<P> The Texas Courts of Appeals are part of the Texas judicial system . In Texas, all cases appealed from the district level, both criminal and civil, may be heard by one of the fourteen Texas Courts of Appeals . The exception is for cases where the death penalty is a factor; these cases go directly to the Texas Court of Criminal Appeals, the highest court in Texas for criminal cases . The highest court in Texas for civil cases is the Texas Supreme Court . The specific number of Justices that can sit in each court is regulated by statute . The total number of appellate justices in Texas is currently 80, and can range from three to thirteen for each court . Cases in appellate courts are usually heard by a panel of three judges (even if there are more available). The exception to this is when a case is heard en banc, when all of the justices reconsider a prior decision of a panel of three . </P> <P> Like the Texas Supreme Court and Court of Criminal Appeals, Justices of the Texas Courts of Appeals are elected in partisan elections to six - year terms . </P>

In texas judges in which of the following types of courts are elected