Events Calendar

Texas’s brand-new Fifteenth Court of Appeals will hold oral argument on two cases here at Texas Law Wednesday morning, January 15, 2025, starting at 9:00 a.m. This is an amazing opportunity to see real-life appellate argument in person without leaving the law school. The court will hear oral arguments on two cases, Texas Commission on Environmental Quality v. San Antonio Bay Estuarine Waterkeeper & Texas Campaign for The Environment, and State of Texas v. Fiel Houston, Inc. For each appeal, each side will get 20 minutes to argue (in other words, the oral argument for each case should last just under one hour). You can find more information about these cases (and even read their appellate briefs) at this link on the court’s website.

Chief Justice Scott Brister, Harvard Law; Justice Scott Field '95, Texas Law; and Justice April Farris, Harvard Law

If you are interested in appellate advocacy, moot court competitions, or preparing for your 1L brief/oral argument assignment, this is for you! If you’re just interested in how Texas court systems or the Texas government works, this is for you, too. The legislature created the Fifteenth Court of Appeals during its 88th Session in 2023. The Court is composed of a Chief Justice and two justices. The Fifteenth Court’s initial term began on September 1, 2024. The court has statewide civil intermediate appellate jurisdiction and exclusive intermediate appellate jurisdiction over matters arising out of or related to a civil appeals brought by or against the state or a board, commission, department, office, or other agency in the executive branch of the state government, including a university system or institution of higher education as defined by Section 61.003, Education Code, or by or against an officer or employee of the state or a board, commission, department, office, or other agency in the executive branch of the state government arising out of that officer's or employee's official conduct (subject to certain exceptions). In addition, the Fifteenth Court has exclusive jurisdiction over appeals from the Texas Business Courts, involving cases dealing with business disputes valued at more than $10 million.