Jeffrey Scott Boyd (born 1961) is an American lawyer who has served as an associate justice of the
Texas Supreme Court
The Supreme Court of Texas (SCOTX) is the supreme court, court of last resort for civil matters (including juvenile delinquency cases, which are categorized as civil under the Texas Family Code) in the U.S. state of Texas. A different court, the ...
. He was appointed to Place 7 on the court by Governor
Rick Perry
James Richard Perry (born March 4, 1950) is an American politician who served as the 14th United States secretary of energy from 2017 to 2019 and as the 47th governor of Texas from 2000 to 2015. Perry also ran unsuccessfully for the Republica ...
in the fall of 2012 to fill the seat vacated by Justice
Dale Wainwright
J. Dale Wainwright (born June 19, 1961 in Mt. Juliet, Tennessee) is a former associate justice of the Texas Supreme Court, now in private practice with Greenberg Traurig, LLP in Austin, Texas.
Wainwright was initially elected to a six-year term ...
, and he won a full six-year term on the court in the 2014 election.
Early life
The third of four children of a military family, Boyd grew up living on or near numerous
United States Air Force
The United States Air Force (USAF) is the air service branch of the United States Armed Forces, and is one of the eight uniformed services of the United States. Originally created on 1 August 1907, as a part of the United States Army Signal ...
bases around the world. He transferred from
Germany
Germany,, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It is the second most populous country in Europe after Russia, and the most populous member state of the European Union. Germany is situated betwe ...
to
Austin
Austin is the capital city of the U.S. state of Texas, as well as the seat and largest city of Travis County, with portions extending into Hays and Williamson counties. Incorporated on December 27, 1839, it is the 11th-most-populous city ...
, Texas, just before his senior year of high school. He graduated in 1979 from Round Rock High School in
Round Rock
Round Rock is a city in the U.S. state of Texas, in Williamson County, Texas, Williamson County (with a small part in Travis County, Texas, Travis County), which is a part of the Greater Austin metropolitan area. Its population is 119,468 as of ...
in Williamson County north of Austin. He received his undergraduate degree in Biblical studies from
Abilene Christian University
Abilene Christian University (ACU) is a Private university, private Churches of Christ, Christian university in Abilene, Texas. It was founded in 1906 as ''Childers Classical Institute''. ACU is one of the largest private universities in the Sout ...
in Abilene, Texas in 1983. He then served as youth and family minister for the Brentwood Oaks
Church of Christ Church of Christ may refer to:
Church groups
* When used in the plural, a New Testament designation for local groups of people following the teachings of Jesus Christ: "...all the churches of Christ greet you", Romans 16:16.
* The entire body of Ch ...
in Austin for five years before beginning law school. He served as editor-in-chief of the ''
Pepperdine Law Review
The ''Pepperdine Law Review'' is a student-edited law journal published by an independent student group composed of second- and third-year J.D. students at Pepperdine University School of Law. The Law Review publishes four to five issues a year an ...
'' and received his
Juris Doctor
The Juris Doctor (J.D. or JD), also known as Doctor of Jurisprudence (J.D., JD, D.Jur., or DJur), is a graduate-entry professional degree in law
and one of several Doctor of Law degrees. The J.D. is the standard degree obtained to practice law ...
summa cum laude
Latin honors are a system of Latin phrases used in some colleges and universities to indicate the level of distinction with which an academic degree has been earned. The system is primarily used in the United States. It is also used in some Sou ...
California
California is a U.S. state, state in the Western United States, located along the West Coast of the United States, Pacific Coast. With nearly 39.2million residents across a total area of approximately , it is the List of states and territori ...
, second in his class.
Career
From 1991 to 1992, Boyd served as law clerk for Judge
Thomas Morrow Reavley
Thomas Morrow Reavley (June 21, 1921 – December 1, 2020) was an American jurist, who was a Senior United States circuit judge of the United States Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit (and the oldest serving federal judge) at the time of his ...
on the
United States Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit
The United States Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit (in case citations, 5th Cir.) is a federal court with appellate jurisdiction over the district courts in the following federal judicial districts:
* Eastern District of Louisiana
* M ...
. In 1992, Boyd joined the Austin office of Thompson & Knight LLP as a civil trial associate, and became a partner on his first year of eligibility in 1998. In 2000, Boyd left the firm to accept an appointment as deputy Attorney General for Civil Litigation in the office of John Cornyn, the
Attorney General of Texas
The Texas attorney general is the chief legal officer of the who in 2002 was elected to the
U.S. Senate
The United States Senate is the upper chamber of the United States Congress, with the House of Representatives being the lower chamber. Together they compose the national bicameral legislature of the United States.
The composition and powe ...
. In this position, Boyd managed more than three hundred litigators in eleven divisions and oversaw all civil litigation involving the State of Texas, its agencies, and its officials. After Cornyn assumed his U.S. Senate seat, Boyd continued until August 2003 in the deputy attorney general position under Cornyn's successor as Attorney General, Greg Abbott, who has served as governor of Texas since 2015. Boyd then returned to Thompson & Knight as a senior partner and served as practice leader for the firm's government litigation group. In January 2011, Boyd left the firm to accept a position as General Counsel for the office of then-Governor Rick Perry. After eight months in that role, Governor Perry appointed him as his chief of staff, a position that Boyd filled until Perry appointed him to the
Texas Supreme Court
The Supreme Court of Texas (SCOTX) is the supreme court, court of last resort for civil matters (including juvenile delinquency cases, which are categorized as civil under the Texas Family Code) in the U.S. state of Texas. A different court, the ...
in December 2012."Perry appoints chief of staff Jeffrey Boyd to Texas Supreme Court" /ref>
Although four of the court's justices were on the ballot in 2014, Boyd was the only one—and in fact the only statewide Texas candidate—who was unopposed in the Republican
primary election
Primary elections, or direct primary are a voting process by which voters can indicate their preference for their party's candidate, or a candidate in general, in an upcoming general election, local election, or by-election. Depending on the ...
held on March 4, 2014. In the November 4
general election
A general election is a political voting election where generally all or most members of a given political body are chosen. These are usually held for a nation, state, or territory's primary legislative body, and are different from by-elections ( ...
, he defeated the Democratic candidate, Gina M. Benavides, a justice on the Thirteenth Court of Appeals, with 2,711,363 (58.9 percent) of the votes to 1,731,031 (37.6 percent).
Personal life
Boyd resides in Austin with his wife, the former Jackie Tubbs, who has served since 2005 as director of children's ministries at the Brentwood Oaks Church of Christ. Their twin daughters, Hanna and Abbie, both graduated from Abilene Christian University, and their son, Carter Scott Boyd, graduated from Savannah College of Art and Design in
Savannah, Georgia
Savannah ( ) is the oldest city in the U.S. state of Georgia (U.S. state), Georgia and is the county seat of Chatham County, Georgia, Chatham County. Established in 1733 on the Savannah River, the city of Savannah became the Kingdom of Great Br ...