Marc Meyer explains why Texas’ new statewide appeals court could shape agency power, constitutional rights, healthcare, utilities, water, AI, and environmental policy.

Summary

Texas voters rarely hear enough about appellate courts, yet the newly created 15th Court of Appeals could shape state policy for decades. Marc Meyer explains why this statewide court matters to every Texan affected by government agencies, professional licensing, utilities, healthcare, environmental rules, and constitutional disputes.

• Meyer is the Democratic candidate for Place 3 on the 15th Court of Appeals.

• The court hears specified civil appeals involving Texas agencies, state officials, constitutional questions, and the attorney general.

• It also holds exclusive appellate jurisdiction over cases from Texas’ specialized business courts.

• Governor Greg Abbott appointed all three original members before voters had an opportunity to judge their records.

• Meyer urges Texans to complete the entire ballot because this little-known race can affect water, energy, artificial intelligence, reproductive healthcare, professional licenses, and environmental regulation.

The interview delivers a necessary warning: democracy fails when voters ignore powerful offices buried near the bottom of the ballot. Texans who want independent courts rather than automatic deference to state power must learn about this race and vote accordingly.

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Marc Meyer Says Texas’ Newest Appeals Court Must Answer to the People

Marc Meyer is running for a judicial office many Texans have never heard of, but the 15th Court of Appeals could become one of the most consequential institutions in state government.

The Republican-controlled Legislature created the court through Senate Bill 1045. It began operating on September 1, 2024, with statewide jurisdiction over designated civil cases involving state agencies, state officers, constitutional disputes, and other matters in which state power plays a central role. It also hears appeals from Texas’ newly established business courts.

That structure matters because courts do not exist in a political vacuum. A court empowered to review actions by the Public Utility Commission, environmental regulators, licensing boards, and other state entities can influence whether Texans receive meaningful judicial review or merely encounter another layer of institutional protection for those already in power.

Meyer describes the court as Governor Greg Abbott’s “end-around” of the Austin-based 3rd Court of Appeals. That phrase expresses a political interpretation rather than an established legal finding, but the underlying concern deserves scrutiny. The new court redirected many state-government appeals from geographically based appellate courts to one statewide tribunal whose original members Abbott selected. Official court biographies confirm that Abbott appointed the first chief justice and the court’s two original justices.

The public should resist the comforting fiction that judicial elections do not matter because judges simply “call balls and strikes.” Statutes require interpretation. Agencies test the boundaries of their authority. Corporations challenge regulations. Citizens contest government decisions. Judges decide whether the state followed the law, respected constitutional protections, and gave ordinary people a fair hearing.

The court’s jurisdiction reaches issues that can directly affect working families. A professional nurse, teacher, electrician, or small-business owner could face a licensing dispute. Communities confronting water scarcity or pollution could challenge a state agency. Consumers could contest utility decisions. Women and doctors could confront state healthcare restrictions. Technology disputes involving artificial intelligence and data centers could reach the courts as Texas struggles to balance corporate expansion against water, energy, privacy, and community needs.

Meyer, an attorney, retired Houston firefighter, and registered nurse, brings an unusual combination of legal training and public-service experience to the race. He is the Democratic nominee for Place 3 and is scheduled to face Republican incumbent April Farris in the November general election.

The strongest point in the interview concerns ballot completion. Meyer notes that his race will appear near the bottom, where voter participation often drops. Yet democracy cannot function when citizens vote only for president, governor, or senator and surrender the judiciary to party operatives and wealthy interests.

Progressives should never demand predetermined rulings from judges. They should demand independence, transparency, equal treatment, respect for constitutional rights, and serious review of government power. Texans deserve judges who understand that agencies serve the public—not governors, donors, or politically connected corporations.

The 15th Court of Appeals will hear cases that could define Texas government for years. Voters must treat that responsibility with the seriousness it deserves and finish the ballot.

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