Democrat Marc M. Meyer says his board certification in administrative law gives him expertise that none of the sitting justices on the Texas 15th Court of Appeals have.
Meyer, an attorney and retired Houston Fire Department captain who chaired the Montgomery County Democratic Party from 2015 to 2020, is seeking Place 3 on the statewide court. He faces Republican incumbent April L. Farris, whom Gov. Greg Abbott appointed to the court in 2024, in the Nov. 3 general election.
"I am running for this Court because my legal career is about holding state government to account for its actions," Meyer said in his response to a Surround Sound News questionnaire.
The court has exclusive jurisdiction over civil appeals brought by or against state executive-branch agencies, among other matters.
Candidate information
- Party: Democratic
- Office sought: Texas 15th Court of Appeals, Place 3
- Education: Bachelor's degree in biology, Cornell University (1986); master's degree in biochemistry, Texas A&M University (1989); associate degree in nursing, Regents College (1998); law degree, South Texas College of Law (2009)
- Family: Married to Sandra, a registered nurse, for more than 30 years. Two children: Matthew, a Sam Houston State University graduate working in logistics, and Jennifer, a senior in chemical engineering at the University of Texas at San Antonio.
- Endorsements: AFL-CIO, Texas Gulf Coast Area Labor Federation, Bay Area Democratic Movement, Victoria County Democratic Party, Liberal Austin Democrats, Howdy Politics and 12 regional labor councils across Texas
Experience and public service
Meyer retired in 2011 as a captain and paramedic supervisor with the Houston Fire Department after a career that began in 1990. He has been a licensed registered nurse since 1998 and worked in medical-surgical, neuroscience, intensive care and emergency departments at the St. Luke's Episcopal (now CHI St. Luke's) and Methodist Hospital systems in the Houston area, according to his questionnaire responses.
During the COVID-19 pandemic, Meyer returned to nursing for about 18 months, providing night on-call coverage for a hospice provider, he said.
Since passing the bar in 2009, Meyer has practiced as a solo attorney representing health care providers before their licensing agencies. He also serves as of counsel for a medical malpractice defense firm. He was the 2020 Democratic nominee for the 457th District Court in Montgomery County.
On the issues
Administrative law expertise: Meyer said he is board certified in administrative law by the Texas Board of Legal Specialization and anticipates those cases will make up a majority of the 15th Court's caseload. He cited that certification as the critical difference between himself and other candidates. He pointed to his appeal win in Banda v. Texas Board of Nursing (2018), which he described as the first case in which the Board of Nursing lost an appeal of one of its administrative decisions.
Court independence: Meyer said business courts were the original rationale for the 15th Court of Appeals. The addition of exclusive jurisdiction over state-government appeals, he said, was a political response to decisions from the Austin-based 3rd Court of Appeals. He argued that in most cases, statutes, regulations, prior precedent and the facts of the case matter more than politics.
Judicial philosophy: Meyer said his approach would likely grow out of prudentialism, which emphasizes pragmatism, caution and consideration of real-world consequences rather than abstract legal principles. In the Texas Tribune's February primary guide, Meyer said he would be impartial while recognizing that the power of the state needs to be tempered by individual rights.
Court efficiency: Meyer said prompt case resolution depends on staffing levels, caseload mix and broader socioeconomic factors. Efficient case-tracking systems and optimized support staff would help, he said.
Partisan judicial elections: Meyer called electing judges in partisan elections "the worst possible method to choose judges, except for all other methods." He called appointment and retention systems "reasonable" but said most still depend on a single partisan election. Ultimately, he said, it is "a political issue for the legislature to determine."
