Thomas R. Phillips
| Thomas Royal Phillips | |
|---|---|
| Chief Justice of the Texas Supreme Court | |
|
In office January 4, 1988 – September 3, 2004 |
|
| Nominated by | Bill Clements |
| Preceded by | John Luke Hill, Jr. |
| Succeeded by | Wallace B. Jefferson |
| Personal details | |
| Born |
October 23, 1949 Dallas, Texas |
| Nationality | American |
| Political party | Republican |
| Spouse(s) | Marilyn Bracewell Phillips |
| Children | Daniel Austin Phillips |
| Residence | Bastrop, Texas |
| Alma mater |
Woodrow Wilson High School |
| Occupation |
Attorney former Jurist |
Woodrow Wilson High School
Baylor University
Thomas Royal Phillips (born October 23, 1949) is an attorney with the Baker Botts firm in Austin, Texas, who was from 1988 to 2004 the Chief Justice of the Supreme Court of Texas. With nearly seventeen years of service, Phillips is the third-longest tenured Chief Justice in Texas history. He was appointed by Governor Bill Clements to fill a vacancy in the office in November 1987, becoming the youngest Chief Justice since Texas became a state. Phillips took office less than a month after CBS' 60 Minutes ran a highly publicized story, entitled "Justice for Sale?," which won widespread attention for its blistering critique of Texas' choice to elect judges by political party without campaign contribution limits. The broadcast alleged improperly close ties between several of the justices and their largest donors, who were amongst the state's most successful personal-injury trial lawyers. In campaigns that received national attention in 1988, Phillips and two other candidates running as Republicans won election to the Court by imposing voluntary limits on the size of campaign contributions. By winning, they joined Railroad Commissioner Ken Hance as the first Republican elected to statewide office since Reconstruction. Phillips, after serving the two years remaining on the term of his predecessor, Chief Justice John L. Hill, was elected to a full term in 1990. In each race he defeated one of his Democratic colleagues on the Court, Ted Z. Robertson in 1988 and Oscar H. Mauzy in 1990, who defended Texas' partisan judicial election system and declined to impose campaign contribution caps. Throughout his tenure, Phillips vigorously advocated a non-partisan appointment-retention election method of choosing Texas judges. While he was ultimately unsuccessful in this effort, like other Texas chief justices before and since, both the Legislature and the Supreme Court imposed restrictions on the amount, timing and source of campaign contributions to judges during his tenure.
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