Jimmy Blacklock (born August 28, 1980)[1] is an American lawyer who has served as the chief justice of the Texas Supreme Court since 2025.
In the general election, he defeated Democratic challenger Steven Kirkland, a district court judge in Harris County (Houston), with 53.16% of the statewide votes.
"[13] The ruling was in response to Texas House Democrats fleeing the state to deny the chamber the quorum needed to vote on a controversial election bill.
[14] In February 2022, Governor Abbott ordered the Texas Department of Family and Protective Services (DFPS) to investigate child abuse claims filed against parents who might be providing their transgender children with gender-transition procedures.
[15][16] However, Blacklock and two other justices dissented from the Court's decision to block investigation into Doe's family, who had initiated the lawsuit against Abbott.
[16] In February 2023, Blacklock wrote the Court's opinion holding that local government officials in Texas lacked the authority to implement COVID-related emergency orders that were more restrictive than Governor Abbott's more lenient COVID policies.
[17][18] In June 2024, Blacklock wrote an opinion concurring in the Court’s decision to uphold Texas's ban on transgender medical treatments for minors.
[19] Blacklock's opinion criticized Bostock v Clayton County, the case in which the U.S. Supreme Court extended employment discrimination protections to transgender people.