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Rebecca Simmons is a Texas attorney and a former special justice of the Supreme Court of Texas. As of 2017 [update] , Simmons continued to serve as a visiting judge on both the trial court level and appellate level, and to provide mediation and arbitration services under RebeccaSimmons PLLC.
A fifth-generation Texan and a third-generation attorney, Simmons received a B.A. from Austin College, and a J.D. from Baylor Law School, where she served as a notes and comments editor for the Baylor Law Review. [1] Following law school Simmons served as a briefing attorney for the Texas Supreme Court. A recipient of an International Rotary Fellowship, Simmons continued her legal studies at Durham University in England, focusing on the emerging European Economic Community, prior to settling in San Antonio. Simmons practiced law at Akin Gump Strauss Hauer & Feld LLP in San Antonio, where she specialized in complex commercial litigation.
After twenty years in private practice, Rebecca Simmons was appointed as district judge of the 408th Judicial District Court in Bexar County and was subsequently elected. Based on her proven track record[ citation needed ] on the district bench, she was selected to serve on the Fourth Court in May 2005 and then elected in 2006. She served as an adjunct professor at St. Mary's School of Law for over 15 years. In 2005, Simmons was specially commissioned as a Supreme Court justice to sit on a pending case before the Texas Supreme Court. In 2012 Simmons lost her re-election campaign. As of 2017 [update] , she was seeking election to the Fourth Court of Appeals place 5 currently held by Justice Angelini, who has announced her retirement at the end of her term.
Simmons is an active member of the legal community. As of 2017 [update] , she was chair of the Judicial Committee on Information Technology which advises the Texas Supreme Court on technology issues. She has also been District Representative of the State Bar of Texas, and a Litigation Section Council Member. She is a former chair of the Texas Bar Foundation, which provides over $500,000 a year in grants for legal services and education. A recipient of the State Bar of Texas Presidential Citation, she is a member of the Pattern Jury Charge Committee. She is a former president of the San Antonio Bar Association, the William S. Sessions American Inns of Court, and the Bexar County Women’s Bar Association. She is an active lecturer and speaker on a variety of legal topics.
Simmons is married to Dr. Richard Clemons and they have three children: Rachael, Sarah and Patrick. She has two brothers who are attorneys and one brother who is a district judge.
Steven Wayne Smith is a Republican former Texas Supreme Court associate justice, who was defeated for renomination in 2004 through the active opposition of then-Governor Rick Perry. He was unseated by Paul W. Green. Smith again lost – very narrowly – a bid for nomination to the court in the March 7, 2006, GOP primary, when Perry again opposed his candidacy.
Xavier Rodriguez is an American attorney and jurist serving as a United States district judge of the United States District Court for the Western District of Texas. Rodriguez was previously an associate justice of the Texas Supreme Court from 2001 to 2002.
Emilio Miller Garza is a former United States circuit judge of the United States Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit and former United States District Judge of the United States District Court for the Western District of Texas.
The United States District Court for the Western District of Texas is a federal district court. The court convenes in San Antonio with divisions in Austin, Del Rio, El Paso, Midland, Pecos, and Waco. It has jurisdiction in over 50 Trans-Pecos, Permian Basin, and Hill Country counties of the U.S. state of Texas. This district covers over 92,000 square miles (240,000 km2) and seven divisions.
Priscilla Richman is an American lawyer and jurist serving as the chief United States circuit judge of the United States Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit. She was previously a justice of the Texas Supreme Court.
The structure of the judiciary of Texas is laid out in Article 5 of the Constitution of Texas and is further defined by statute, in particular the Texas Government Code and Texas Probate Code. The structure is complex, featuring many layers of courts, numerous instances of overlapping jurisdiction, several differences between counties, as well as an unusual bifurcated appellate system at the top level found in only one other state: Oklahoma. Municipal Courts are the most active courts, with County Courts and District Courts handling most other cases and often sharing the same courthouse.
Edward Charles Prado is an American diplomat who is a former United States ambassador to Argentina from 2018 to 2021. He is a former United States circuit judge of the United States Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit.
Nathan Lincoln Hecht is the chief justice of the Supreme Court of Texas. A Republican from Dallas, Hecht was first elected to the Supreme Court in 1988 and was reelected to six-year terms in 1994, 2000 and 2006. He secured his fifth six-year term on November 6, 2012. He was appointed chief justice by Governor Rick Perry on September 10, 2013, and was sworn into that position by retiring Chief Justice Wallace B. Jefferson on October 1, 2013.
Donny Ray Willett is a United States circuit judge of the United States Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit. He was previously appointed by Texas Governor Rick Perry to serve as a justice of the Supreme Court of Texas on August 24, 2005, when former Justice Priscilla Owen created a vacancy on that court by joining the Fifth Circuit.
Charles Wallace Barrow was a former Justice of the Texas Supreme Court and a Dean of Baylor University Law School.
Baylor Law School is the oldest law school in Texas. Baylor Law School is affiliated with Baylor University and located in Waco, Texas. The school has been accredited by the American Bar Association since 1931 and has been a member of the Association of American Law Schools since 1938. The program offers training in all facets of law, including theoretical analysis, practical application, legal writing, advocacy, professional responsibility, and negotiation and counseling skills.
Lynette Boggs is a former Republican politician in Clark County, Nevada, and the winner of the Miss Oregon 1989 scholarship pageant. She went by the name of Lynette Boggs McDonald for most of her political career and returned to her maiden name after a 2007 divorce. She remarried in 2017 and both personally and professionally is known as Lynette Boggs-Perez.
Jennifer Walker Elrod is a United States circuit judge of the United States Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit.
The Judiciary of California or the Judicial Branch of California is defined under the California Constitution as holding the judicial power of the state of California which is vested in the Supreme Court, the Courts of Appeal and the Superior Courts. The judiciary has a hierarchical structure with the California Supreme Court at the top, California Courts of Appeal as the primary appellate courts, and the California Superior Courts as the primary trial courts.
Andrew Jackson Pope Jr., known as Jack Pope, was an American judge, attorney, author and legal scholar who served as chief justice of the Supreme Court of Texas.
Barbara Parker Hervey is a Judge of the Texas Court of Criminal Appeals; she holds the Place 7 seat.
Pamela Ann Harris is a United States circuit judge of the United States Court of Appeals for the Fourth Circuit. Prior to joining the federal bench, she was an associate professor at the University of Pennsylvania Law School, and visiting professor at the Georgetown University Law Center and executive director of its Supreme Court Institute.
Rose Spector is a lawyer and judge based in Texas. In 1992, she became the first woman to be elected to the state's highest court.