The first Latina justice of the Texas Supreme Court has been appointed by Governor Rick Perry.

Houston judge Eva Guzman will be named today by Gov. Rick Perry to replace Scott Brister on the Texas Supreme Court.

Though the court has had several women and several Hispanics judges, Guzman, the daughter of immigrants, is the first Hispanic woman to take that bench.

Guzman sits on the Houston-based Texas 14th Court of Appeals. Perry made her the first Hispanic woman on that court in 2001. She was elected to the bench in 2002 and 2004. Her opinions have been on a range of topics, and she writes often for the court on family law issues.

She is also a former Harris County Family Court judge, appointed in 1999 by then-Gov. George W. Bush and elected to the position subsequently.

Congratulations to Justice Guzman, who it has been my pleasure to campaign for a number of times over the years. She is a fine jurist, and I am proud to see her on one of our state's two highest courts (the other being the Texas Court of Criminal Appeals).

And I cannot help but be struck by the fact that, despite allegedly being pro-minority and pro-woman, the Democrats never could find a qualified Hispanic woman for the Texas Supreme Court.