History

Chief Justice

Bonnie Sudderth (2015 to Present)

Bonnie Sudderth was born on September 2, 1959, in Brownwood, Texas.  She earned a Bachelor of Science degree in Public Affairs and Public Administration from the University of Southern California in 1982 and a J.D. from The University of Texas Law School in 1985.  She later continued her legal education, earning an LL.M in Judicial Studies from the Duke University School of Law in 2020.

After passing the Texas bar, Sudderth entered private practice.  In 1990, she became, at age 30, the youngest person ever appointed as Chief Judge of the Fort Worth Municipal Courts.  She remained in this role until 1996, when she successfully ran for judge of the 352nd District Court in Tarrant County, taking office on January 1, 1997.  She was reelected to the district-court bench four times before being appointed by Governor Rick Perry to the Second Court of Appeals in 2015.  In 2017, Governor Greg Abbott appointed her to serve as the court’s Chief Justice, her current role.

Chief Justice Sudderth has received several awards including the Outstanding Adjunct Faculty Member Award from the Texas Wesleyan School Alumni Association in 2008, the Texas Wesleyan University Law School Excellence in Justice Award 2011, the Outstanding Mentor Award from both Tarrant County Young Lawyers Association and the Texas Young Lawyers Association 2008, Tarrant County’s Most Influential Woman 1997, and Outstanding Woman of Fort Worth 1995.  She is active in the Eldon B. Mahon Inn of Court, where she holds the rank of Emeritus Master of the Bench, and served as the organization’s president in 2010.  She also participated as a delegate from the American Inns of Court to the Middle Temple and Inner Temple English Inns of Court in London.  She is a member of the Honorary Serjeant’s Inn, and she is a James B. Barlow Emeritus Fellow.  She served as the president of the American Judges Association in 2000 and was elected to serve as the Chair of the Tarrant County Juvenile Board in 2010 after previously serving as a commissioner on the state Judicial Conduct Commission in the 1990s.  A prolific writer and speaker on legal topics, she won the “Outstanding Series of Articles” award from the State Bar of Texas.

Chief Justice Sudderth is Board Certified in Civil Trial Law and Personal Injury Trial Law and previously served as the Commissioner for the Civil Trial Examination on the Texas Board of Legal Specialization.  She has served on the Supreme Court of Texas, having been commissioned to sit on two cases.  She has also served as the state’s highest official, having been designated as the acting Governor of the State of Texas on July 5 and 6, 2019.