Big shake-up in Austin. Chief Justice Jefferson has been Chief sine 2004, and has been on the court since 2001. Why is he resigning? Financial reasons.

Jefferson has served on the state’s highest court for a dozen years, nine of them as chief justice. He said financial pressures led to his decision, but he said he also had achieved most of the goals he had set out to accomplish.

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Jefferson said that having one child in college and two more in high school while living in a costly urban environment such as Austin put significant financial pressures on his family

Governor Perry will appoint a replacement, who will stand for re-election next fall.

I met the Chief Justice at an awards ceremony last fall for Ben Ewald, who was selected by the Texas Lawyer Auxiliary as Teacher of the Year. Ben’s students were also the winners of the FantasySCOTUS Virtual Supreme Court competition.

H/T TexPatriate