Thanks for the question about whether the Texas Court of Criminal Appeals has a different history (and for your kind words about the blog).

The basic answer is that the two histories converge in the 1990s. While the Texas Supreme Court had its unusual 1925 special court and also had two women appointed to interim positions in the 1980s, no similar appointments were made to the Court of Criminal Appeals.

Instead, the first woman to serve on the Court of Criminal Appeals was Sharon Keller, who was elected in 1994, elected as Presiding Judge in 2000, and reelected in 2006.

Since then, four other women have won election to the nine-member court, and four women (Presiding Judge Keller, Judge Cheryl Johnson, Judge Barbara Parker Hervey, and Judge Cathy Cochran) are currently serving.

On this post, what’s the parallel history of women serving on the court of criminal appeals?