---
title: "Kyle D. Hawkins | KnowJudges"
canonical: "https://knowjudges.com/kyj/judge/kyle-d-hawkins-tx-supreme-court"
page_type: "judge_profile"
updated: "2026-10-07"
---

# Kyle D. Hawkins

Supreme Court of Texas · Justice

## Profile

- Court: Supreme Court of Texas
- State: Texas
- Role: Justice
- Service status: active
- Last verified: 2026-08-22

## Summary

Official statewide and applicable court procedural guidance applies to this judge.

## 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/supreme/about-the-court/justices/)
- [Official roster](https://www.txcourts.gov/supreme/about-the-court/justices/)
- [Texas Judicial Branch official judicial roster](https://www.txcourts.gov/supreme/about-the-court/justices/)
- [Texas Rules of Appellate Procedure, Rule 9.2, Electronic Filing](https://www.txcourts.gov/media/1461885/texas-rules-of-appellate-procedure.pdf)

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## Biography

### Professional career

- Kyle D. Hawkins is a South African‐born American attorney and professor serving as a justice on the Texas Supreme Court since October 2025, appointed by Governor Greg Abbott to replace Jeffrey S. Boyd
- Before joining the Texas Supreme Court, Hawkins held the role of Solicitor General of Texas from 2018 to 2021
- Law clerk for U.S. Supreme Court Justice Samuel A. Alito, Jr. (2013–14 term)
- Law clerk for Judge Edith H. Jones on the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit
- Partner in the Dallas and Houston offices of Gibson, Dunn & Crutcher LLP
- Chair of the Texas appellate practice at Lehotsky Keller Cohn LLP
- He has held the role of Adjunct Professor of Law at the University of Texas School of Law
- Official site: Texas Judicial Branch – Justice Kyle D. Hawkins
- He also worked as Counselor to the Solicitor General in the U.S. Department of Justice, arguing cases before the U.S. Supreme Court.

### Education

- He graduated magna cum laude from Harvard University (BA, 2002) and summa cum laude from the University of Minnesota Law School (JD, 2009).

### Additional information

- His term runs through December 31, 2026, and he is running for re‐election in the November 3, 2026 general election.
- Place 7 on the Texas Supreme Court, a position he assumed on October 24, 2025.
- Hawkins was born May 6, 1980 in Johannesburg, South Africa, and immigrated to the U.S. in 1986.
- representing the state in state and federal appellate courts, including before the U.S. Supreme Court.
- In his judicial role, Hawkins has emphasized humility, diligence, and a commitment to applying the law as written.
- He is a member of the Republican Party.
- Justice Hawkins lives in Austin, Texas, with his wife and four children.



## Published courtroom rules

### Shared court rules

- [Texas Rules of Appellate Procedure, Rule 9.2, Electronic Filing](https://knowjudges.com/courtroom-rules/national-shared-set-e966a5411b2587c600cf3508) — Scope is limited to the court class in the source claim.  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.