Jane Nenninger Bland (born June 1, 1965) is an American

lawyer A lawyer is a person who is qualified to offer advice about the law, draft legal documents, or represent individuals in legal matters. The exact nature of a lawyer's work varies depending on the legal jurisdiction and the legal system, as w ...

from

Texas Texas ( , ; or ) is the most populous U.S. state, state in the South Central United States, South Central region of the United States. It borders Louisiana to the east, Arkansas to the northeast, Oklahoma to the north, New Mexico to the we ...

who serves as a justice of the

Supreme Court of Texas The Supreme Court of Texas (SCOTX) is the court of last resort for civil matters (including juvenile delinquency cases, which are categorized as civil under the Texas Family Code) in the U.S. state of Texas. A different court, the Texas Court ...

Education

She received her

Bachelor of Business Administration A Bachelor of Business Administration (BBA) is an undergraduate degree in business administration awarded by colleges and universities after completion of four years and typically 120 credits of undergraduate study in the fundamentals of busine ...

and

Juris Doctor A Juris Doctor, Doctor of Jurisprudence, or Doctor of Law (JD) is a graduate-entry professional degree that primarily prepares individuals to practice law. In the United States and the Philippines, it is the only qualifying law degree. Other j ...

from the

University of Texas at Austin The University of Texas at Austin (UT Austin, UT, or Texas) is a public university, public research university in Austin, Texas, United States. Founded in 1883, it is the flagship institution of the University of Texas System. With 53,082 stud ...

. While in law school she was Vice-Chancellor, an editor of the

Texas Law Review The ''Texas Law Review'' is a student-edited and -produced law review affiliated with the University of Texas School of Law (Austin). The ''Review'' publishes seven issues per year, six of which include articles, book reviews, essays, commentaries ...

and a member of the

Order of the Coif The Order of the Coif () is an American honor society for law school graduates. The Order was founded in 1902 at the University of Illinois College of Law. The name is a reference to the ancient English order of trial lawyers, the serjeants-at-la ...

Career

From 1990 to 1991, she clerked for Judge Thomas Gibbs Gee of the

United States Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit The United States Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit (in case citations, 5th Cir.) is one of the 13 United States courts of appeals. It has appellate jurisdiction over the U.S. district courts in the following federal judicial districts: ...

. She then went on to practice law with

Baker Botts Baker Botts L.L.P. is an American law firm headquartered in Houston, Texas, at One Shell Plaza. It has approximately 725 lawyers and primarily handles matters involving technology and energy companies. It is the second-oldest law firm west of the ...

from 1991 to 1997, focusing on civil trial and appellate work.

State judicial service

Bland served as the judge of the 281st Judicial District Court in the civil trial division of

Harris County, Texas Harris County is a county located in the U.S. state of Texas. As of the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, the population was 4,731,145, and was estimated to be 5,009,302 in 2024, making it the List of counties in Texas, most populous cou ...

, having initially been appointed by then–Governor

George W. Bush George Walker Bush (born July 6, 1946) is an American politician and businessman who was the 43rd president of the United States from 2001 to 2009. A member of the Bush family and the Republican Party (United States), Republican Party, he i ...

in 1997. In 2003, she was appointed to the First Court of Appeals by then-Governor

Rick Perry James Richard Perry (born March 4, 1950) is an American politician who served as the 14th United States secretary of energy from 2017 to 2019 in the first administration of Donald Trump. He previously served as the 47th governor of Texas fr ...

. Bland sat as an appellate justice for 15 years, winning elections in 2004 (to complete the unexpired term), 2006, and 2012. Along with many other Republican incumbents on the court (located in heavily Democratic Harris County), she lost her re-election bid in 2018, and returned to private practice.

Texas Supreme Court

On August 26, 2019, Governor

Greg Abbott Gregory Wayne Abbott ( ; born November 13, 1957) is an American politician, attorney, and jurist who has served since 2015 as the 48th governor of Texas. A member of the Republican Party (United States), Republican Party, he served from 2002 to ...

announced his intention to appoint Bland to the

to replace Justice Jeff Brown, who had been confirmed by the United States Senate as a District Judge for the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of Texas. She assumed office on September 4, 2019, when Brown was commissioned as a federal district judge. She was sworn in on September 11, 2019. In 2020 Bland stood for re-election to a full six-year term, defeating Democrat Kathy Cheng in a record-setting performance: the 6,015,699 votes cast for Bland were the most cast for any candidate in Texas history.

Awards

The Texas Association of Civil Trial and Appellate Specialists (TACTAS) recognized Bland as Trial Judge of the Year in 2003 and Appellate Justice of the Year in 2007 and 2015. In November 2010, U.S. Supreme Court Chief Justice

John Roberts John Glover Roberts Jr. (born January 27, 1955) is an American jurist serving since 2005 as the 17th chief justice of the United States. He has been described as having a Moderate conservatism, moderate conservative judicial philosophy, thoug ...

presented Bland with the William H. Rehnquist Award, which is given annually by the National Center for State Courts to a state court judge who exemplifies the highest level of judicial excellence, integrity, fairness, and professional ethics.

References

External links

* 1965 births Living people Place of birth missing (living people) 20th-century American lawyers 21st-century American lawyers 20th-century Texas state court judges 21st-century American judges Texas lawyers Texas Republicans Texas state court judges Justices of the Supreme Court of Texas McCombs School of Business alumni University of Texas School of Law alumni 20th-century American women lawyers 21st-century American women lawyers 20th-century American women judges 21st-century American women judges {{Texas-state-judge-stub