Texas Chief Justice Sherry Radack named president of Council of Chief Judges of the State Courts of Appeal

Miami Beach, Fla. (Oct. 27, 2011) — Chief Justice Sherry Radack of the First Court of Appeals in Texas has been elected president of the Council of Chief Judges of the State Courts of Appeal (CCJSCA) at the organization's annual conference in Miami Beach, Fla. She will serve a one-year term. 

Chief Justice Radack was appointed by Gov. Rick Perry to lead the First Court of Appeals in December 2002, and was elected chief justice in 2004 by popular vote. She has served the First Court of Appeals since her 2001 appointment as a justice.

In 1998, Chief Justice Radack was elected to serve as a civil district judge in Harris County, a position she held for three years. Before ascending to the bench, she was an attorney with the Houston firm of Bracewell and Patterson LLP, where her practice focused on civil trial work, including contract law, products liability, and claims of insurance fraud.

Before entering law school, Chief Justice Radack taught Spanish and French in Houston-area middle schools. In the 1970s, she and her husband owned and operated several retail stores in Houston and Oklahoma.

In addition to her service to CCJSCA, Chief Justice Radack is a member of the Texas Judicial Council, the Task Force on Indigent Defense, the Appellate Section of the State Bar of Texas, and the Texas Council of Intermediate Appellate Court Chiefs. She previously has served on the boards of the Texas Center for the Judiciary, University of St. Thomas, American Diabetes Association, Memorial Health Care Systems Foundation, Westland YMCA, and Project Safe Child.

Chief Justice Radack and her husband, Steve, have four sons, Jeremy, Nicholas, Steven, and Andrew.

Established in 1980, the CCJSCA serves as "a body for consultation and education concerning the improvement of the administration of justice, rules, and methods of procedure, and the organization and operation of the state intermediate appellate courts." The council's mission is advanced through the participation of intermediate appellate court leaders, including past, current, and future chief judges. The council provides past, current, and future chief judges the opportunity to share ideas about different ways to solve common problems, learn about effective programs instituted in other intermediate appellate courts, and examine ways to promote efficiency and fiscal responsibility in our own courts.

The National Center for State Courts, headquartered in Williamsburg, Va., is a nonprofit organization dedicated to improving the administration of justice by providing leadership and service to the state courts. Founded in 1971 by the Conference of Chief Justices and Chief Justice of the United States Warren E. Burger, NCSC provides education, training, technology, management, and research services to the nation's state courts.