Court of Criminal Appeals
Presiding Judge Sharon Keller
Place 1
Sharon Keller was first elected to the Texas Court of Criminal Appeals in 1994. She was elected Presiding Judge in 2000 and re-elected to that position in 2006. She is the first woman to have served on the Court. A native Texan, she earned her Bachelor of Arts degree in philosophy from Rice University in 1975 and her Juris Doctor... Read more
Judge Michael Keasler
Place 6
Judge Michael E. Keasler earned his B.A. and L.L.B. degrees from the University of Texas at Austin. In 1969, he was appointed assistant district attorney for Dallas County, where he served for twelve years. He was a senior felony chief prosecutor in the Career Criminal Division and a veteran of over four hundred jury trials when in 1981 he was... Read more
Judge Barbara Hervey
Place 7
Judge Barbara Parker Hervey was elected to the Texas Court of Criminal Appeals in November 2000. A native of New Jersey, Judge Hervey earned a Bachelor of Arts degree in 1975 from The University of North Carolina at Greensboro, and her J.D. in 1979 from St. Mary's University School of Law, where she is currently an Adjunct Professor and a... Read more
Judge Bert Richardson
Place 3
Judge Bert Richardson was elected to the Texas Court of Criminal Appeals in 2014. He served as an Assistant District Attorney for Bexar County and Assistant U. S. Attorney. He was appointed to the 379th District Court of Bexar County in 1999. He is a graduate of St. Mary's University School of Law and is board certified in Criminal Law.
Judge Kevin Yeary
Place 4
Judge Kevin Patrick Yeary was elected to the Texas Court of Criminal Appeals in 2014. In 1991, he served as briefing attorney at the Texas Court of Criminal Appeals. He has worked as a defense attorney in private practice and as an Assistant District Attorney for Dallas, Harris and Bexar Counties. He is a graduate of the St. Mary's University... Read more
Judge David Newell
Place 9
Judge David Newell was elected to the Texas Court of Criminal Appeals on November 4, 2014. The son of Thomas and Linda Newell, David was born at the Bethesda Naval Hospital in Maryland, though he grew up in Sugar Land, Texas with his much taller, older brother, Robert Newell. David graduated cum laude from William P. Clements High School. He earned... Read more
Judge Mary Lou Keel
Place 2
Mary Lou Keel was elected to the Court in 2016. From 1995 through 2016 she presided over the 232nd District Court in Harris County, Texas. She also served Harris County as an assistant district attorney at trial and on appeal. She was a briefing attorney for the First Court of Appeals from 1985-86. She has been board certified in Criminal... Read more
Judge Scott Walker
Place 5
Judge Scott Walker was elected to the Texas Court of Criminal Appeals in November of 2016. Prior to taking the bench, his law practice consisted of criminal litigation, appellate advocacy, civil defense, and veteran's disability. His undergraduate degree is from Dallas Baptist University and his Juris Doctorate is from Baylor School of Law. Judge Walker is a member of the State... Read more
Judge Michelle Slaughter
Place 8
Judge Michelle Slaughter was elected to the Court of Criminal Appeals in 2018. With more than 4.7 million votes, she was the top vote-getter in a contested election in the United States. She earned her J.D. cum laude (top 15%) from the University of Houston Law Center. In law school, she interned for two federal district judges and for the... Read more