Republican Appeals Court Justice Rose Vela announced today she is seeking election to Place 9 on the Texas Supreme Court.
Vela known as a no-nonsense conservative was elected in an historic 2006 election to the Thirteenth Court of Appeals becoming the first Republican elected since the courts creation.
Vela will seek the seat being vacated by Supreme Court Justice Scott Brister who has announced his intention to resign and not seek re-election in 2010.
Texans deserve a fair and impartial legal system that is representative of Texas" Justice Vela said. But most importantly we need judges who will ensure that our courts follow the law and not try to rewrite it to satisfy their own personal agendas."
Vela made history by becoming the first Republican ever elected to the solidly Democratic Thirteenth Appeals Court district. She defeated a popular incumbent Democrat justice with 53 percent of the vote by receiving bipartisan support across the district.
Justice Vela has a real compassion for people and a real dedication to upholding strict standards of the law" said political strategist Steve Ray. As a former district judge she often said that the most important part of her job was bringing children together with new families through adoptions. As an appeals court judge she has been especially vigilant to make sure that lower court rulings correctly interpreted the law."
A former Nueces County district judge Justice Vela was born into a military family in 1964 at Lackland Air Force Base in San Antonio. After receiving her Bachelor of Arts Degree from Southwest Texas State University in 1985 with a major in English and a minor in Political Science she received a Doctor of Jurisprudence degree from St. Marys University School of Law in 1988 and was licensed to practice law in Texas that same year.
Upon graduation from law school Justice Vela served as a Briefing Attorney for the Fourth Court of Appeals for one year. After moving to Corpus Christi in 1990 she served as a Briefing Attorney for the Thirteenth Court of Appeals for two years. In 1998 she was elected to the 148th District Court of Nueces County Texas where she served two full terms. Justice Vela was elected to the Thirteenth Court of Appeals in November 2006.
Justice Vela is a member of the American Inns of Court American Bar Association Texas Bar Association National Association of Women Judges Texas Center for Legal Ethics and Professionalism the College of the State Bar of Texas and the Texas Bar Foundation. She is also a graduate of the Texas College of Advanced Judicial Studies (General Jurisprudence) the National Judicial College (Conducting the Trial Advanced Evidence) and the Harvard Law School Program on Negotiation.
Before joining the Court Justice Vela previously served as the Presiding Administrative Judge of the Nueces County Council of Judges President of the Corpus Christi Young Lawyers Association Director of the Texas Center for the Judiciary and Director of the Corpus Christi Bar Association.
Married to attorney Filemon Vela Justice Vela has a long tradition in South Texas politics. Her husbands family has been in public service for 150 years. Her father-in-law Filemon Vela Sr. was a federal judge in the Valley and her husbands mother Blanca Sanchez Vela is a former Brownsville mayor.
The Texas Supreme Court is the states highest civil court. The Justices of the Supreme Court are elected to staggered six-year terms in state-wide elections.
Republican Appeals Court Justice Rose Vela announced today she is seeking election to Place 9 on the Texas Supreme Court.
Vela known as a no-nonsense conservative was elected in an historic 2006 election to the Thirteenth Court of Appeals becoming the first Republican elected since the courts creation.
Vela will seek the seat being vacated by Supreme Court Justice Scott Brister who has announced his intention to resign and not seek re-election in 2010.
Texans deserve a fair and impartial legal system that is representative of Texas" Justice Vela said. But most importantly we need judges who will ensure that our courts follow the law and not try to rewrite it to satisfy their own personal agendas."
Vela made history by becoming the first Republican ever elected to the solidly Democratic Thirteenth Appeals Court district. She defeated a popular incumbent Democrat justice with 53 percent of the vote by receiving bipartisan support across the district.
Justice Vela has a real compassion for people and a real dedication to upholding strict standards of the law" said political strategist Steve Ray. As a former district judge she often said that the most important part of her job was bringing children together with new families through adoptions. As an appeals court judge she has been especially vigilant to make sure that lower court rulings correctly interpreted the law."
A former Nueces County district judge Justice Vela was born into a military family in 1964 at Lackland Air Force Base in San Antonio. After receiving her Bachelor of Arts Degree from Southwest Texas State University in 1985 with a major in English and a minor in Political Science she received a Doctor of Jurisprudence degree from St. Marys University School of Law in 1988 and was licensed to practice law in Texas that same year.
Upon graduation from law school Justice Vela served as a Briefing Attorney for the Fourth Court of Appeals for one year. After moving to Corpus Christi in 1990 she served as a Briefing Attorney for the Thirteenth Court of Appeals for two years. In 1998 she was elected to the 148th District Court of Nueces County Texas where she served two full terms. Justice Vela was elected to the Thirteenth Court of Appeals in November 2006.
Justice Vela is a member of the American Inns of Court American Bar Association Texas Bar Association National Association of Women Judges Texas Center for Legal Ethics and Professionalism the College of the State Bar of Texas and the Texas Bar Foundation. She is also a graduate of the Texas College of Advanced Judicial Studies (General Jurisprudence) the National Judicial College (Conducting the Trial Advanced Evidence) and the Harvard Law School Program on Negotiation.
Before joining the Court Justice Vela previously served as the Presiding Administrative Judge of the Nueces County Council of Judges President of the Corpus Christi Young Lawyers Association Director of the Texas Center for the Judiciary and Director of the Corpus Christi Bar Association.
Married to attorney Filemon Vela Justice Vela has a long tradition in South Texas politics. Her husbands family has been in public service for 150 years. Her father-in-law Filemon Vela Sr. was a federal judge in the Valley and her husbands mother Blanca Sanchez Vela is a former Brownsville mayor.
The Texas Supreme Court is the states highest civil court. The Justices of the Supreme Court are elected to staggered six-year terms in state-wide elections.
