Events Calendar

Texas’s 15th Court of Appeals will hold oral argument on two cases here at Texas Law, Thursday, November 20th, starting at 1:30pm. 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 the following two cases; Texas Department of Public Safety v. Leroy Torres and AIRW 2017-7, L.P.; 600 Westinghouse Investments, LLC; 800 Westinghouse Investments, LLC; Texas Commission on Environmental Quality; and Jonah Water Special Utility District v. City of Georgetown, Texas.

For oral arguments, both the appellant and the appellee will have 20 minutes each for their argument. You can find more information about these cases (and even read their appellate briefs) at this link on the court’s website; https://search.txcourts.gov/submission.aspx?coa=coa15.

Who Should Go: 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.