Help Wanted

More than two-dozen people have asked Gov. Rick Perry to appoint them to replace former Texas Supreme Court Justice Scott Brister, who resigned recently to return to private practice.

At least 27 lawyers and judges from across the state asked to be considered for the state's highest civil appellate court, which pays $150,000 a year, according to records released by Perry's office.

The applicants include:

• Wade Birdwell, Lawyer, Wallach & Andrews

• Jeff Boyd, lawyer, Thompson & Knight

• Harvey Brown, Lawyer, Wright Brown & Close

• Jeff Brown, Justice, Texas Court of Appeals, 14th District

• Tracy Christopher, Judge, 295th District Court

• John Donovan, Director of Judicial and Legal Issues for Harris County Judge Ed Emmett

• David Gaultney, Justice, Texas Court of Appeals, 9th District

• Tom Gray, Chief Justice, Texas Court of Appeals, 10th District

• Eva M. Guzman, Justice, Texas Court of Appeals, 14th District

• Martha Hill Jamison, Senior Adviser, Harris County Tax Assessor-Collector

• Evelyn Keyes, Justice, Texas Court of Appeals, 1st District

• Douglas Lang, Texas Court of Appeals, 5th District

• Liz Lang-Miers, Texas Court of Appeals, 5th District

• Debra Lehrman, Judge, 360th District Court

• Renee McElhaney, Lawyer, Cox Smith, Inc.

• Robert Pemberton, Texas Court of Appeals, 3rd District

• David Schenck, Lawyer, Jones Day

• Shawn Stephens, Lawyer, Baker Hostetler

• Rebecca Simmons, Justice, Texas Court of Appeals, 4th District

• Rick Strange, Justice, Texas Court of Appeals, 11th District

• Kent Sullivan, Justice, Texas Court of Appeals, 14th District

• Susan Vance, Lawyer, Lawyer, Alexander Dubose

• Rose Vela, Justice, Texas Court of Appeals, 13th District

• Alan Waldrop, Texas Court of Appeals, 3rd District

• Betsy Whitaker, Lawyer

• Randy Wilson, Judge, 157th District Court

• Dana Womack, Judge, 348th District Court

The eventual appointee would finish Brister's term and presumably face re-election in 2010.