First Court of Appeals

Chief Justice Terry Adams

Chief Justice Terry Adams was elected to the First Court of Appeals in 2022.  Before that, he was appointed by Governor Abbott in 2020 to be a Justice on the Court and served the rest of that term. Prior to joining the First Court of Appeals, Chief Justice Adams was an accomplished appellate attorney.  He opened his own appellate boutique... Read more

Justice Peter Kelly

Place 9

Peter was elected to the First Court of Appeals in 2018. Prior to assuming the bench, he was a founding partner of Kelly, Durham & Pittard, L.L.P., an appellate litigation boutique with offices in Houston, Dallas, and Santa Fe. With twenty-eight years of legal experience, Peter was widely regarded as one of the premier advocates in the Texas Supreme Court... Read more

Justice Gordon Goodman

Place 2

Justice Gordon Goodman was elected to the First Court of Appeals in 2018. Justice Goodman is a member of the Texas State Bar, Pennsylvania Bar, and Energy Bar Associations. Before serving on the bench, he started his career with the Whittenburg Law Firm in Amarillo, TX, where he focused on civil trials, appellate work, oil & gas law, banking law, and... Read more

Justice Sarah Beth Landau

Place 6

Sarah Beth Landau was elected to the First Court of Appeals in 2018.  Before taking the bench, Justice Landau worked in the appeals division of the Harris County Public Defender’s Office and for 10 years as an Assistant Federal Public Defender, doing trial and appellate work.  Justice Landau has over 20 years of legal experience and has handled over 600... Read more

Justice Richard Hightower

Place 8

In 2018, Justice Hightower was honored to be elected to the Texas First Court of Appeals.  He received his bachelor’s degree in English from Baylor University in 1978 and, following in the footsteps of his father and great-grandfather, he received his law degree from Baylor Law School in 1980. While in law school, he served as a Notes and Comments... Read more

Justice Julie Countiss

Place 7

Justice Julie Countiss was elected to the First Court of Appeals in 2018. Her father, Justice Richard Countiss, (retired) swore her into office on January 2, 2019. She has practiced law–primarily civil litigation–for seventeen years and served as an assistant county attorney in Harris County prior to assuming the bench. Justice Countiss received her Doctor of Jurisprudence degree from University of... Read more

Justice Veronica Rivas-Molloy

Place 3

Justice Veronica Rivas-Molloy was elected to the First Court of Appeals in 2020.

Justice Amparo Monique Guerra

Place 5

Justice Amparo Monique Guerra was elected to the Texas First Court of Appeals in 2020, bringing her record of academic and professional excellence, as well as her diverse background, to the bench. She previously served as an Associate Municipal Judge for the City of Houston while practicing law full time. She was the youngest sitting judge on that court when she... Read more

Justice David M. Gunn

Place 4

  Justice David Gunn joined the First Court of Appeals in October 2024.  Justice Gunn came to the Court after more than two decades of practicing appellate law as a partner at the Beck Redden law firm in Houston.  Justice Gunn was born in Austin and grew up in Houston.  He earned two engineering degrees and two law degrees: B.S. in Chemical Engineering... Read more