Courts4th Court of Appeals

4th Court of Appeals

Court of Appeals · Statewide

7 justices sit this bench. The docket leans civil — 18,523 of 38,040 filings since 1979. 10,648 attorneys have appeared here.

The bench7 sitting · from directory snapshots
JudgeRoleTenure
Rebeca C. MartinezChief Justiceby 2026
Lori Massey BrissetteJusticeSince Jul 1, 2024
Hubert McCrayJusticeby 2026
Velia J. MezaJusticeby 2026
Irene RiosJusticeby 2026
Lori I. ValenzuelaJusticeSince Jan 11, 2021
Filings by year2026 is partial
5561.1k1981 · 465’811982 · 6371983 · 603’831984 · 5621985 · 580’851986 · 6321987 · 704’871988 · 6491989 · 646’891990 · 7231991 · 708’911992 · 7221993 · 806’931994 · 8521995 · 969’951996 · 1,0371997 · 1,059’971998 · 1,0851999 · 947’992000 · 8882001 · 858’012002 · 9302003 · 956’032004 · 9322005 · 946’052006 · 9032007 · 890’072008 · 9372009 · 829’092010 · 9282011 · 925’112012 · 8692013 · 913’132014 · 9212015 · 823’152016 · 8412017 · 862’172018 · 9912019 · 898’192020 · 6142021 · 589’212022 · 9012023 · 1,111’232024 · 8882025 · 843’252026 · 658’26

2 thin leading years (10 filings between them) trimmed from the chart, as on the coverage pages; the last column is a partial year.

Attorneys who appear most in this court10,648 have appeared · 25-case floor
AttorneyCityMostlyCases
1Joe D. GonzalesSan AntonioCriminal2,4302Michael Dennis RobbinsHoustonCriminal5813Suzanne Marie KramerSan AntonioCriminal2944Kristin Maria EtterAustinCriminal2545Gerald Anthony UretskySan AntonioCivil2216James Clayton OltersdorfSan AntonioCriminal2087Shawn Darrick SheffieldSan AntonioCivil1668Jeffrey D. SmallSan AntonioCivil1599Joseph Kraemer BohacHelotesCivil15510Michael Clark GrossSan AntonioCriminal145

Attorneys in private practice with 25 or more appearances in this court’s indexed filings. Bulk government filers are not listed.

Elections8 races · 3 cycles · official canvass
CandidateVotesShare
2024Place 2Unopposed
Velia J. MezaD659,396100.00%
2024Place 32 candidates · 2.7 pt margin
Todd McCrayR561,71351.34%
Cynthia Marie ChapaD532,36448.66%
2024Place 42 candidates · 3.8 pt margin
Lori Massey BrissetteR567,68951.91%
Luz Elena Chapa (i)D525,85748.09%
2024Place 52 candidates · 2.2 pt margin
Adrian SpearsR558,50951.09%
Liza A. Rodriguez (i)D534,60748.91%
2024Place 7Unopposed
Lori I Valenzuela (i)R728,595100.00%
2022Place 62 candidates · 1.3 pt margin
Irene Rios (i)D410,77350.64%
Todd McCrayR400,39949.36%
2022Place 7Unexpired term2 candidates · 1.2 pt margin
Lori I Valenzuela (i)R409,84250.58%
2020Chief Justice2 candidates · 5.3 pt margin
Rebeca MartinezD592,71652.66%
Renee YantaR532,76947.34%

Texas judges are elected in partisan races; a governor’s appointee fills a vacancy only until the next general election. Results are the Secretary of State’s official canvass.

Last refreshed September 23, 2026
4th Court of Appeals, Texas | Judges & Cases | Referlex