Texas Judicial

Branch

Court History

Judges of the Commission of Appeals, 1918-1945 

According to Succession, Three Judges in Each Section

Commission of Appeals, Section A. Left to Right: Judges Randolph, Gallagher, German, 1923. Photo: Texas Supreme Court Archives.
Commission of Appeals, Section A. Left to Right: Judges Randolph, Gallagher, German, 1923. Photo: Texas Supreme Court Archives.

Section A

  • Leon Sonfield (October 1918 - February 1921)
  • Jesse N. Gallagher (February 1921 - November 1923)
  • W. C. Blanks (December 1923 - March 1924)
  • W. R. Chapman (March 1924 - June 1925)
  • Luther Nickels (June 1925 - June 1929)
  • John H. Sharp (October 1929 - December 1934)
  • S. H. German (February 1935 - October 1941)
  • Few Brewster (November 1941 - September 1945)
  • Beeman Strong (October 1918 - January 1920)
  • French R. Spencer (January 1920 - January 1923)
  • S. G. German (January 1923 - June 1925)
  • John D. Harvey (June 1925 - October 1943)
  • A. J. Folley (October 1943 - September 1945)
  • W. M. Taylor (October 1918 - October 1921)
  • H. C. Randolph (October 1921 - September 1923)
  • W. R. Bishop (September 1923 - October 1927)
  • Richard Critz (October 1927 - May 1935)
  • John E. Hickman (May 1935 - September 1945)
Commission of Appeals, Section A. Left to Right: Judges Bishop, German, Chapman, 1925. Photo: Texas Supreme Court Archives.
Commission of Appeals, Section A. Left to Right: Judges Bishop, German, Chapman, 1925. Photo: Texas Supreme Court Archives./div>

Section B

  • J. T. Montgomery (October 1918 - November 1919)
  • Norman G. Kittrell (December 1919 - October 1921)
  • R. H. Hamilton (October 1921 - February 1921)
  • Hugh B. Short (February 1925 - September 1934)
  • W. M. Taylor (February 1935 - September 1945)
  • S. P. Sadler (October 1918 - November 1920)
  • Ben H. Powell (November 1920 - October 1927)
  • Charles A. Leddy (November 1927 - September 1933)
  • Graham B. Smedley (September 1933 - September 1945)
  • James W. McClendon (October 1918 - December 1923)
  • Robert W. Stayton (December 1923 - June 1925)
  • Ocie Speer (June 1925 - October 1929)
  • Joseph Ryan (October 1929 - February 1937)
  • A. B. Martin (March 1937 - December 1939)
  • Charles S. Slatton (January 1949 - September 1945)

When the 1945 constitutional amendment increased the number of members of the Court from three to nine, Commissioners Brewster, Folley, Hickman, Taylor, Smedley, and Slatton became justices, and the Commission of Appeals was abolished.