---
title: "Mary Lou Keel | KnowJudges"
canonical: "https://knowjudges.com/kyj/judge/mary-lou-keel-tx-court-criminal-appeals"
page_type: "judge_profile"
updated: "2026-08-02"
---

# Mary Lou Keel

Texas Court of Criminal Appeals · Court of Criminal Appeals Judge, Place 2

## Profile

- Court: Texas Court of Criminal Appeals
- State: Texas
- Role: Court of Criminal Appeals Judge, Place 2
- Service status: active
- Last verified: 2026-07-27

## Summary

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

## Biography

### Professional career

- Republican judge serving as Place 2 on the Texas Court of Criminal Appeals since January 1, 2017, after a career in Harris County criminal law and district court judging.
- She is the court’s Place 2 judge and was re‐elected in 2022 after her general election was canceled, winning the Republican primary outright.
- Judge, 232nd District Court (Harris County, TX) from 1995 to 2016
- Briefing attorney for the First Court of Appeals (1985–86)
- Assistant District Attorney in Harris County for trial and appeal work
- These disputes have been contested by the public defender’s office, which says the District Attorney’s Office requested their assistance

### Education

- University of Houston Law Center — J.D. (1985)
- B.A. in English, University of Texas at Austin (1982)

### Additional information

- Elected in 2016 to the Texas Court of Criminal Appeals and assumed office in 2017, with her current term running through January 1, 2029.
- Date of birth: 1961-01-05
- She is married to attorney Jim Hippard Jr. and has three children.

## 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/cca/about-the-court/judges/judge-mary-lou-keel/)
- [Official roster](https://www.txcourts.gov/cca/about-the-court/judges/judge-mary-lou-keel/)
- [Texas Judicial Branch official judicial roster](https://www.txcourts.gov/cca/about-the-court/judges/judge-mary-lou-keel/)
- [Texas Rules of Appellate Procedure, Rule 9.2, Electronic Filing](https://www.txcourts.gov/media/1461885/texas-rules-of-appellate-procedure.pdf)
- [Wikidata: Mary Lou Keel](https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q48799163)

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## 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.