Blacklock is replacing retired Chief Justice Nathan Hecht, while Abbott's legal adviser James Sullivan takes the open spot on the bench.

Gov. Greg Abbott appointed Texas Supreme Court Justice Jimmy Blacklock to be the court’s chief justice and named James Sullivan as a justice Monday. Blacklock succeeds Nathan Hecht, the state’s longest-serving Supreme Court justice,

Gov. Greg Abbott has appointed his former general counsel and current Texas Supreme Court Justice, Jimmy Blacklock as the next chief justice of the court.

Hecht is the longest-tenured Supreme Court justice in Texas history. He won six reelections and led the court as chief justice for more than a decade.

The longest-serving chief justice in the Supreme Court of Texas is retiring on New Year's Eve. Chief Justice Nathan Hecht, the 27th chief justice of the Supreme Court of Texas, will retire from the court on Dec.

Abbott originally appointed Blacklock to the high court as the Place 2 justice in 2018. Abbott's general counsel James Sullivan will replace Blacklock as a new justice.