Former Texas Supreme Court Chief Justice Wallace Jefferson has been named 2014 Texan of the Year by the Texas Legislative Conference for his accomplishments on the bench.
Gov. Rick Perry appointed him to the court in 2001 and he subsequently was elected in 2002. Perry later named him chief justice in 2004 and voters elected him to chief justice in 2006 and to a full term in 2008.
He holds the distinction of being the first African-American justice and the first African-American chief justice of the Texas Supreme Court. Jefferson is a native of San Antonio and has a middle school in San Antonio named after him.
