The Texas Judicial Council is composed of 16 ex-officio and six appointed members. The Council is chaired by the Chief Justice of the Supreme Court with the Presiding Judge of the Court of Criminal Appeals as Vice-Chair. The Chief Justice appoints ten judicial members, two from each level of court. The Lieutenant Governor appoints two members of the Senate, and the Speaker of the House of Representatives appoints one member of the House with the chair of the Judiciary and Civil Jurisprudence Committee serving on the Council. The Governor appoints six citizen members to the Council, three of which are members of the State Bar of Texas and two of which must not be licensed to practice law. Citizen members serve six-year terms.
Chair | Term Expires |
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Hon. Jimmy Blacklock, Chief Justice, Supreme Court of Texas | 12/31/26 |
Vice-Chair |
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Hon. David J. Schenck, Presiding Judge, Court of Criminal Appeals | 12/31/30 |
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Legislative Members |
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Hon. Phil King, Senator, Weatherford |
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Hon. Jeff Leach, Representative, Allen |
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Hon. Joe Moody, Representative, El Paso |
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Hon. Judith Zaffirini, Senator, Laredo |
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Judicial Members |
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Hon. Claudia Laird, Judge, Probate Court No. 1, Montgomery County | 02/01/29 |
Hon. Emily Miskel, Justice, Fifth Court of Appeals, Dallas, Texas | 02/01/27 |
Hon. Missy Medary, Judge, 347th District Court, Corpus Christi; Presiding Judge - 5th Region | 02/01/29 |
Hon. Valencia Nash, Justice of the Peace Pct. 1, Place 2, Dallas County | 02/01/29 |
Hon. Grant Dorfman, Presiding Judge, Texas Business Court | 08/31/26 |
Hon. Kathleen Person, Judge, City of Temple Municipal Court, Temple | 02/01/27 |
Hon. Maggie Sawyer, Justice of the Peace, McCulloch County, Brady | 02/01/27 |
Hon. Edward J. Spillane, III, Presiding Judge, City of College Station | 02/01/29 |
Hon. Ken Wise, Justice, 14th Court of Appeals, Houston | 02/01/29 |
VACANT, District Court | -- |
VACANT, County Judge | -- |
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Citizen Members |
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Ms. Zina Bash, Keller Lenkner LLC, Austin | 06/30/27 |
Mr. Kevin Bryant, Crow Holdings, Dallas | 06/30/29 |
Ms. Jennifer Caughey, Jackson Walker LLP, Houston | 06/30/27 |
Ms. Sonia Clayton, Virtual Intelligence Providers LLC, Houston | 06/30/25 |
Mr. David Dunmoyer, Texas Public Policy Foundation, Pflugerville | 06/30/29 |
Hon. Jon Gimble, District Clerk, McLennan County, Waco | 06/30/25 |
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Executive Director |
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Megan LaVoie |
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