--- title: "Bonnie Sudderth | KnowJudges" canonical: "https://knowjudges.com/kyj/judge/bonnie-sudderth-tx-2nd-court-appeals" page_type: "judge_profile" updated: "2026-08-02" --- # Bonnie Sudderth Texas 2nd Court of Appeals · Court of Appeals Justice ## Profile - Court: Texas 2nd Court of Appeals - State: Texas - Role: Court of Appeals Justice - Service status: active - Last verified: 2026-07-27 ## Summary Official statewide and applicable court procedural guidance applies to this judge. ## Biography ### Professional career - Bonnie Sudderth has held the role of a justice on the Texas Second Court of Appeals since 2015 and was elevated to Chief Justice in 2017 by then-Governor Greg Abbott - Bonnie Sudderth is the Chief Justice of the Texas Second District Court of Appeals, a role she has held since 2017 after being appointed in 2015, with a career spanning over 25 years in trial courts and extensive legal teaching and mentorship - Chief Justice, Texas Court of Appeals, 2nd District (Fort Worth), Fort Worth, TX, 2019-2024 - Chief Justice, Texas Court of Appeals, 2nd District (Fort Worth), Fort Worth, TX, 2017-2018 - Justice, Texas Court of Appeals, 2nd District (Fort Worth), Fort Worth, TX, 2015-2016 - 1997–2015: Judge of Texas District 352 in Tarrant County, re‐elected four times - Judge, Texas 352nd Judicial District Court, TX, 1996-2015 - Chief Judge, Fort Worth Municipal Court, Fort Worth, TX, 1990-1996 ### Education - Duke University — LL.M. (2020) - JD — The University of Texas at Austin — 1985 - Public Affairs and Public Administration, magna cum laude — University of Southern California — 1982 ### Additional information - adj-prof, Texas Wesleyan University, TX, 1999-present - adj-prof, Texas A&M University School of Law, Fort Worth, TX, 1999-present - She has also served on the Supreme Court of Texas, commissioning two cases in 2022 - The only sitting Texas judge who has also held the role of the state’s highest statewide official, acting as Governor on July 5–6, 2019, under Section 401.023(a)(3) of the Texas Government Code - Regional Director of the Texas Committee for Employer Support of the Guard and Reserves, U.S. Department of Defense, 1992-1998 - Commissioner, Texas Commission on Judicial Efficiency, Staff Diversity Task Force, TX, 1996-1996 - Commissioner, Texas Commission on Judicial Conduct, TX, 1991-1996 - Faculty Member, Texas Municipal Courts Education Center, TX, 1991-1996 - 1990–1996: Judge and Chief Judge of Fort Worth Municipal Courts (youngest Chief Judge in Texas at age 30) - Practitioner, Private Practice, Fort Worth, TX, 1986-1990 - Date of birth: 1959-09-02 - For over 20 years, Sudderth has been an adjunct professor at Texas A&M University School of Law (previously Texas Wesleyan), teaching Texas Trials & Appeals. - Birth place: Brownwood, TX ## Before you appear - Read the judge-specific standing order first when one is listed. - Check the docket and case orders for requirements that supersede broader guidance. - Confirm current remote-access and courtroom technology arrangements before the proceeding. ## Courtroom Rules ### appellate electronic filing Scope: statewide In Texas appellate courts, attorneys must electronically file civil and criminal documents, subject to a good-cause motion; self-represented parties may e-file but are not required to do so. Evidence excerpt: Attorneys in civil cases must electronically file documents. Attorneys in criminal cases must electronically file documents except for good cause shown in a motion filed in the appellate court. [Texas Rules of Appellate Procedure, Rule 9.2, Electronic Filing](https://www.txcourts.gov/media/1461885/texas-rules-of-appellate-procedure.pdf) Source checked: 2026-07-26 ## Sources - [Official profile](https://www.txcourts.gov/2ndcoa/about-the-court/justices/chief-justice-bonnie-sudderth/) - [Official roster](https://www.txcourts.gov/2ndcoa/about-the-court/justices/chief-justice-bonnie-sudderth/) - [Texas Judicial Branch official judicial roster](https://www.txcourts.gov/2ndcoa/about-the-court/justices/chief-justice-bonnie-sudderth/) - [CourtListener judicial biographical directory](https://www.courtlistener.com/person/16095/bonnie-sudderth/) - [Texas Rules of Appellate Procedure, Rule 9.2, Electronic Filing](https://www.txcourts.gov/media/1461885/texas-rules-of-appellate-procedure.pdf) - [CourtListener judicial biographical directory](https://www.courtlistener.com/person/16095/bonnie-sudderth/) ## JSON-LD ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "WebPage", "@id": "https://knowjudges.com/kyj/judge/bonnie-sudderth-tx-2nd-court-appeals", "url": "https://knowjudges.com/kyj/judge/bonnie-sudderth-tx-2nd-court-appeals", "name": "Bonnie Sudderth | KnowJudges", "description": "Bonnie Sudderth, Texas 2nd Court of Appeals. 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Shared court context only; case-type restrictions, exceptions, later amendments and case orders apply. This is not a personal preference or a complete rules inventory. [Official source](https://www.txcourts.gov/media/1461885/texas-rules-of-appellate-procedure.pdf). Collected 2026-07-26.