Effective February 15, 2010, attorneys must e-mail electronic copies of petitions, responses, replies, briefs on the merits, amicus briefs, post-submission briefs, motions for rehearing, and emergency motions to the Clerk of the Court on the same day that the paper copies are filed. The electronic copies must be e-mailed to scebriefs@courts.state.tx.us. For more details, see the Court’s Order Requiring Electronic Documents in the Supreme Court of Texas. For more information about creating electronic briefs, please read this Guide to Creating Better Electronic Briefs. You can also watch a video that shows step-by-step instructions for using Adobe Acrobat to create an electronic brief.
Composed of the Chief Justice and eight Justices, the Supreme Court of Texas is the court of last resort for civil matters in the State of Texas. The Supreme Court is in Austin, next to the State Capitol.
The Justices of the Supreme Court are elected to staggered six-year terms in state-wide elections. When a vacancy arises the Governor may appoint a Justice, subject to Senate confirmation, to serve out the remainder of an unexpired term until the next general election. All members of the Court must be at least 35 years of age, a citizen of Texas, licensed to practice law in Texas, and must have practiced law (or have been a lawyer and a judge of a court of record together) for at least ten years (see Tex. Const., Art. 5, Sec. 2).
By statute the Court has administrative control over the State Bar of Texas. Tex. Gov't Code § 81.011. The Court is also the sole authority for licensing attorneys in Texas and appoints the members of the Board of Law Examiners which administers the Texas bar examination. Tex. Gov't Code §§ 82.00, 82.004.
The Court promulgates the Texas Rules of Civil Procedure, the Texas Rules of Appellate Procedure, the Texas Rules of Evidence and other rules and standards.
Latest News & Updates
- Recently Released Orders & Opinions
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Order Adopting Texas Rule of Civil Procedure 78a
[Case Information Sheet, online] | [Case Information Sheet, for printing in Word] | [For printing from PDF]
[Instructions in Word] | [Instructions in PDF] - Court's Records-Preservation Task Force Finds Buried History in Court Houses
- Law Clerk Applications Being Taken for 2011-2012
- Chief Justice Jefferson Becomes Chair of Chief Justices Organization, Heads National Center for State Courts
- Justice Guzman Appointed Chair of the Children’s Commission [Justice O’Neill Becomes Chair Emeritus]
- Justice Lehrmann Sworn In
- Rules Attorney Kennon Peterson Honored by State Bar
- Governor Perry Appoints Judge Lehrmann to Court
- Committee Created to Improve Schooling for Foster Care Children
- Court Adopts Case Information Sheet Requirement
- Court Sets New Requirements for Filing Electronic Copies
- Court Issues Revised Disciplinary Rules
- Court Issues Requirement for Submitting Electronic Copies
- Recent Court News & Advisories [Archives]
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Updated: 24-Aug-2010
