Chief Justice Jim Worthen on Tuesday announced he will retire at the end of his current term with the Twelfth Court of Appeals.

Worthen’s term is set to end Dec. 31, 2026. He was first elected to the court in 1998. He has served as its chief justice since Jan. 1, 2003. He also served as chairman of the Council of Chief Justices from 2005-06.

“I want to thank the citizens of East Texas for the honor of serving them on the Twelfth Court of Appeals,” Worthen said. “I Look forward to transitioning to the new leadership they will choose for the court.”

The Twelfth Court of Appeals is a three-justice court presided over by Worthen, Justice Brian Hoyle, of Tyler, and Justice Greg Neeley, of Longview. The court has jurisdiction of appeals from the trial courts located in a 17-county district, which includes Anderson, Angelina, Cherokee, Gregg, Henderson, Houston, Nacogdoches, Rains, Rusk, Sabine, San Augustine, Shelby, Smit, Trinity, Upshur, Van Zandt and Wood Counties.

A seventh-generation Texan, Worthen was born in Conroe and grew up in Big Sandy.

Bar memberships for Chief Justice Worthen include the State Bar of Texas, United States District Court of the Eastern District of Texas and the Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals, according to the Texas Courts website. He has been a member of the American Bar Association since 1981. In 1986, he was certified as a specialist in Consumer Bankruptcy Law.

Worthen served on the Bar Journal Committee for the State Bar of Texas from 1985 to 2001 and is a Life Fellow for the Texas Bar Foundation. He is a Charter Fellow of the Smith County Bar Foundation and has served on the Law Library Committee of the Smith County Bar Association since 1982, according to Texas Courts.