Brett Busby

Professional career

• Justin Brett Busby is a Republican justice of the Supreme Court of Texas, appointed in 2019 and currently serving a term through December 31, 2026
• Nominated by Texas Governor Greg Abbott on February 21, 2019, to replace Justice Phil Johnson, and was unanimously confirmed by the Texas Senate on March 20, 2019
• Before joining the Supreme Court, Busby held the role of a justice on the Fourteenth Court of Appeals in Houston from 2012 to 2018.
• Oversaw the Texas Access to Justice Commission and Foundation
• He also worked as an appellate litigator in private practice, was board-certified in civil appellate law, and chaired the State Bar of Texas Appellate Section
• Clerked for U.S. Supreme Court Justices Byron R. White (Ret.) and John Paul Stevens and Eleventh Circuit Judge Gerald Tjoflat; later taught at U.T. Law School as an adjunct professor

Education

Additional information

• Current Supreme Court of Texas term ends December 31, 2026.
• Received the 2022 Judicial Civic Education Award for his “Teach Texas” program
• Elected statewide in 2020, defeating his opponent by over one million votes.
• Appointed to Place 8 of the Supreme Court of Texas by Governor Greg Abbott in 2019, confirmed unanimously by the Texas Senate, and elected to a full term in 2020.
• Appointed to the Texas Judicial Panel on Multi-District Litigation on September 13, 2017, for a term expiring September 1, 2018.
• Born April 12, 1973.
• Practiced as an appellate litigator in Houston, presented oral argument in the U.S. Supreme Court, and handled dozens of appeals in the U.S. Supreme Court, Supreme Court of Texas, and federal and state appellate courts.
• Oversees the Texas Access to Justice Commission and Foundation, which help assure that Texans with limited means have access to basic civil legal services.
• undergraduate degree, high honors — Duke University
• Law degree, high honors — Columbia Law School
• Member of the IAALS Uncomplicated Courts Initiative Advisory Committee.