Honorable Sharon Keller (R)

Vice Chair - Presiding Judge, Court of Criminal Appeals (Judicial Council, Texas)

General Information

Personal Information

Bachelor of Arts degree in philosophy from Rice University in 1975 and her Juris Doctor degree from Southern Methodist University School of Law in 1978.

Sharon Keller was first elected to the Texas Court of Criminal Appeals in 1994. She was elected Presiding Judge in 2000 and re-elected to that position in 2006. She is the first woman to have served on the Court.

Presiding Judge Keller is chairman of the Texas Task Force on Indigent Defense and vice-chair of the Council of State Governments Justice Center. She is a Life Fellow of the Texas Bar Foundation and a member of the Judicial Advisory Council to the Community Justice Assistance Division of the Texas Department of Criminal Justice. By virtue of her office, she is vice-chair of the Texas Judicial Council. She also serves on the Executive Board of the Capitol Area Council of the Boy Scouts of America.

In 2003 Presiding Judge Keller received the Distinguished Alumni Award for Judicial Service from the SMU Dedman School of Law.

Other Offices Held

Presiding Judge, Court of Criminal Appeals (Law Library, Texas State)
Chair (Texas Task Force on Indigent Defense)
Presiding Judge (Court of Criminal Appeals)