- First Court of Appeals of Texas
The First Court of Appeals of Texas, one of the
Texas Courts of Appeals , sits inHouston, Texas .It currently presides over appeals from Austin, Brazoria, Chambers, Colorado, Fort Bend, Galveston, Grimes, Harris, Waller, and Washington counties. It shares concurrent jurisdiction with the
Fourteenth Court of Appeals of Texas over the same geographic region; cases filed in any of the counties are randomly assigned between the 1st and 14th Courts but may be moved to equalize the dockets of both Courts.The Court consists of a
Chief Justice and eightjustices . Chapter 22 of theTexas Government Code provides the appropriate legislation creating and describing the First Court of Appeals.History
Phase 1: Galveston
The
Texas Constitution of 1876 provided that the Texas Judiciary should consist solely oftrial courts , the Supreme Court (for civil appeals), and theTexas Court of Criminal Appeals (for criminal appeals). In 1891, theTexas Constitution was amended to allow for threecourts of civil appeals . The following year, theTexas Legislature located the first court in Galveston, the second in Fort Worth, and the third in Austin. The Court opened for business onOctober 3 ,1892 , in acourthouse said to behaunted by a prisoner once hanged there.Christopher Columbus Garrett was the Court's first chief justice, serving alongsideFrank A. Williams andH. Clay Pleasants .Phase 2: Houston
The second phase in the history of the court began in the summer of 1957. On
August 21 ,1957 , afterHurricane Audrey wreaked havoc onGalveston Island , the Court moved to Houston, where it is still located. In 1977, theTexas Legislature amended the Constitution to allow for additional justices at each court of appeals and to allow those justices to hear cases in three-justicepanel s. OnDecember 1 ,1978 , three new justices (a total of six) began work at the First Court of Appeals. In 1980, the Texas Legislature again amended the Constitution to expand the jurisdiction of the courts of appeals to include criminal matters. The next year (1981), the Texas Legislature added three more justices to the Court, for a total of nine.The "First" Court of Appeals
Throughout its history, the First Court has been the "First" in Texas in many areas. The Court has the honor of having the first
African–American appellate judge (Hon.Henry E. Doyle ), the first elected female appellate judge (Hon.D. Camille Hudson–Dunn ); the first female chief justice (Hon.Alice Oliver–Parrott ); the first female African–American appellate judge (Hon.Gaynelle Griffin Jones ), the first African–American appellate clerk (Hon.Margie Thompson ), and the first all–female panel of regularly sitting judges (Hon. Alice Oliver–Parrott, Hon.Margaret Garner Mirabal , and Hon.Michol O'Connor ).Trivia
According to the [http://www.1stcoa.courts.state.tx.us/About/court_history.asp official website] , justices of the First Court of Appeals did not begin wearing robes while on the bench until 1963.
Current Justices
* Sherry Radack (Chief Justice, place 1)
* Jane Bland (place 2)
* Sam Nuchia (place 3)
* Evelyn Keyes (place 4)
* Laura Carter Higley (place 5)
* George C. Hanks, Jr. (place 6)
* Terry Jennings (place 7)
* Tim Taft (place 8)
* Elsa Alcala (place 9)
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