14thCoA Court of Appeals in Houston

THE FOURTEENTH COURT OF APPEALS IN HOUSTON 

LIKE ITS SISTER COURT IN THE SAME LOCATION, THE 14TH COURT OF APPEALS HAS A MEMBERSHIP OF NINE JUSTICES

Justice Kem Thompson Frost was appointed Chief Justice effective September 26, 2013, and won voter approval for this post in 2014. She was the most active dissenter on this court even when the court's membership was homogeneous in terms of party affiliation, a fact that changed at the beginning of the year 2019 as a result of the 2018 judicial elections, in which all Republican candidates were defeated on both Houston Courts of Appeals.

THE NEW JUSTICES AS OF JANUARY 1, 2019

Place 3: Justice Jerry Zimmerer
Place 4: Justice Charles A. Spain
Place 5: Justice Frances Bourliot
Place 6: Justice Meagan Hassan
Place 8: Justice Margaret "Meg" Poissant

New justices on the Fourteenth Court of Appeals as of Jan 1, 2019 

MEMBERSHIP OF THE FOURTEENTH COURT OF APPEALS AS OF JANUARY 2019 

Updated 14th COA Letterhead as of January 2019 

2018 MIDTERM ELECTION UPDATE 

On November 7, 2018 a majority of the voters in the first and the coextensive fourteenth appellate district voted for Democrats, which spelled the end of all Republican incumbents' hopes for reelection. Democrats will command majority status on the Fourteenth Court of Appeals starting January 2019. Because so many Republican judges and justices were defeated at the same time, the chances of being returned to a vacant bench by gubernatorial appointment are slim. Republicans retain a tight grip on statewide offices, including the two high courts, but Harris County and surrounding counties swung the other way this time, which will have a lasting effect since appellate terms are six years.

The 2018 judicial elections results detailed:  

Place 3: 
Republican Incumbent Brett Busby lost to Democratic Challenger Jerry Zimmerer, who received 51.18% of the vote.
Place 4: 
Republican Incumbent Marc Brown lost to Democratic Challenger Charles Spain, who received 51.07% of the vote.
Place 5: 
Republican Incumbent Martha Hill Jamison was defeated by Democrat Frances Bourliot, who garnered 50.95% of the vote.
Place 6: 
Republican Incumbent Bill Boyce lost to Democrat Meagan Hassan, who prevailed over him with 51.68% of the vote.
Place 8: 
Republican Incumbent John Donovan was defeated by Margaret “Meg” Poissant, who won 51.69% of the votes.

Date of update: 11/7/2018 

Final tally: 14th COA Races Nov. 2018
(12/17/2018 SOS Data)

FOURTEENTH COURT OF APPEALS' MEMBERSHIP AS OF 2018 

14th COA Letterhead showing membership as of Nov 2018 

2014 ELECTIONS

All members of this court are Republicans. In the contest for chief of this court, incumbent Kem Thompson Frost defeated Democratic challenger Kyle Carter, a Harris County District Court Judge, with 57.63% of the vote district-wide (54.49% in Harris County, which is more competitive). Incumbent Ken Wise successfully defended his bench against Democrat Gordon Goodman with 58.23% of the total votes cast in the race for Place 7. In Harris County, the winning percentage was 55.13% of the ballots. Incumbent Marc Brown (Place 4), who was appointed to a vacant bench by Governor Rick Perry in October 2013, did not draw an opponent in the election involving the unexpired term.

MEMBERSHIP AS OF SEPTEMBER 1, 2014 (with year of term expiration and party affiliation indicated)

Chief Justice Kem Thompson Frost 2014 (R)(won 2014 general election)
Justice William J. Boyce 2018 (R)
Justice Tracy Christopher 2016 (R)
Justice Martha Hill Jamison 2018 (R)
Justice Sharon McCally 2016 (R)
Justice J. Brett Busby 2018 (R)
Justice John J. Donovan 2018 (R)
Justice Marc W. Brown 2018 (R) (appointed to unexpired term, hence up for election in 2014)
Justice Ken Wise 2014 (R) (won 2014 general election contest)

JAN 2013 MEMBERSHIP: ASSOCIATE JUSTICES BY PLACE DESIGNATION

FISCAL YEAR 2013-2014 OPINION STATS 

Notes: Justice Kem Thompson Frost was appointed Chief Justice effective September 26, 2013. Marc Brown was appointed Justice effective October 7, 2013 to replace Jeff Brown, who was appointed to the Texas Supreme Court. District Court Judge Ken Wise, previously a Harris County District Court Judge, was appointed Justice effective October 14, 2013 to replace Kem Thompson Frost, who was promoted to Chief Justice by Governor Rick Perry. Justice Rebecca Simmons, previously a justice on the San Antonio Court of Appeals, wrote three opinions as a visiting judge.

COUNTIES FROM WHICH APPEALS GO TO THIS APPELLATE COURT

Austin Colorado Grimes Washington Brazoria Fort Bend Harris Chambers Galveston Waller

The largest number of appeals comes from Harris County. The caseload is shared by the two Houston-based courts of appeals. Many members of the first and fourteenth court of appeals previously served as district court judges in Harris County. 

Link to this court's website: http://www.txcourts.gov/14thcoa.aspx 

COURTHOUSE PHOTOS 

The seat of the Fourteenth Court of Appeals is the Old Harris County Courthouse ("1910 Harris County Courthouse") located on Fannin Street. This architecturally significant courthouse was restored to its former glory a few years ago, after it was vacated by the county civil courts at law and the civil district courts, which moved to the new high-rise Harris County Civil Courthouse erected nearby on Caroline Street. Like the First Court of Appeals, the Fourteenth previously occupied part of the building of the South Texas College of Law further South in Downtown Houston. 

Dome of 1910 Harris County Courthouse

Inside the rotunda, looking up

Historical Marker: Harris County 1910 Courthouse 

1910 Harris County Courthouse with Downtown Houston skyscrapers, now seat of the two Houston-based Courts of Appeals as seen from the entrance of the new Civil Courthouse on Caroline Street. 
Buildings from left to right: Juvenile Justice Center, Chase Tower, BofA Center, 1910 Courthouse, Calpine Center, Harris County Administration Building; roof of Jury Assembly Building in right bottom corner. 

Last revised/updated: 1/9/2019