On June 9, 2023, Governor Abbott signed SB 1045 into law, which established the Fifteenth Circuit Court of Appeals and gave it exclusive interlocutory appellate jurisdiction over civil actions, including certain actions brought against the State of Texas, state agencies, and state officials, and certain actions involving challenges to the constitutionality or validity of state statutes or regulations.1 That same day, Governor Abbott signed HB 19 into law, which established the Texas Commercial Court (a specialized court with jurisdiction over certain civil litigation, including commercial disputes) and gave the Fifteenth Circuit exclusive intermediate appellate jurisdiction over Texas Commercial Court decisions.2
On June 11, 2024, Governor Abbott announced the first three appointments to the Fifteenth Circuit Court of Appeals: (1) Chief Justice Scott A. Brister, Rank 1, (2) Scott K. Field, Rank 2, and (3) April L. Farris, Rank 3.3 These new justices will begin serving as justices of the 15th Circuit Court of Appeals on September 1, 2024, and will serve until December 31, 2026, or until their successors are duly selected and qualified. The Texas Governor’s Office provided the following biographical information about the appointed justices:
(1) Scott A. Brister Mr. Brister, of Austin, is a senior partner at Hunton Andrews Kurth LLP. He previously served as a Texas Supreme Court justice, a judge and chief judge of the First and Fourteenth Circuit Courts of Appeals, and a judge of the 234th Judicial District Court. Mr. Brister received his Bachelor of Arts in History from Duke University and his Juris Doctor from Harvard Law School.
(2) Scott K. Field Mr. Field, of Liberty Hill, is a judge in the 480th Judicial District Court in Williamson County. Previously, he served as a judge on the Third Circuit Court of Appeals, a partner at Butler Snow, LLP, managing partner at Field Law Firm, PLLC and York, Keller & Field, LLP, and an attorney at Baker Botts LLP. Mr. Field earned his bachelor’s degree in political science from Texas A&M University and his Juris Doctorate from the UT Austin School of Law.
(3) April L. Faris Ms. Faris, of Houston, has served as a judge on the First Circuit Court of Appeals since January 2021. Previously, she was an appellate litigation partner at Yetter Coleman, LLP and an assistant attorney general in the Texas Attorney General’s Office. Ms. Faris earned her Bachelor of Science in Integrated Marketing Communications from Abilene Christian University and her J.D. from Harvard Law School.Four
Because SB 1045 provides that the 15th Circuit will be made up of four justices in addition to the Chief Justice, Governor Abbott may appoint additional justices in the coming weeks and months.Five
Governor Abbott appointed two judges each to the Texas Commercial Court Branch in San Antonio, Dallas, Fort Worth, Austin and Houston this week. The Governor’s appointees are:
San Antonio:
(1) Marialyn Bernard He currently serves as a judge in the 73rd Judicial District Court in Bexar County. Previously, he served as a commissioner for Bexar County’s Third District and served for 10 years as a judge on the Fourth Circuit Court of Appeals. Bernard earned his Bachelor of Science in Political Science and English from Texas A&M University, College of Commerce and his Juris Doctor from St. Mary’s University, School of Law.6
(2) Stacey Sharp Sharp is an attorney and owner of the law firm Sharp Appelate and an adjunct professor at The University of Texas at Austin. Sharp earned his Bachelor of Science in Mathematics, Spanish and Education from Vanderbilt University and his J.D. from The University of Texas at Austin School of Law.7
Dallas:
(1) Andrea Bressa He currently serves as a judge in the 471st Judicial District Court and recently served for two years as a municipal district judge in Collin County. Mr. Bressa earned his Bachelor of Science in Sociology from Texas A&M University, his Master of Science in Sociology from the University of North Texas, and his Juris Doctor from Southern Methodist University (SMU) Dedman College of Law.8
(2) William Whitehill Whitehill is a member of the law firm Condon, Tobin, Sledeck, Thornton & Nerenberg, where he heads the Appellate and Special Issues Practice Group. He is also a former judge of the Texas Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals in Dallas. Prior to joining the Court of Appeals, he was a trial and appellate partner at Gardell, Winn & Sewell (formerly Foley Lardner LLP). Whitehill holds a BBA from the University of Texas at Austin and a JD from SMU Dedman School of Law.9
Fort Worth:
