Gov. Greg Abbott (R) nominated Brett Busby on Friday to replace retired Justice Phil Johnson (R) on the Texas Supreme Court. Busby is Abbott’s second nominee to the nine-member court. His nomination is subject to confirmation by the Texas State Senate.

 

If confirmed, Busby will serve until 2020. He must run for election that year to remain on the bench. The nine justices of the Texas Supreme Court are selected in statewide partisan elections. They serve six-year terms. All of the court’s current justices are Republicans.

 

Busby was a Republican judge on the Texas Fourteenth District Court of Appeals from June 2012 to December 2018. He ran for re-election in 2018 but was defeated in the general election on November 6.

 

Busby previously was a partner at Bracewell & Giuliani LLP, an adjunct professor at The University of Texas School of Law, and a law clerk at the Supreme Court of the United States. He graduated with high honors from Duke University and received his J.D. from Columbia Law School.