Marc M. Meyer, a Democrat and administrative law attorney, is running for Place 3 on the Texas 15th Court of Appeals in the Nov. 3 general election. The statewide court has exclusive jurisdiction over civil appeals brought by or against state executive branch agencies.
In a questionnaire submitted to The NE Tarrant Record, Meyer said he is running because none of the current justices have expertise in administrative law, which he expects will make up a majority of the court's caseload. He is Board Certified in Administrative Law by the Texas Board of Legal Specialization, according to the Texas Tribune.
Candidate information
Party: Democrat
Education: Bachelor's in biology, Cornell University (1986); master's in biochemistry, Texas A&M University (1989); associate's in nursing, Regents College (1998); J.D., South Texas College of Law (2009)
Family: Married to Sandra, a registered nurse who reviews medical records for law firms, for more than 30 years. Two children: Matthew, a Sam Houston State graduate working in logistics, and Jennifer, a senior in chemical engineering at UT-San Antonio.
Endorsements: AFL-CIO; Dallas AFL-CIO Council; Texas Gulf Coast Area Labor Federation; Bay Area Democratic Movement; Victoria County Democratic Party; Liberal Austin Democrats; Howdy Politics; and multiple regional labor councils across Texas.
Experience and public service
Meyer spent more than two decades in healthcare and emergency services before entering law. He served as a City of Houston firefighter and paramedic from 1990 to 2011, retiring as a captain and paramedic supervisor. He has been a licensed registered nurse since 1998, working in medical-surgical, neuroscience, intensive care and emergency departments at St. Luke's Episcopal Hospital and Methodist Hospital in Houston.
During the COVID-19 pandemic, Meyer returned to nursing for about 18 months. He provided night on-call coverage for a hospice provider.
Since passing the bar in 2009, Meyer has operated a solo law practice representing healthcare providers before their licensing agencies, particularly nurses and behavioral health professionals. He is also of counsel for a medical malpractice defense firm.
Meyer chaired the Montgomery County Democratic Party from 2015 to 2020. He was the Democratic nominee for the 457th District Court in Montgomery County in 2020.
On the issues
The following responses are from Meyer's written questionnaire.
Court independence: Meyer said the 15th Court of Appeals was originally designed as a common appellate court for business courts. He said the addition of exclusive jurisdiction over state government appeals was "a political response to decisions coming out of the Austin-based 3rd Court of Appeals." In most cases, he said, statutes, regulations, prior precedent and case facts play the largest role in outcomes. "I am running for this Court because my legal career is about holding state government to account for its actions," Meyer said.
Judicial philosophy: Meyer described his approach as rooted in prudentialism, emphasizing pragmatism, caution and consideration of real-world consequences rather than abstract legal principles alone. His guiding principle, he said: "Perfection should not become the enemy of the good."
Partisan judicial elections: Meyer called partisan elections "the worst possible method to choose judges, except for all other methods." He said alternative systems such as appointment and retention elections often still depend on partisan dynamics. The issue is ultimately one for the legislature, he said.
Case management: Meyer said the court's ability to decide cases promptly while giving each appeal careful review depends on staffing levels, caseload mix and broader socioeconomic factors. He said developing efficient case-tracking systems and optimizing support staff would help meet that goal.
Administrative law expertise: Meyer cited his prosecution of several administrative appeals, including what he described as the first case in which the Texas Board of Nursing lost an appeal of its administrative decisions, Banda v. Texas Board of Nursing in 2018.
