Sarah Beth Landau, a Democrat, is running for chief justice of the Texas 14th Court of Appeals in the Nov. 3, 2026, general election. The Houston-based court covers Fort Bend County.

Asked in our candidate questionnaire why she is seeking the office, Landau said, "I served as a Justice on the Court of Appeals for six years and I have a lot more I want to do. I 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."

Kevin Jewell, a Republican, is also running.

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

Landau served as justice on the Texas First Court of Appeals, Place 6, from 2019 to 2024, according to BallotReady. She is board certified in civil appellate law by the Texas Board of Legal Specialization, according to Texas Judges.

Asked about her time on the bench, Landau said in our questionnaire, "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 on her campaign website that she was the first public defender to serve on the Texas First Court of Appeals.

On the issues

Critical differences from other candidates: "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.

Accomplishments: "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 received: "You cannot control the result. All you can control is the input," Landau said in our questionnaire.

Landau has received endorsements from the Houston Chronicle Editorial Board, the Houston Lawyers Association, the Houston Association of Women Attorneys and the Texas Gulf Coast Area Labor Federation, AFL-CIO, according to the Chronicle, Texas Judges and BallotReady.