Texas Supreme Court Justices on the Rule of Law – Part II

Texas Supreme Court Justice John Devine

Justice John Devine was elected to the Supreme Court of Texas in November 2012. He previously served for seven years as judge of the 190th state district court in Harris County and for nine years as an appointed special judge for the Harris County justice of the peace courts.

A native of Indiana, Justice Devine attended Ball State University, graduating in 1980 with a B.S. degree in business administration and Marketing. Following graduation, Justice Devine became a Texan and entered the corporate world of Shell Oil Co. in Houston as an analyst and later worked in various corporate and project-oriented positions. While at Shell, he was accepted by South Texas College of Law, graduating with a juris doctorate in 1986. Justice Devine remained with Shell until 1987. The next year Devine went to work for Brown & Root Inc, and again contributed to numerous corporate as well as major international and domestic industrial construction projects.

Justice Devine was elected in 1995 and re-elected in 1998 to the district court. During his tenure, Devine tried nearly 350 jury trials and presided over more than 500 bench trials. In 1998 he was voted well qualified by the Houston Bar Association. Justice Devine reduced his court's case backlog by more than 40 percent during his two terms. Devine was awarded the title of "Texas Size Hero" by Focus on the Family magazine.

In his private litigation practice since 2002, Justice Devine represented both plaintiffs and defendants in state and federal courts. In 2002 he was appointed as a special judge for the Harris County justice courts and served until 2011. Devine was also a member of the District of Columbia Bar Association, the Board of Civil District Judge Mass Torts Committee, Board of Civil District Judges, the Harris County Juvenile Justice Charter School Board and the Harris County Juvenile Board.

Justice Devine has been married since 1989 to Nubia Piedad Gomez, formerly of Venezuela, and the couple has six children.

Biography Justice Jeff Brown

Jeff Brown was appointed to Texas Supreme Court by Governor Rick Perry in September 2013 to replace Justice Nathan L. Hecht after Hecht's appointment as chief justice. Justice Brown took his oath October 3.

Since 2007 he had been a justice on Houston's 14th Court of Appeals.

From 2001 into 2007 he served as judge of the 55th District Court. In 2009 Chief Justice Wallace Jefferson appointed Brown to the state's Multi-District Litigation Panel. In 2011 he was named Appellate Judge of the Year by the Texas Association of Civil Trial & Appellate Specialists.

Justice Brown holds board certification in civil trial law. Before becoming a judge, he practiced at Baker Botts LLP in Houston, trying jury cases throughout Southeast Texas. Before joining Baker Botts, he was a briefing attorney to Justices Jack Hightower and Greg Abbott on the Texas Supreme Court.

He is the fourth former law clerk to become a justice on the Court.

He earned his bachelor's degree in English from the University of Texas and his law degree with high honors from the University of Houston. While in law school he served as chief note and comment editor of the Houston Law Review.

In 2006, the Texas Young Lawyers Association named Brown its Outstanding Young Lawyer of Texas. He has been active in state and local bar activities, including service as judicial liaison to the Houston Young Lawyers Association, chairman of HYLA's Non-Profit Law Committee, co-chairman of the Houston Bar Association's John J. Eikenburg Law Week Fun Run and vice-chairman of TYLA's National Trial Competition. He has served on the boards of the Texas Lyceum, Houston Law Review, University of Houston Law Alumni Association, Texas Supreme Court Historical Society, Texas Center for the Judiciary and Christian Community Service Center. He also serves on LifeHouse of Houston's advisory board and as a Houston Livestock Show & Rodeo committeeman.

An Eagle Scout, Jeff served on the Sam Houston Area Boy Scouts' Urban Scouting Committee, an effort to bring Scouting to the inner city. He remains an active Scout leader, and serves as Scouting Ministries Coordinator at his church. Jeff also worked on Operation Compassion, serving food to Katrina evacuees in 2005. The Texas Jaycees named him one of Five Outstanding Young Texans in 2008.

Justice Brown has been an adjunct law professor at the University of Houston and is a member of the State Bar's Pattern Jury Charge Committee. He also serves on the editorial board of The Advocate, the quarterly journal of the State Bar's Litigation Section. In 2008 he was elected to the American Law Institute. He has also taught for the National Judicial College.

He and his wife, Susannah, a schoolteacher, have three children, Kathleen, Rob and Gus. They are members of Bellaire United Methodist Church in Bellaire.

His term in Place 6 ends December 31, 2018, but he must run in 2014 to keep his position.

Justice John Devine Campaign Website

Justice John Devine Texas Supreme Court Website

Justice Jeff Brown Campaign Website

Justice Jeff Brown Texas Supreme Court Website