by Staff CR | Jan 13, 2021 | Uncategorized
Governor Abbott Appoints Valenzuela To Fourth Court Of Appeals January 11, 2021 | Austin, Texas | Appointment Governor Greg Abbott has appointed Lori I. Valenzuela to the Fourth Court of Appeals for a term set to expire on December 31, 2022, or until her successor shall be duly elected and qualified. The Fourth Court of Appeals in San Antonio serves Atascosa, Bandera, Bexar, Brooks, Dimmit, Duval, Edwards, Frio, Gillespie, Guadalupe, Jim Hogg, Jim Wells, Karnes, Kendall, Kerr, Kimble, Kinney, La Salle, Mason, Maverick, McMullen, Medina, Menard, Real, Starr, Sutton, Uvalde, Val Verde, Webb, Wilson, Zapata, and Zavala counties. Lori I. Valenzuela of San Antonio is Judge of the 437th Judicial District Court in Bexar County, where she has served since 2009, and an adjunct professor at The University of Texas at San Antonio. Previously, she served as an attorney in private practice and as an assistant district attorney for the Bexar County District Attorney’s Office. She is a founder and co-presides over a Felony Veteran’s Treatment Court, chair of the Texas Center for the Judiciary Board of Directors, a former board member of the Federal Judicial Evaluation Committee, and fellow of the State Bar of Texas and the San Antonio Bar Association. Additionally, she was appointed by the Supreme Court of Texas as chair of the Court Reporter Advisory Committee, and is a member of the San Antonio Mexican American Bar Association and the Bexar County Juvenile Board. She previously served on the Child Fatality Review Board and the Boy Scouts of America Executive Board and is a member of the St. Mary’s University Alumni Association and Texas Exes....
by Staff CR | May 18, 2016 | Judicial Selections
WASHINGTON (AP) — Donald Trump, the presumptive Republican nominee for president, released Wednesday a list of 11 potential Supreme Court justices he plans to vet to fill the seat of late Justice Antonin Scalia if he’s elected to the White House. The list of conservative federal and state judges includes Steven Colloton of Iowa, Allison Eid of Colorado and Raymond Gruender of Missouri. Also on the list are: Thomas Hardiman of Pennsylvania, Raymond Kethledge of Michigan, Joan Larsen of Michigan, Thomas Lee of Utah, William Pryor of Alabama, David Stras of Minnesota, Diane Sykes of Wisconsin and Don Willett of Texas. Trump had previously named Pryor and Sykes as examples of kind of justices he would choose. The news comes as Trump is working to bring together a fractured Republican Party and earn the trust of still-skeptical establishment Republicans who question his electability in the general election, as well as conservatives in his party still wary of his commitment to their cause. In a statement, Trump said the list “is representative of the kind of constitutional principles I value” and said that, as president, he would use it “as a guide to nominate our next United States Supreme Court Justices.” His campaign stressed the list was compiled “first and foremost, based on constitutional principles, with input from highly respected conservatives and Republican Party leadership.” Larsen, who serves on the Michigan Supreme Court and is a former law clerk to Scalia, delivered one of the tributes to the late justice at his memorial service in March. She served in the Justice Department office that produced the legal justifications for the...
by Staff CR | Apr 7, 2016 | Judicial Appointments
Governor Greg Abbott has appointed Wes Tidwell of Paris as judge of the 6th Judicial District Court in Lamar and Red River Counties for a term set to expire at the next general election in November 2016. Wes Tidwell is managing partner of Ellis & Tidwell, LLP. He is a member of the State Bar of Texas, Fifth Circuit Bar Association, Texas Bar Foundation and the Northeast Texas Bar Association and member and past president of the Lamar County Bar Association. Additionally, he is a board member of the Red River Valley Boys and Girls Club and a youth baseball coach for the Paris Breakfast Optimist. Tidwell received a Bachelor of Science from Texas A&M University-Commerce and a Juris Doctor from the University of Tulsa School of Law. April 7,...
by Staff CR | Apr 6, 2016 | Judicial Appointments
Governor Greg Abbott has appointed Patty Maginnis of Conroe as judge of the 435th Judicial District Court in Montgomery County for a term set to expire at the next general election in November 2016. Patty Maginnis is a partner at Maginnis, Pullan & Young and previously served as an assistant district attorney for Montgomery County. She is a member of the State Bar of Texas, Montgomery County Bar Association and Texas Criminal Defense Lawyers Association. She is a board member of a parent teacher organization in the Conroe Independent School District. Maginnis received a Bachelor of Arts from Brenau Women’s College and a Juris Doctor from South Texas College of...
by Staff CR | Mar 22, 2016 | Judicial Appointments, Uncategorized
Governor Greg Abbott has appointed Ryan Larson of Hutto as judge of the 395th Judicial District Court in Williamson County for a term set to expire at the next general election in November 2016. Ryan Larson is the head administrative law judge at the Railroad Commission of Texas and previously served as an assistant attorney general in the Texas Attorney General’s Office. He is a fellow of the Texas Bar Foundation and a member of the State Bar of Texas, State Bar of California, The Federalist Society, Williamson County Bar Association and the Austin Bar Association. Additionally, he is a Bible school teacher at Hyde Park Baptist Church (The Quarries Church), past president of the Lookout at Brushy Creek Homeowner Association and a past volunteer of the Round Rock Area Serving Center. Larson received a Bachelor of Arts from the University of California, Los Angeles and a Juris Doctor from Southwestern Law...
