<P> While Texas' unique practice saved the state supreme court from having to hear relatively minor cases just to create uniform statewide precedents on those issues, it also makes for lengthy citations to the opinions of the Courts of Appeals, since the subsequent writ history of the case must always be noted (e.g., no writ, writ refused, writ denied, etc .) in order for the reader to determine at a glance whether the cited opinion is binding precedent only in the district of the Court of Appeals in which it was decided, or binding precedent for the entire state . </P> <P> The Court has a Chief Justice and eight associate justices . Each member 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 . The Clerk of the Court is appointed by the Justices and serves a four - year term . </P> <P> The Chief Justice and the Associate Justices are elected to staggered six - year terms in statewide partisan elections . When a vacancy arises the Governor of Texas may appoint Justices, subject to Senate confirmation, to serve out the remainder of an unexpired term until the next general election . As of 2017, seven of the current Justices, a majority, were originally appointed by Governor Rick Perry . The current Justices, like all the Judges of the Texas Court of Criminal Appeals, are all Republican . </P> <P> The place numbers have no special meaning as all justices are elected statewide, except that the Chief Justice position is considered "Place 1". </P>

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