2003–09), 3 years as a Justice and Chief Justice of the First and Fourteenth Courts of Appeals in Houston (2001–03), and 11 years as Presiding Judge of the 234th District Court in Harris County (1989–2000). During his years of judicial service, he presided in 454 jury trials to verdict, and authored more than 600 appellate opinions, including 122 for the Texas Supreme Court. Before returning to the bench in 2024, Chief Justice Brister was a partner at the law firm of Hunton Andrews Kurth LLP. During those years, he continued his public service as a volunteer as Chair of the Texas Commission on Public School Finance, a blue-ribbon panel of lawmakers and educators tasked with making recommendations that the Texas Legislature adopted the next year. He has also served on the Texas Bar’s Pattern Jury Charge committee on Business cases. Chief Justice Brister received his J.D. with honors from Harvard Law School in 1980, after which he served as briefing attorney for then-Chief Justice Joe Greenhill of the Texas Supreme Court. He received his undergraduate degree with highest honors from Duke University in 1977, and his high school diploma from Richfield High School in Waco, Texas. He is board-certified in civil appellate law, civil trial law, and personal injury trial law by the Texas Board of Legal Specialization. He has written articles for numerous law reviews and journals, as well as opinion pieces for The Houston Chronicle, The Austin American-Stateman, The Texas Trial Lawyer, and The Harvard Law Record. Chief Justice Brister has been married to his wife Julie for 37 years. He returned to the bench in 2024 after their four daughters finished college and graduate school.
15th Court of Appeals, Place 2 – Scott Field (R)
justicescottfield.com
Scott Field Campaign
1005 Congress Avenue,
Suite 400, Austin, TX 78701
Appointed in 2024. Scott K. Field served as the inaugural Judge for the 480th District Court of Williamson County. Prior to serving on the 480th District Court, Field was a partner at Butler Snow LLP in Austin, where he practiced in the appellate advocacy and commercial litigation groups. Before joining Butler Snow, Judge Field served a six-year term on the Third Court of Appeals in Austin. During his six years on that court, Justice Field was among the top ten most productive appellate court justices in the State of Texas, including in the top 5 in four of those years. Judge Field began his career by serving as a law clerk on the Texas Supreme Court, for Hon. Raul Gonzalez. He then began private practice at Baker Botts, L.L.P., where he practiced in the trial and appellate departments. He then co-founded York, Keller & Field, L.L.P., before forming The Field Law Firm, PLLC. Judge Field is a native Texan who was born in Houston and grew up outside of College Station. He now lives in Liberty Hill with his wife Melinda, and they have three grown children. As an undergraduate, Judge Field earned a B.A. in Political Science from Texas A&M University, where he graduated summa cum laude. He received his law degree from the University of Texas School of Law, where he graduated with honors and was named to the Order of the Coif.
15th Court of Appeals, Place 3 – April Farris (R)
justiceaprilfarris.com
April Farris Campaign
1005 Congress Avenue,
Suite 400, Austin, TX 78701
First appointed in 2024. April previously served on the First Court of Appeals after being appointed in 2021 and elected in 2022. Before joining the Court, April was a partner at Yetter Coleman LLP, where she handled complex appellate litigation for energy, technology, and government clients. While in private practice, she was recognized in appellate law by Law360, Best Lawyers in America, and Thompson Reuters’ Super Lawyers. In 2020, she was one of five attorneys in the nation to be named a Law360 appellate Rising Star, an honor reserved for lawyers under 40. April previously served as an Assistant Solicitor General for the State of Texas, handling appeals for various Texas agencies. She is a former councilmember for the Texas State Bar’s Appellate Section and a current councilmember for the Civil Rights & Civil Liberties Section. She serves as a trustee for the Texas Supreme Court Historical Association, and she is on the board of the Garland R. Walker Inn of Court in Houston. She is a member of the State Bar of Texas Pattern Jury Charge Oversight Committee, and she is on the editorial board of The Advocate. In 2022 and 2023, she was a guest instructor for Harvard Law School’s Introduction to Trial Advocacy Program. April clerked for Judge Jennifer Walker Elrod on the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit. She graduated from Harvard Law School cum laude in 2009, and she earned her bachelor’s degree summa cum laude from Abilene Christian University in 2006.
1st Court of Appeals, Place 4 – David Gunn* (R)
justicedavidgunn.com
Justice David Gunn Campaign
PO Box 684281
Austin TX 78768
Joined the First Court of Appeals in October 2024. Justice Gunn came to the Court after more than two decades of practicing appellate law as a partner at the Beck Redden law firm in Houston. Justice Gunn was born in Austin and grew up in Houston. He earned two engineering degrees and two law degrees:
- B.S. in Chemical Engineering from the University of Texas
- M.S. in Chemical Engineering from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology
- J.D. from Baylor Law School
- LL.M. from the University of Houston Law Center
After passing the bar, he worked as a court attorney for the Fourteenth Court of Appeals (1987-90). He practiced appellate law from 1990-2024. During his career, he presented oral argument in the Texas Supreme Court more than 30 times, as well as orally arguing before the Texas Courts of Appeals for the 1st, 2nd, 3rd, 4th, 5th, 6th, 7th, 8th, 9th, 10th, 11th, 12th, 13th, and 14th Districts. In addition, he orally argued federal appeals in the United States Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit (normally at the Fifth Circuit’s courthouse in New Orleans, but sometimes in other cities, such as Austin, Houston, and Oxford, Mississippi), the Tenth Circuit in Denver, and the Federal Circuit in Washington, D.C. Justice Gunn is board-certified in civil appellate law. He is a fellow in the American Academy of Appellate Lawyers. He serves on the Pattern Jury Charge Committee for the State Bar of Texas.
