The Court of Civil Appeals for the First Supreme Judicial District of Texas opened its first term on Monday, October 3, 1892. Throughout its history, the First Court has been the "First" in Texas in many areas. The Court has the honor of having the first African–American appellate judge (Hon. Henry E. Doyle), the first elected female appellate judge (Hon. D. Camille Hutson–Dunn); the first female chief justice (Hon. Alice Oliver–Parrott); the first female African–American appellate judge (Hon. Gaynelle Griffin Jones), the first African–American appellate clerk (Hon. Margie Thompson), and the first all–female panel of regularly sitting judges (Hon. Alice Oliver–Parrott, Hon. Margaret Garner Mirabal, and Hon. Michol O'Connor). Because of these "firsts," it is often maintained by those close to the Court that the word "First" in the Court's name is more than a mere number—it is instead a symbol of the Court's prominent place in the history of the Texas judiciary.
The Court consists of one chief justice and eight associate justices who hear appeals and original proceedings involving civil, criminal, probate, and family matters. The court is located in downtown Houston, TX but the lives of millions of Texans across the region are served by the First Court of Appeals.