Governor Abbott Appoints Brett Busby To Texas Supreme Court
Governor Abbott Appoints Brett Busby To Texas Supreme Court

Governor Greg Abbott has appointed Brett Busby to the Supreme Court of Texas for a term set to expire on December 31, 2020. Busby’s appointment follows the retirement of Justice Phil Johnson.
“It is a distinct honor to appoint Brett Busby to serve on the Supreme Court of Texas,” said Governor Abbott. “Brett’s respect for the Constitution and his understanding that judges say what the law is, not what they would like it to be, will serve the people of Texas well as he ascends to our highest court. I am grateful to Brett for his dedication to the Lone Star State and his unwavering commitment to the rule of law.”
Brett Busby of Houston is a former Justice of the Fourteenth Court of Appeals, having served from June 2012 through December 2018, and previously was a partner at Bracewell & Giuliani LLP, an adjunct professor at The University of Texas School of Law, and a law clerk at the U.S. Supreme Court. He is board-certified in Civil Appellate Law by the Texas Board of Legal Specialization. He is a committee chair for the Texas Access to Justice Commission, the chair of the State Bar of Texas Appellate Section, and a member of the Supreme Court Advisory Committee and the Federalist Society. He is a member and past chair of the State Bar of Texas Committee on Pattern Jury Charges, a former member of the Texas Judicial Panel on Multidistrict Litigation, and a former gubernatorial appointee to the Commission to Study and Review Certain Penal Laws. Additionally, he is chair of the Houston Symphony Society Artistic Affairs Committee, a senior fellow of the American Leadership Forum, and a member of the Houston Civic Symphony First Violin Section. He is a board member of Houston Volunteer Lawyers, a former trustee of the Post Oak School in Houston, and an Eagle Scout. A seventh-generation Texan, Busby received a B.A. from Duke University and a J.D. from Columbia University School of Law.
This appointment is subject to Senate confirmation.
Source: Office of Texas Governor Greg Abbott
Originally Published: February 21, 2019
Want new articles directly to your inbox?
Subscribe to our Publishing Service.
SCOTX Denies Review in Three Permissive Interlocutory Appeals Cases
Subsequent to the decision in Industrial Specialists, LLC v. Blanchard Refining Company LLC and Marathon Petroleum Company LP (No. 20-0174), in which a divided Texas Supreme Court ruled that §51.014(f), CPRC, gives a court of appeals unfettered discretion to deny a...
County Courts Have Jurisdiction in Eminent Domain Cases Regardless of Amount in Controversy
In a case in which TCJL participated as amicus curiae, the Texas Supreme Court has reversed a split Waco Court of Appeals decision holding that a Walker County Court at Law did not have jurisdiction over an eminent domain case because the alleged damages exceeded the...
Texas Central Railway Has Eminent Domain Authority
By a 5-3 margin (Justice Bland not participating), the Texas Supreme Court has held that Texas Central Railway, a private entity seeking to construct a high-speed electric railroad connecting Dallas and Houston meets the statutory definition in Chapter 131,...