elect

Justice Sarah Beth Landau

For Chief Justice of the Fourteenth Court of Appeals in 2026

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Preserving Justice.
Serving Our Community.

As the first public defender on the court, I drew on over 20 years of experience in state and federal courts, public and private practice, and civil and criminal law, handling over 400 appeals before taking the bench.

About Justice Sarah Beth Landau

I served as a justice on the First Court of Appeals from 2019 to 2024. My legal career in Texas began with a federal clerkship with the Honorable Vanessa D. Gilmore. From there, I joined the litigation section of Vinson & Elkins LLP, specializing in complex commercial litigation. Several years later, I became a Federal Public Defender and litigated indigent criminal appeals before the Fifth Circuit and the United States Supreme Court. After eight years of appellate work, I turned to trial work at the Federal Public Defender’s office and won my first trial. I have had the honor of teaching Appellate Litigation at the Thurgood Marshall School of Law. Before taking the bench, I worked at the Harris County Public Defender’s Office.

Leadership

  • Brought first woman appointed to the Pakistan Supreme Court to Houston for a free continuing legal education program open to the community, 2025
  • Chief, First Court of Appeals Law Student Intern Program 2020–2024— completely overhauled the intern program to bridge the transition from being a law student to becoming a lawyer and made it inclusive for first generation, non-traditional, and underrepresented students
  • Liaison to the Houston Bar Association Appellate Section, 2021-2022
  • Co-Chair, Houston Bar Association Law Library Committee, 2020-2022 (President’s Award)
  • Criminal Affairs Committee Chair, 2019-present 2024, State Bar of Texas Appellate Section
  • Council Member, 2020-present 2024, State Bar of Texas Appellate Section
  • Color of Justice Law Student Conference Organizer, Association of Women Judges, 2021-2022present
  • Opened the Court to weddings for the public, officiated dozens of weddings
  • Brought opinion-writing software to the Court to make opinions easier to read and understand
  • Trained Harris County civil and criminal judges on appellate matters, 2019-2022
  • Texas State Bar College

I am passionate about serving my community, and that’s why I’m running for Chief Justice of the Fourteenth Court of Appeals.

To learn more about my qualifications, please visit my detailed profile on LinkedIn, available through the link below. Please join our campaign, lend your support, and participate in our journey. Together, I know we can continue to build a stronger and more just system. Your involvement is crucial, and I am grateful for your trust and partnership.

Warm regards,

Justice Sarah Beth Landau

Updates

I assume this is coming from a good place, but as a girl who adopted an infant, it is a multi-year agonizing and expensive (not to mention racist and anti-Semitic) process and not a quick or easy solution. Unfortunately, accessible solutions are in short supply.

The Lenster watched The Blues Brothers, his first movie, last night. He was absolutely rapt. This feels like accidental parenting gold.

I almost never went to lunch (especially in August when it’s end of fiscal year!) when I was on the bench but networking is one fun part of my new life.

There’s a lot to love about the Lenster but one of my favorite things about him is that he will announce “[Lenster] happy!” then proceed to check in, “Mama happy?” “Papa happy?” “Kitty happy?” with all household members.

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Justice Sarah Beth Landau

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