Republican Justice Brett Busby is seeking reelection to Place 8 on the Texas Supreme Court in the Nov. 3, 2026, election. The state’s certified candidate list names Democrat Gisela D. Triana as his opponent.
Background
Gov. Greg Abbott appointed Busby to the court in 2019, and voters elected him in 2020, according to his official biography. He graduated from Duke University and Columbia Law School. His University of Texas role was teaching law, rather than a degree listed in that biography.
His campaign website describes six years on the Fourteenth Court of Appeals before his Supreme Court service and experience handling appellate cases in private practice.
Judicial approach and access
Busby says judges should apply existing law impartially, give litigants a fair hearing and avoid rewriting laws from the bench.
He also highlights affordable legal assistance. His campaign describes work on plain-language court forms and proposed licensing for legal paraprofessionals and court-access assistants to help with simpler legal problems.
The campaign page reviewed does not provide a complete implementation budget or quantify savings for clients. Its description of proposed licensing should not be read as a guarantee that every proposed reform is in effect.
The court’s authority
The Supreme Court is Texas’ highest appellate court for civil and juvenile cases. The state court-structure guide distinguishes it from the Court of Criminal Appeals, which handles criminal appeals.
Its decisions can affect contracts, family disputes, property rights and other civil matters involving local residents. A justice decides cases with the court and participates in its administrative work rather than enacting legislation or setting tax policy.
The Flower Mound Times did not receive a direct questionnaire response from the candidate and does not endorse candidates.
