Former Texas Chief Justice Tom Phillips Discusses 2014 Texas Supreme Court Races [AUDIO]

On the Thursday edition of the Chad Hasty Show, former Chief Justice of the Texas Supreme Court Tom Phillips spoke with Chad Hasty about his thoughts on this year's Texas Supreme Court races.

Phillips said that although the Supreme Court race is not one of the more popular or attention-grabbing races in the 2014 primaries, it is still a vital race and one that people need to pay attention to. He explained that the Texas Supreme Court is the final authority on all civil cases heard in the state, and that a large majority of cases in the country are usually settled in the states, not in the federal Supreme Court.

"98% of all litigation in America is in the state courts and not the federal courts, and the Supreme Court of Texas is the final arbiter of what the law means in all civil cases. that is, any lawsuit that is not a criminal prosecution brought by the state. School finance, personal injuries, enforcing a contract, child custody, all those types of issues the Supreme Courts decide."

For the Republican primary, Phillips said there would be three races to keep an eye on. For Place 1, the incumbent Chief Justice Nathan Hecht will be challenged by former state representative Robert Talton. In Place 6, incumbent Justice Jeff Brown faces challenger Joe Pool Jr., who previously ran for the seat in a three-way race back in 2012. And in Place 8, Justice Phil Johnson will be challenged by Justice Sharon McCally from the Houston Court of Appeals.

Phillips also pointed out that the three challengers in the GOP primary appear to be posed as a single ticket, and mentioned that they had been backed by a group that recently supported Democratic candidates, despite the challengers being "conservative."

Listen to the complete interview with Tom Phillips here: