Two Republicans Announce For Open Seats On Texas Supreme Court

In the last four days, two Republicans have announced for the open seats on the Texas Supreme Court which will be created by the retirements of Justices Harriet O’Neill and Scott Brister.

Rose Vela, a justice on the 13th Court of Appeals, has announced she will seek the Place 9 seat being vacated by Brister.

Fourth Court of Appeals Justice Rebecca Simmons announced late last week she would seek the Place 3 seat which will be vacated by O’Neill.

More from Simmons’ press release:

Justice Rebecca Simmons was appointed to the Fourth Court of Appeals in May 2005 and subsequently elected in 2006. Prior to her appointment, she served as district judge of the 408th Judicial District Court in Bexar County. In 2005, Justice Simmons was specially commissioned as a Supreme Court Justice to sit on a pending case before the
Texas Supreme Court. In addition to her court duties, Justice Simmons has served as an adjunct professor at St. Mary’s School of Law for 15 years.

And, from Vela’s release:

Vela, known as a no-nonsense conservative, was elected in an historic 2006 election to the Thirteenth Court of Appeals becoming the first Republican elected since the court’s creation. Vela will seek the seat being vacated by Supreme Court Justice Scott Brister who has announced his intention to resign and not seek re-election in 2010.

[...]

Vela made history by becoming the first Republican ever elected to the solidly Democratic Thirteenth Appeals Court district. She defeated a popular incumbent Democrat justice with 53 percent of the vote by receiving bipartisan support across the district.

Tweet This Post   Ping This Post

Bookmark It