List of Chief Justices of Texas

The Chief Justice of Texas presides at the Texas Supreme Court, which is the top appellate court for civil matters in the Texas court system. The chief justice (and all the justices) are elected statewide in partisan elections. The term of the chief justice is six years. The position was created in the Texas Constitution of 1876. The current chief justice is Nathan L. Hecht.

Chief Justices

Name	Party	Term	Left office
George F. Moore	Democrat	1878-1881	Resigned
Robert S. Gould	Democrat	1881-1882	Defeated
Asa H. Willie	Democrat	1882-1888	Retired
John W. Stayton	Democrat	1888-1894	Died
Reuben R. Gaines	Democrat	1894-1911	Retired
Thomas J. Brown	Democrat	1911-1915	Died
Nelson Phillips	Democrat	1915-1921	Resigned
C.M. Cureton	Democrat	1921-1940	Died
W.F. Moore	Democrat	1940-1941	Retired
James P. Alexander	Democrat	1941-1948	Died
J.E. Hickman	Democrat	1948-1961	Retired
Robert W. Calvert	Democrat	1961-1972	Retired
Joe R. Greenhill	Democrat	1972-1982	Retired
Jack Pope	Democrat	1982-1985	Retired
John L. Hill, Jr.	Democrat	1985-1988	Resigned
Thomas R. Phillips	Republican	1988-2004	Retired
Wallace B. Jefferson	Republican	2004-2013	Resigned
Nathan L. Hecht	Republican	2013-Present	Incumbent