KYJKnow Your Judge v0.6.2by SwansLake
Judge directoryJames T. Worthen

Active Appellate judge

James T. Worthen

Texas 12th Court of Appeals

Texas

Identity verifiedOfficial profile locatedOfficial sources collectedPresentation intelligence
01

Overview

Identity and service

Official statewide and applicable court procedural guidance applies to this judge.

Judicial role
Court of Appeals Justice
Service status
Active
Court level
Appellate
Jurisdiction
State
02

Background

Biography and career

Born
May 21, 1954 in Conroe, TX
Gender
Male
Race
White
Political affiliation
Republican (via other)

Education

  • The University of Texas at TylerBA, 1978
  • The University of Texas at TylerMA, 1999
  • University of Virginia-Main CampusLLM, 2004

Professional career

  • Partner, Sammons and Parker, 1980-1986
  • Partner, Bain, Files, Worthen and Jarrett, P.C., 1986-1998

Judicial service

  • Justice, Texas Court of Appeals, 12th District (Tyler), Tyler, TX, 1999-2002
  • Chief Justice, Texas Court of Appeals, 12th District (Tyler), Tyler, TX, 2003-2004
  • Chief Justice, Texas Court of Appeals, 12th District (Tyler), Tyler, TX, 2005-2008
  • Chief Justice, Texas Court of Appeals, 12th District (Tyler), Tyler, TX, 2009-2014
  • Chief Justice, Texas Court of Appeals, 12th District (Tyler), Tyler, TX, 2015-2020
  • Chief Justice, Texas Court of Appeals, 12th District (Tyler), Tyler, TX, 2021-2026

Source: CourtListener / Free Law Project public biographical data. Demographic and political labels are incomplete, source-attributed, and are not used to infer judicial behavior. “Via appointer” describes CourtListener’s attribution method, not verified personal party membership.

03

Before you appear

Preparation checklist

  1. 01

    Read the judge-specific standing order first when one is listed.

  2. 02

    Check the docket and case orders for requirements that supersede broader guidance.

  3. 03

    Confirm current remote-access and courtroom technology arrangements before the proceeding.

Scope note

Statewide and courtwide guidance is labeled by scope and is not evidence of a personal preference. Division, judge-specific, or case-specific orders may control.

04

Presentation rules

What the public sources say

StatewideExplicit
Appellate Filing

In Texas appellate courts, attorneys must electronically file civil and criminal documents, subject to a good-cause motion; self-represented parties may e-file but are not required to do so.

Page
Official PDF
Section
Texas Rules of Appellate Procedure Rule 9.2(c); current January 1, 2026 compilation
Effective
January 1, 2026
Last checked
July 26, 2026
Verification
Automated checks passed
Read supporting source excerpt
Attorneys in civil cases must electronically file documents. Attorneys in criminal cases must electronically file documents except for good cause shown in a motion filed in the appellate court.

The requirement is stated in an official statewide source and is attached as applicable guidance, not as a personal preference.

05

Courtroom technology

Published equipment guidance

No technology specification indexed

Technology availability is separate from procedural permission and evidentiary admissibility.

06

Published opinion footprint

Decisions and citations

Opinion data is not yet indexed for this profile

This does not mean the judge has no published opinions or no caseload. KYJ will only show opinion counts after transparent, source-linked CourtListener matching is available.

07

Sources

Public documents behind this profile

08

Change history

How this profile entered KYJ

Current profile indexed

Identity imported from Texas Judicial Branch. 1 presentation-related claim migrated with source provenance.