Who is running for Fifteenth Court of Appeals, Chief Justice in 2026?

Chief Justice, Fifteenth Court of Appeals

Scott Brister has been the first Chief Justice of the Fifteenth Court of Appeals since September 1, 2024, by appointment of Gov. Greg Abbott¹. He previously served 20 years on Texas trial and appellate courts, including the Supreme Court of Texas from 2003 to 2009, and later was a partner at Hunton Andrews Kurth¹. He is the Republican nominee for Chief Justice of the Fifteenth Court of Appeals and faces Democrat Jerry Zimmerer²³.

• Chief Justice, Fifteenth Court of Appeals, since September 1, 2024¹
• Justice, Supreme Court of Texas, 2003 to 2009; appointed in 2003 by Gov. Rick Perry and elected in 2004¹⁴
• Justice and Chief Justice, First and Fourteenth Courts of Appeals (Houston), 2001 to 2003; Presiding Judge, 234th District Court (Harris County), 1989 to 2000¹
• Partner, Hunton Andrews Kurth LLP; chaired the Texas Commission on Public School Finance¹
• Board certified in civil appellate law, civil trial law and personal injury trial law; JD, Harvard Law School¹
• Appointed by Gov. Greg Abbott as the court's first Chief Justice, effective September 1, 2024; 2026 is the first election for the court's inaugural members¹⁴.
• Bar poll: State Bar of Texas 2026 Judicial Poll (non-binding preference poll of bar members, taken before the March 3 primary): Scott Brister 1,957 votes, Jerry Zimmerer 1,594¹²¹³.
• Attorney General reporting rules for large-county prosecutors (Paxton v. Garza, December 30, 2025): joined the unanimous panel opinion written by Justice Field, which held that Government Code section 41.006 does not give the Attorney General rulemaking authority, upheld a temporary injunction blocking the rules for the prosecutors who sued, and reversed the injunction to the extent it covered anyone else⁶⁷. Brister also wrote a concurrence saying the Attorney General may request information on specific cases but lacks authority for blanket reporting requirements⁵. The trial court ruled the rules invalid on May 7, 2026, and on May 29, 2026 the Supreme Court of Texas, on the parties' joint motion, vacated the appeals court judgment and dismissed that appeal as moot⁷⁸.
• Attorney General's lawsuit against Beto O'Rourke and his group Powered by People (In re Powered by People): member of the three-justice panel that in August 2025 paused a Tarrant County temporary injunction hearing and expedited discovery order⁹, and that in an unsigned September 12, 2025 order stayed the trial court's August 15 restraining order on the group's fundraising, stating that on the limited evidence offered it would be an unconstitutional prior restraint of political activity (relief was denied as to a later August 25 order)¹⁰. Wrote the September 8, 2026 majority opinion holding that the State's dropping of its injunction claims made most of the challenge moot; the court vacated the restraining order and related discovery and venue rulings, and upheld as modified the trial court's order barring the group from pursuing the same dispute in El Paso¹¹.

Attorney in private practice; former justice, Fourteenth Court of Appeals

Jerry Zimmerer served as a justice on the Fourteenth Court of Appeals in Houston from 2019 through 2024³. He has also worked in private practice and, from 2003 to 2015, as a project manager and network engineer at AT&T Mobility³. He is the Democratic nominee for Chief Justice of the Fifteenth Court of Appeals against Republican incumbent Scott Brister¹².

• Justice, Fourteenth Court of Appeals (Houston), Place 3, 2019 through 2024³⁴
• Private practice, Zimmerer & Associates, focused on cyber security, health and commercial arbitration³
• Senior project manager and network technical engineer, AT&T Mobility, 2003 to 2015³
• Law degree, South Texas College of Law Houston, 1984³
• Elected to the Fourteenth Court of Appeals, Place 3, in 2018, defeating then-Justice Brett Busby, 51.2 to 48.8 percent⁴. Lost the 2020 Democratic primary for Chief Justice of the Supreme Court of Texas to Amy Clark Meachum⁴. Lost the 2024 Democratic primary runoff for his Fourteenth Court seat to Velda Faulkner, 58.5 to 41.5 percent, and left office December 31, 2024⁴. Unopposed in the 2026 Democratic primary².
• Bar poll: State Bar of Texas 2026 Judicial Poll (non-binding preference poll of bar members, taken before the March 3 primary): Scott Brister 1,957 votes, Jerry Zimmerer 1,594⁵⁶.