E172 | Grants, GVRs, and Per Curiams: Checking in on the New Petition-for-Review Rules

By D. Todd Smith on August 13, 2026

In this episode, hosts Todd Smith and Jody Sanders offer a mid-year check-in on the Texas Supreme Court’s new petition-for-review rules. Building on Todd’s Appellate Advocate article, A New Era in Texas Supreme Court Practice: Breaking Down the New Petition-for-Review Rules, they cover what changed between the preliminary and final rules, why the new 1,000-word introduction is “the most important thousand words you’re going to draft,” and how record-citation and no-more-unbriefed-issues requirements are reshaping petitions. They dig into whether the new structure will produce more per curiam dispositions, unpack the Court’s first GVR in Noyes v. State ex rel. Voges, and trade practice tips on the accelerated clock, dead waiver letters, and vacation notices, with a look back at their preliminary-rules breakdown in Episode 157. Tune in for why Todd is now writing petitions that ask the Court to “PC reverse,” and when a GVR may be the better ask.

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