High court open seat attracts another candidate for 2010

San Antonio’s 4th Court of Appeals Justice Rebecca Simmons says she is a candidate for Justice Harriet O’Neill’s seat on the Texas Supreme Court. O’Neill announced Aug. 6 that she would not seek election in 2010. Simmons, a Republican, says she decided to run when she heard of O’Neill’s decision to retire. “I felt I could be a productive member of the Supreme Court,” Simmons says.  Gov. Rick Perry appointed Simmons to the 4th Court in May 2005. Prior to her appointment to the appeals court, Simmons served on the 408th District Court bench in San Antonio. Perry had appointed Simmons to the district court in 2002. Simmons was senior counsel at Akin Gump Strauss Hauer & Feld in San Antonio from 1992 to 2002. Simmons currently chairs the Judicial Commission on Information Technology that has made recommendations to the state Supreme Court regarding electronic filing and case management. She says she is interested in using technology to make the Supreme Court more transparent. Two other Republicans, Dallas’ 5th Court of Appeals Justice Jim Moseley and Eastland’s 11th Court of Appeals Justice Rick Strange, also have said they plan to run for O’Neill’s seat. 
-- Mary Alice Robbins