Blacklock replaces Nathan Hecht, the longest serving justice on the high court. Gov. Greg Abbott also appointed his general counsel, James Sullivan, to the bench.

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 named Jimmy Blacklock as chief justice of the Texas Supreme Court following the retirement of Nathan Hecht.

Abbott originally appointed Blacklock to the high court as the Place 2 justice in 2018. Blacklock previously worked for Abbott as the governor's general counsel.

Nathan Hecht — who grew up on his family’s grain farm in Clovis, a small New Mexican town just across the Texas border — formally retired Tuesday as the Texas Supreme Court’s chief justice and longest-serving member.

The longest-serving chief justice in the Supreme Court of Texas is retiring on New Year's Eve. Chief Justice Nathan Hecht, the 27th chief justice of the Supreme Court of Texas, will retire from the court on Dec.

Hecht is the longest-tenured Supreme Court justice in Texas history. He won six reelections and led the court as chief justice for more than a decade.