A Biography

Don Willett was appointed to the Court in August 2005 by Governor Rick Perry. He succeeds former Justice Priscilla Owen, who joined the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit in June 2005.

Justice Willett most recently was Deputy Texas Attorney General for Legal Counsel, where he oversaw several key agency divisions at the intersection of law, politics, and policy and advised Attorney General Greg Abbott on a diverse mix of major legal issues, both civil and criminal, confronting Texas.

Prior to serving as Deputy Texas Attorney General, Justice Willett was Deputy Assistant Attorney General for Legal Policy at the U.S. Department of Justice in Washington, D.C. At the Department of Justice, he helped develop and implement an array of cutting-edge civil and criminal justice initiatives - such as the landmark PROTECT Act of 2003 to protect children from abduction and exploitation - and also played a key role in coordinating the President's judicial selection and nominations process. Before joining the Department of Justice, he served as Special Assistant to the President and Director of Law & Policy for the White House Office of Faith-Based & Community Initiatives.

From 1996-2000, Justice Willett was Research/Special Projects Director for then-Governor Bush, whom he advised on numerous legal and policy issues (e.g., lawsuit reform, education, health care, criminal justice, welfare and family policy, youth risk behavior, faith-based initiatives) and was Domestic Policy & Special Projects Advisor on the Bush-Cheney 2000 Presidential Campaign and Transition Team.

A native Texan, Justice Willett earned a triple-major BBA from Baylor University and his JD with honors as well as his MA (Political Science) from Duke University, where he was Senior Editor of Law & Contemporary Problems and Editor of the Duke International & Comparative Law Annual. Following law school graduation in 1992, he was a law clerk to Judge Jerre S. Williams of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit, and then from 1993-1996 he practiced employment/labor law in the Austin office of Haynes and Boone, L.L.P. before joining Governor Bush's staff in 1996.

Justice Willett was recently named Outstanding Young Alumnus of Baylor University for 2005. He also recently received the 2005 Faith and Integrity in Legal Service Award.

In addition to his duties in the Texas Attorney General's Office, Willett was a non-resident fellow in 2003-04 with the Program for Research on Religion and Urban Civil Society (PRRUCS) at the University of Pennsylvania, and serves on the Board of Advisors for the Texas Review of Law & Politics, and the national steering committee for the George W. Bush Presidential Library (Baylor University). He also serves on the boards of the National Fatherhood Initiative, Big Brothers Big Sisters of Central Texas, and SafePlace, and is also a member of the Council for Institutional Development at Baylor University. In addition, he is a Director of the Texas Lyceum Association and a Class XXII member of the Governor's Executive Development Program, and serves on the Advisory Board of the Austin chapter of the Federalist Society.

Before joining Governor Bush's staff in 1996, Justice Willett was a Senior Fellow with the Texas Public Policy Foundation (a nonprofit policy research organization), and also handled significant pro bono matters for various nonprofit legal foundations, including a landmark interracial adoption case with the D.C.-based Institute for Justice. He also served on the Texas Commission on Volunteerism & Community Service, the Texas Commission on Judicial Efficiency (judicial selection task force), and participated in the 1997-98 Class of Leadership Austin.

His wife, Tiffany, was also part of President Bush's White House staff, serving as Education Director for the President's Commission on White House Fellowships, and most recently worked for Texas CASA, which advocates for abused and neglected children in the court system. They welcomed their first child, Jacob Noble, in February 2004.