Texas Court of Criminal Appeals
From Judgepedia
The Texas Court of Criminal Appeals is the court of last resort for all criminal matters in Texas, whereas the Texas Supreme Court is the court of last resort for all civil matters in the state. Texas is one of just two states (Oklahoma is the other) that has two courts of last resort.
The court, which is based in the state capital Austin, includes nine judges. Article V of the Texas Constitution vests the judicial power of the state in the court, describes the Court's jurisdiction and sets rules for judicial eligibility, elections, and vacancies.
The Court of Criminal Appeals exercises discretionary review over criminal cases, which means that it may choose whether or not to review a case. The only cases that the Court must hear are those that involve sentencing decisions in capital punishment cases, and cases where bail has been denied.
Composition of the court
The Court is composed of a Presiding Judge and eight judges. Each judge serves a six-year term. They are elected in staggered partisan elections. The position of Presiding Judge is a separately designated elected seat from the others.
Qualifications for serving on the court include:
- Must be at least 35 years of age, and no more than 75 when running for election to the court.
- Must be a United States and Texas citizen;
- Must be licensed to practice law in Texas;
- Must have practiced law at least 10 years.[1]
- A person who becomes 75 during their term of office cannot serve more than four additional years of their term of office.[2]
The Governor, subject to Senate confirmation, may appoint a judge to serve out the remainder of any unexpired term until the next general election.
Like the Texas Supreme Court, the Judges of the Court of Criminal Appeals are currently all Republican.
The current judges of the Court are:
- Sharon Keller, Presiding Judge
- Lawrence Meyers, Judge
- Tom Price, Judge
- Paul Womack, Judge
- Cheryl Johnson, Judge
- Michael Keasler, Judge
- Barbara Hervey, Judge
- Charles Holcomb, Judge
- Cathy Cochran, Judge
External links
References
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