Sarah Beth Landau is running as a Democrat for chief justice of the 14th Court of Appeals in the Nov. 3, 2026, Texas general election. She faces Republican Kevin Jewell.
Asked why she is seeking the office, Landau said in our candidate questionnaire, "I served as a Justice on the Court of Appeals for six years and I have a lot more I want to do." She said she would like to "make the court's website more functional for practitioners and more transparent for the community, to pay the law student interns, to implement clerk's office practices of the United States Supreme Court, and to have the Houston Bar Association rate judicial candidates as 'highly qualified,' 'qualified,' and 'not qualified,' to help voters make informed choices."
Candidate information
Party: Democrat
Family: "I am married and have a three-year old," Landau said in our questionnaire.
Education: "I graduated from Columbia University School of Law. My undergraduate degrees are a B.A. in Political Science and a B.S. in Economics from the University of Minnesota, with honors. I was a member of Phi Beta Kappa," Landau said in our questionnaire.
Occupation and work history: "I am a civil appellate lawyer at Roberts Markland LLP. Most of my career was as a Federal Public Defender, doing trial and appellate work. I taught appellate litigation at Thurgood Marshall School of Law for seven years. Before that, I worked in commercial litigation at Vinson & Elkins. I began my career in Texas clerking for a federal judge in Houston," Landau said in our questionnaire.
Experience and public service
Previous elected office: "I served as a Justice on the First Court of Appeals for six years. I reimagined and ran the law student intern program, I was on the hiring committee, and I brought briefwriting software to the court to make our opinions easier to read," Landau said in our questionnaire.
Landau is board certified in civil appellate law by the Texas Board of Legal Specialization, according to Texas Judges.
She has held leadership roles in the State Bar of Texas Appellate Section and the Houston Bar Association, according to her campaign website.
On the issues
What are the critical differences between you and other candidates seeking this post? "I'm the only person running with experience as broad as the court's jurisdiction. I've practiced in civil, criminal, family, and juvenile courts. I want to make the court more integrated into the community by inviting the public in for educational events. I also want to make the court more user friendly for practitioners," Landau said in our questionnaire.
What accomplishments in your past would you cite as evidence you can handle this job? "Before taking the bench, I handled over 400 appeals. While off the bench, I have had an active practice that allowed me to see some areas where the courts could improve. I also brought the first woman justice on the Pakistan Supreme Court to Houston for a free educational events. I had a lot of administrative responsibility on the court and am ready to tackle a bigger challenge," Landau said in our questionnaire.
Best advice ever shared with you: "You cannot control the result. All you can control is the input," Landau said in our questionnaire.
The 14th Court of Appeals jurisdiction includes Fort Bend and Harris counties, according to Texas Judges.
