Blacklock is replacing retired Chief Justice Nathan Hecht, while Abbott's legal adviser James Sullivan takes the open spot on the bench.

The longest-serving chief justice in the Supreme Court of Texas is retiring on New Year's Eve. Chief Justice Nathan Hecht, the 27th chief justice of the Supreme Court of Texas, will retire from the court on Dec.

Gov. Greg Abbott (R-TX) appointed Justice Jimmy Blacklock, a conservative ally of the governor, to serve as the chief justice on the Texas Supreme Court. Blacklock will replace Nathan Hecht, the state court’s longest-serving justice,

Hecht is the longest-tenured Supreme Court justice in Texas history. He won six reelections and led the court as chief justice for more than a decade.

Blacklock replaces Nathan Hecht, the longest serving justice on the high court. Gov. Greg Abbott also appointed his general counsel, James Sullivan, to the bench.

Chief Justice Nathan Hecht, raised a farmer, didn’t expect to be a lawyer, let alone a member of the state’s highest civil court.