First and Fourteenth Court of Appeals Opinion Production

The First and Fourteenth Court of Appeals both sit in Houston and hear appeals from the same trial courts. Cases are randomly assigned to either. Both courts consist of nine members and are currently under the leadership of female chief justices. Unlike the state supreme court, and the district courts in Harris County, these intermediate courts of appeals decide both civil and criminal cases. Their annual caseloads are comparable to that of the Texas Supreme Court, which serves as court of last resort for civil and juvenile matters in the state. Unlike the supreme court, which exercises discretionary review, however, these courts decide a large number of cases on the merits, and issue a substantial number of signed and per curiam opinions. Not all are designated for publication in S.W.3d, but almost all of them are released on the judicary web site.

The Fourteenth Court of Appeals in Houston, Texas

The Fourteenth Court of Appeals

aka

Court of Appeals for the Fourteenth District (Tex.App.- Houston [14th Dist.] 2007)

Nine-member intermediate appellate court sitting in Houston, which hears both civil and criminal appeals from the trial courts in its appellate district, which includes Harris County and surrounding counties.

Justices:

Chief Justice Adele Hedges
Justice John Anderson
Justice Richard Edelman
Justice Wanda Fowler
Justice Eva M. Guzman
Justice Harvey Hudson
Justice Charles W. Seymore
Justice Kem Thompson Frost
Justice Leslie Brook Yates

The First Court of Appeals in Houston, Texas

The First Court of Appeals

a/k/a Court of Appeals for the First District (Tex.App. - Houston [1st Dist.] 2007)

This intermediate court of appeals, like its sister court, the Fourteeth Court of Appeals, has its seat in Houston. It consistes of nine elected members (shown below) and hears both civil and criminal cases from the trial courts of Harris County and other counties in its district.

Justices:

Chief Justice Sherry Radack
Justice Elsa Alcala
Justice Jane N. Bland
Justice George C. Hanks, Jr.
Justice Laura Carter Higley
Justice Terry Jennings
Justice Evelyn Keyes
Justice Sam Nuchia
Justice Tim Taft

New Law Blog on Houston Courts and Appeals Court Opinions Created

The purpose of this blog is to make the appellate opinions of the Houston Courts of Appeals, which are currently published on the official websites, but are rarely indexed by search engines, more accessible to the public.

The blog will feature case summaries and commentary, and will provide links to on-line versions of opinions harvested from the Texas Judiciary web sites.