The Expanded Texas Courts of Appeals

Reviews the changes in the Texas courts system, specifically, the expansion of the courts of appeals, with the passage of Senate Joint Resolution 36 and Senate Bill 265. The former court of civil appeals are now conferred criminal jurisdiction, creating the new Texas courts of appeals system appealable to both the Texas Supreme Court and the Texas Court of Criminal Appeals. The author comments on the “extraordinary increase in case load,” but remains confident in the new appellate system if the courts are given “tools adequate to their task.”