Supreme Court of Texas Map

Supreme Court of Texas
Seal of the Supreme Court
Established	February 19, 1846[1]
Location	Austin, Texas
Coordinates	30°16′33″N 97°44′28″W / 30.27583°N 97.74111°W / 30.27583; -97.74111Coordinates: 30°16′33″N 97°44′28″W / 30.27583°N 97.74111°W / 30.27583; -97.74111
Composition method	Election
Authorized by	Constitution of Texas
Appeals to	Supreme Court of the United States
Judge term length	6 years; renewable
Number of positions	9
Website	Official website
Chief Justice
Currently	Nathan Hecht
Since	October 1, 2013
Jurist term ends	December 31, 2020

The Supreme Court of Texas (SCOTX) is the court of last resort for civil appeals (including juvenile delinquency cases, which are categorized as civil under the Texas Family Code) in the U.S. state of Texas. A different court, the Texas Court of Criminal Appeals (CCA), is the court of last resort in criminal cases.

The Court has its seat at the Supreme Court Building on the State Capitol grounds in Austin, Texas.^[2]

Like the U.S. Supreme Court, the Texas Supreme Court consists of a Chief Justice and eight associate justices. Unlike the SCOTUS, however, all nine positions are elected, with a term of office of six years with no term limit, rather than life tenure. All members typically belong to the same party because all are elected in statewide races, rather than by the electorates of smaller appellate districts, as the justices on the intermediate appellate courts are. Although there are fourteen such courts, the state is geographically divided into thirteen. Two districts (the 1st and the 14th) are coextensive. The First and Fourteenth Courts of Appeals serve the same ten counties, sit in the same Downtown Houston Courthouse, and also share a single clerk.

The Texas Supreme Court was established in 1846 to replace the Supreme Court of the Republic of Texas. It meets in Downtown Austin, Texas in an office building near the Texas State Capitol.