(1) Jerry Bullard He is a shareholder and attorney at Adams, Lynch & Loftin LLP. Mr. Bullard earned his Bachelor’s degree in Telecommunications from Baylor University and his J.D. from the University of Texas at Austin School of Law.Ten
(2) Brian Stagner He is a counsel and former partner at the law firm of Kelly Hart Holman and an adjunct professor of business law at Texas Christian University.. Mr. Stagner earned his Bachelor of Business Administration from Angelo State University and his Juris Doctor from Texas Tech University School of Law.11
Austin:
(1) Melissa Andrews Andrews is a partner at Holland & Knight and previously served as law for Texas Supreme Court Justice Jeff Boyd and First Circuit Court of Appeals Judge Harvey Brown, and as a law clerk for Texas Supreme Court Justice Don R. Willett. Andrews earned a Bachelor of Science in Political Science and Business from Texas A&M University and a Juris Doctor from the University of Texas (UT) School of Law.12
(2) Patrick K. Sweeton He currently serves as Chief Deputy Counsel in the Governor’s Office.. Ms. Sweeton previously served as Deputy Attorney General for Special Litigation in the Texas Attorney General’s Office. Prior to her service in government, she was an associate and shareholder with Delano Law Offices, LLC in Springfield, Illinois. Ms. Sweeton earned her Bachelor of Arts degree from the University of Texas at Austin and her J.D. degree from St. Mary’s University School of Law.13
Houston:
(1) Sophia Adrogue teeth Mr. McCarthy is a partner at the LLP Diamond McCarthy Law Firm. He received his Bachelor of Arts in English and Law, cum laude, from Rice University, where he is a member of Phi Beta Kappa, his Juris Doctor, cum laude, from the University of Houston Law Center, and is a graduate of the Owner-President Management Program at Harvard Business School.14
(2) Grant Dorfman teeth Dorfman is a visiting judge in the Texas Attorney General’s Office and a former Deputy First Assistant Attorney General. He previously served as judge for the 334th and 129th Judicial Districts in Harris County, a visiting judge for the State of Texas, counsel at Sheehy, Ware, Pappas & Grubbs, PC, and senior in-house counsel for Nabors Industries. Dorfman holds a BA in History with Honors from Brown University, a MA in History and Political Philosophy from Oxford University, and a JD from Yale Law School.15
These newly appointed court judges will begin serving on September 1, 2024, with terms expiring on September 1, 2026. These appointments mark the first slate of judges for each division of the Texas Business Court.
1 Acts of May 21, 2023, 88th Congress, R.S. ch. 459 (SB 1045), available at https://capitol.texas.gov/tlodocs/88R/billtext/html/SB01045F.htm .
2 Acts of May 25, 2023, 88th Legislature, State Laws, ch. 380 (HB 19) (enacted into Texas Government Code ch. 25A), available at https://www.capitol.state.tx.us/tlodocs/88R/billtext/html/HB00019F.htm
3 Office of the Governor of Texas, “Governor Abbott Appoints Inaugural Judges to the 15th Court of Appeals,” Press Release, June 11, 2024, https://gov.texas.gov/news/post/governor-abbott-appoints-inaugural-members-to-fifteenth-court-of-appeals.
Four Ibid.
Five SB 1045, § 1.04.
6 Office of the Governor of Texas, “Governor Abbott Announces Appointments to New San Antonio Business Court Division,” press release, June 13, 2024, https://gov.texas.gov/news/post/governor-abbott-announces-appointments-to-new-san-antonio-business-court-division.
7 Ibid.
8 Office of the Governor of Texas, “Governor Abbott Announces Appointments to New Dallas Business Court Division,” press release, June 12, 2024, https://gov.texas.gov/news/post/governor-abbott-announces-appointments-to-new-dallas-business-court-division#:~:text=The%20Governor%20has%20appointed%20Andrea,expire%20on%20September%201%2C%202026.
9 Ibid.
Ten Office of the Governor of Texas, “Governor Abbott Announces Appointments to New Fort Worth Business Court Division,” press release, June 12, 2024, https://gov.texas.gov/news/post/governor-abbott-announces-appointments-to-new-fort-worth-business-court-division.
11 Ibid.
12 Office of the Governor of Texas, “Governor Abbott Announces Appointments to New Austin Business Court Division,” press release, June 11, 2024, https://gov.texas.gov/news/post/governor-abbott-announces-appointments-to-new-austin-business-court-division.
13 Ibid.
14 Office of the Governor of Texas, “Governor Abbott Announces Appointments to New Houston Business Court Division,” press release, June 14, 2024, https://gov.texas.gov/news/post/governor-abbott-announces-appointments-to-new-houston-business-court-division.
15 Ibid.