14th Court of Appeals, Chief Justice – Kevin Jewell (R)
justicekevinjewell.com
Justice Kevin Jewell Campaign
P.O. Box 684281
Austin, TX 78768.
Justice Kevin Jewell was elected to the Fourteenth Court of Appeals on November 8, 2016. Prior to his election, Justice Jewell was a litigation and appellate shareholder at Chamberlain, Hrdlicka, White, Williams & Aughtry in Houston, Texas, where he chaired the firm’s appellate practice group. Before taking the bench, he handled hundreds of appeals and presented oral argument in over 100 cases collectively in the Supreme Court of Texas, all intermediate appellate courts in Texas, and several United States courts of appeals. Justice Jewell has been Board Certified in Civil Appellate Law by the Texas Board of Legal Specialization since 1998. For over ten years, he was recognized as a Texas Super Lawyer by Super Lawyers Magazine. Justice Jewell is a member of the State Bar of Texas and Houston Bar Association, and a fellow of the Texas Bar Foundation. He is a former adjunct professor at the University of Houston Law Center. Justice Jewell received a Bachelor of Business Administration degree with high honors from the University of Texas at Austin and a law degree from the University of Houston Law Center, where he served as Chief Case Note and Comment Editor on the Houston Journal of International Law. Justice Jewell is a native Texan and Eagle Scout.
14th Court of Appeals, Place 7 – Ken Wise* (R)
wisefortexas.com
Justice Ken Wise Campaign
POB 684281
Austin, TX 78768
Justice Ken Wise was appointed to the 14th Court of Appeals by Governor Rick Perry in October 2013. Prior to his appointment, Justice Wise served as the judge of the 334th Judicial District Court, administrative judge of Harris County, and an adjunct professor at the University of Houston Law Center. Justice Wise is also a former judge of the 152nd Judicial District Court in Harris County. Justice Wise is a member of the State Bar of Texas and Houston Bar Association, life fellow of the Texas and Houston Bar foundations, and a member and past president of the Executives Association of Houston. He is also a director of the Houston Livestock Show and Rodeo and the Former Texas Rangers Foundation . Justice Wise received a bachelor’s degree from Texas A&M University and a law degree from the University of Houston Law Center.
4th Court of Appeals, Chief Justice – Bert Richardson (R)
electjudgerichardson.com
Judge Bert Richardson Campaign
20711 Wilderness Oak, Suite 107-4
San Antonio, TX 78258
Judge Bert Richardson was elected to the Texas Court of Criminal Appeals in 2014, and he began his term on January 1, 2015. He was reelected in 2020. From 1988 to 1999 he was a trial and appellate lawyer while serving as an Assistant District Attorney for Bexar County and as an Assistant U. S. Attorney for the Western District of Texas. He was appointed to the 379th District Court of Bexar County in 1999 by Gov. Bush. From 2009-2014, he served as a Senior Visiting Judge in over 50 counties across the State. He was an adjunct professor at San Antonio College, St. Mary’s University School of Law for over 20 years prior to being elected to the TCCA, was previously the Court liaison to the State Bar and is a frequent speaker at State Bar conferences across the State. He is a graduate of Brigham Young University and St. Mary’s University School of Law, and he is Board Certified in Criminal Law. St. Mary’s School of Law named him a Distinguished Law Graduate in 2015 and in 2022 he was the recipient of their annual Rosewood Gavel Award, awarded to an outstanding St. Mary’s judge for their contribution to our system of constitutional democracy. An avid photographer, he was an assistant photo editor of his university yearbook and is frequently published in state and national running publications, as well as the State Bar Journal and other legal publications. He was raised in a military family, has lived in Europe and South America for 10 years and is fluent in Spanish.
13th Court of Appeals, Place 6 – Clarissa Silva* (R)
Reelectjusticeclarissasilva.com
Justice Clarissa Silva Campaign
PO Box 532225
Harlingen, TX 78553
She earned her Bachelor of Arts in Criminal Justice, with minors in Legal Studies and Political Science, from The University of Texas at San Antonio before earning her Juris Doctor from Thurgood Marshall School of Law at Texas Southern University. In 2015, Justice Silva became Board Certified in Juvenile Law by the Texas Board of Legal Specialization, a distinction held by only a select group of attorneys in Texas. While working at the San Patricio County Attorney’s Office, she represented the Texas Department of Family and Protective Services, continuing her work on behalf of children and families throughout Texas. In 2020, voters elected Justice Silva to the Thirteenth Court of Appeals. Since taking office, she has authored more than 550 opinions and reviews both complex civil and criminal cases from twenty counties across South Texas.
