Attorney; former Justice, 1st Court of Appeals, Place 7

Julie Countiss served on the First Court of Appeals, Place 7, from 2019 through 2024 after winning election in 2018, and lost re-election in November 2024³. Her campaign says she authored more than 300 written opinions and was named Appellate Judge of the Year in 2023 by the Texas Association of Civil Trial and Appellate Specialists; before the bench she was an Assistant County Attorney in Harris County and a Teach for America teacher¹. She is the Democratic nominee for Place 4 (unexpired term) against Republican incumbent David Gunn².

• Justice, 1st Court of Appeals, Place 7, 2019 to 2024³
• Authored more than 300 written opinions on the merits and was named Appellate Judge of the Year, 2023, by the Texas Association of Civil Trial and Appellate Specialists, per her campaign¹
• Assistant County Attorney, Harris County Attorney's Office, representing the county in civil litigation; earlier an attorney with The Berry Firm¹³
• Teach for America teacher, South Bronx¹
• Appointed by the Supreme Court of Texas to the Texas Children's Commission; leadership roles with the Houston Bar Association¹
• B.A. in History, Southern Methodist University, 1993; J.D., University of Houston Law Center, 2002³
• Elected to the 1st Court of Appeals, Place 7, in November 2018, defeating Republican Terry Yates 52.4% to 47.6%; ran for Chief Justice of the court in 2022 and lost to Terry Adams; lost re-election to Place 7 in November 2024 to Republican Clint Morgan, 47.5% to 52.5%³. She advanced unopposed from the March 3, 2026 Democratic primary and is on the November 3, 2026 ballot for Place 4 (unexpired term)²³.
• Bar poll: State Bar of Texas 2026 Judicial Poll, final vote summary dated February 10, 2026, taken before the March 3, 2026 primary. This was a non-binding straw poll of State Bar members and is a preference poll only, not an endorsement. For 1st Court of Appeals, Place 4 (unexpired term): Julie Countiss 529 votes, David Gunn 446 votes⁴. The Houston Bar Association's 2026 Judicial Preference Poll, a non-binding poll of HBA members on contested judicial races that the HBA says is not an endorsement, was open as of September 27, 2026, with results due October 9, 2026; no results were published as of this writing⁵.