The Texas Legislature
Texas Legislature consists of two chambers:
What is the House of Representatives and the Senate.
This officeholder is the head of the Texas Department of Public Safety and oversees the state's law enforcement activities.
Who is the Director of the Texas Department of Public Safety?
This is the highest court in Texas for civil cases.
What is the Texas Supreme Court?
Judges for all levels of Texas courts are elected through this process.
What is an election?
In this landmark Texas case, the Texas Supreme Court ruled that the state’s anti-sodomy law was unconstitutional, aligning with a Supreme Court decision.
What is Lawrence v. Texas?
The regular session of the Texas Legislature meets every two years and lasts for how many days?
What is 140 days?
This elected official is responsible for managing Texas's land and natural resources, including the state's public lands.
Who is the Commissioner of the General Land Office?
This court handles most of the state’s criminal appeals and is the highest court for criminal cases in Texas.
What is the Texas Court of Criminal Appeals?
This method is used in Texas to select judges for the state's appellate courts, involving a public vote.
What is a partisan election?
This Texas case established that a defendant's confession could be excluded from evidence if the confession was obtained through coercion.
What is Miranda v. Arizona?
This position, currently held by the highest-ranking member of the Texas House of Representative
Who is the Speaker of the House?
Unlike the U.S. President, this role in Texas’s plural executive is responsible for overseeing the state’s budget and has the authority to veto individual items in the budget.
Who is the Governor of Texas?
This level of court in Texas serves as the trial court for major civil and criminal cases and is found in each of the 254 counties.
What is a District Court?
In Texas, the judicial election cycle for most judges occurs every even-numbered year in this month.
What is November?
In this case, the Texas Court of Criminal Appeals ruled that DNA evidence could be used to exonerate wrongfully convicted individuals, setting a precedent for future cases.
What is Ex parte Elizondo?
The Texas Senate is composed of this number of members, each serving a four-year term.
What is 31?
This Texas executive official is the state's chief legal advisor and oversees the legal affairs of the state.
Who is the Attorney General of Texas?
In Texas, this court is responsible for reviewing decisions from lower courts and has intermediate appellate jurisdiction.
What is a Court of Appeals?
To become a judge in Texas, a candidate must meet this minimum age requirement.
What is 35 years old?
This case involved a challenge to the Texas voter ID law, where the courts examined the law's impact on voting rights and its compliance with federal standards.
What is Veasey v. Perry?
This Texas constitutional provision requires that any bill affecting the state budget or finances must be considered by a legislative committee before being voted on by the full House or Senate.
What is the "One-Subject Rule" or the "Budget and Revenue Clause"?
In Texas, this role is responsible for overseeing the state's finances, including the collection of state taxes and managing the state treasury.
Who is the Comptroller of Public Accounts?
the branch of law that regulates the conduct of individuals, defines crimes, and specifies punishments for criminal acts.
What is Criminal Law?
Judges in Texas can serve this number of years before their positions are up for re-election, depending on the court.
What is 4, 6, or 8 years
This Texas Supreme Court case addressed the constitutionality of the state's death penalty statute and its application, emphasizing due process and fairness.
What is Atkins v. Virginia?