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,

AUSTIN — Gov. Greg Abbott appointed Texas Supreme Court Justice Jimmy Blacklock to be the court’s chief justice and named James Sullivan as a justice Monday.

Gov. Greg Abbott on Monday appointed one of his office's former lawyers to the Texas Supreme Court and another to replace the court's Chief Justice Nathan Hecht, who retired last month. Abbott's general counsel James P.