Sarah Beth Landau was elected to the First Court of Appeals in 2018. Before taking the bench, Justice Landau worked in the appeals division of the Harris County Public Defender’s Office and for 10 years as an Assistant Federal Public Defender, doing trial and appellate work. Justice Landau has over 20 years of legal experience and has handled over 600 appeals as an advocate in state and federal courts. She is the first public defender to be elected to the court. A frequent presenter on criminal law issues and appellate advocacy, Justice Landau taught Appellate Litigation for six years at the Thurgood Marshall School of Law.
Justice Landau worked for several years in complex commercial litigation at Vinson & Elkins LLP in Houston and at Coudert Brothers LLP in New York. She clerked for the Honorable Vanessa D. Gilmore in the Southern District of Texas after graduating from Columbia University School of Law. Justice Landau studied political science and quantitative economics at the University of Minnesota, graduating cum laude and as a member of Phi Beta Kappa. She worked her way through college and a Tokyo study abroad program doing odd jobs including, but not limited to, janitor, honors academic advisor, commercial radio DJ, personal ad taker, and sandwich artist.
