position_held terry keel
Common law ( also known as case law or precedent ) is law developed by judges , courts , and similar tribunals , stated in decisions that nominally decide individual cases but that in addition have precedential effect on future cases . Common law is a third branch of law , in contrast to and on equal footing with statutes which are adopted through the legislative process , and regulations which are promulgated by the ___MASK53___ . In cases where the parties disagree on what the law is , a common law court looks to past precedential decisions of relevant courts . If a similar dispute has been resolved in the past , the court is usually bound to follow the reasoning used in the prior decision ( a principle known as " stare decisis "). If , however , the court finds that the current dispute is fundamentally distinct from all previous cases ( called a " matter of first impression "), judges have the authority and duty to resolve the issue ( one party or the other has to win , and on disagreements of law , judges make that decision ). Resolution of the issue in one case becomes precedent that binds future courts . " Stare decisis ", the principle that cases should be decided according to consistent principled rules so that similar facts will yield similar results , lies at the heart of all common law systems . Lady Bird Lake ( formerly Town Lake ) is a reservoir on the Colorado River in Downtown Austin , Texas , in the United States . It was created in 1960 by the construction of Longhorn Dam and is owned and operated by the City of Austin in cooperation with the Lower Colorado River Authority . The surface area of the lake is , and it is used primarily for flood control and recreation . Located on the lake ' s shoreline are various hotels and apartments , as well as the Auditorium Shores park and the Austin Hike and Bike Trail . It is named , after former First and ___MASK79___ Lady Bird Johnson , wife of ___MASK77___ Lyndon B . Johnson . A decree is a rule of law usually issued by a ___MASK68___ ( such as the president of a republic or a monarch ), according to certain procedures ( usually established in a constitution ). It has the force of law . The particular term used for this concept may vary from country to country . The " executive orders " made by the President of the United States , for example , are decrees ( although a decree is not exactly an order ). In non - legal English usage , however , the term refers to any authoritarian decision . In legal systems based on common law , a precedent , or authority , is a principle or rule established in a previous legal case that is either binding on or persuasive for a court or other tribunal when deciding subsequent cases with similar issues or facts . Common law legal systems place great value on deciding cases according to consistent principled rules so that similar facts will yield similar and predictable outcomes , and observance of precedent is the mechanism by which that goal is attained . The principle by which judges are bound to precedents is known as stare decisis . Black ' s Law Dictionary defines " precedent " as a " rule of law established for the first time by a court for a particular type of case and thereafter referred to in deciding similar cases ." Common law precedent is a third kind of law , on equal footing with statutory law ( statutes and codes enacted by legislative bodies ), and Delegated legislation ( in U . K . parlance ) or regulatory law ( in U . S . parlance ) ( regulations promulgated by ___MASK53___ agencies ). The Texas House of Representatives is the lower house of the bicameral Texas Legislature . It consists of 150 members who are elected from single - member districts for a term of 2 years . As of the 2010 Census , each member represents an average of 167 , 637 people . There are no term limits , with the most senior member , Tom Craddick , having been elected in 1968 . Thomas Russell Craddick , Sr ., known as Tom Craddick ( born September 19 , 1943 ), is ___MASK37___ representing the 82nd district . Craddick was Speaker of the Texas House of Representatives from January 2003 to January 2009 . He was the first Republican to have served as Speaker since Reconstruction . Craddick resides in Midland , the largest city in his district . Craddick was first elected in 1968 at the age of twenty - five . Terrence McCauley `` Terry '' Keel ( born January 13 , 1958 ) , is a founding partner of the Keel & Nassour law firm in Austin , Texas , and he served as the Parliamentarian of the Texas House of Representatives from May 25 , 2007 until January 13 , 2009 . He was appointed by ___MASK8___ Tom Craddick of Midland . Keel himself was a Republican member from House District 47 ( Austin ) from January 14 , 1997 , until January 9 , 2007 . Prior to his House service , he was the sheriff of Travis County , having served from November 17 , 1992 , to January 1 , 1997 . In addition , Keel served as the Executive Director of the Texas Facilities Commission , a position he was appointed to effective December 31 , 2009 and ending January 9 , 2015 . Most recently , Keel was appointed Assistant Commissioner for Enforcement , Consumer Protection and Border Security for the Texas Department of Agriculture effective January 12 , 2015 . Austin is the capital of the U . S . state of Texas and the seat of Travis County . It is the city in the U . S . and the in Texas . It is the fastest growing city in the United States and the second most populated capital city after Phoenix , Arizona . As of the U . S . Census Bureau ' s July 1 , 2015 estimate , Austin has a population of 931 , 830 . Located in in the foothills of Texas Hill Country , the city is home to numerous lakes , rivers , and waterways including Lady Bird Lake , Barton Springs , McKinney Falls , the Colorado River , Lake Travis , and Lake Walter E . Long . It is the cultural and economic center of the metropolitan area , which had an estimated population of 2 , 064 , 149 as of June 1 , 2016 . A ___MASK35___ is a government official , with varying duties , existing in some countries with historical ties to England , where the office originated . There is an analogous although independently developed office in Iceland that is commonly translated to English as " ___MASK35___ ," and this is discussed below . The ___MASK76___ is the presiding officer of the Texas House of Representatives . The Speaker ' s main duties are to conduct meetings of the House , appoint committees , and enforce the Rules of the House . The current speaker is Joe Straus , a Republican from San Antonio , who was first elected Speaker on January 13 , 2009 . Law is a system of rules that are created and enforced through social or governmental institutions to regulate behavior . State - enforced laws can be made by a collective legislature or by a single ___MASK25___ , resulting in statutes , by the executive through decrees and regulations , or established by judges through precedent , normally in common law jurisdictions . Private individuals can create legally binding contracts , including arbitration agreements that may elect to accept alternative arbitration to the normal court process . The formation of laws themselves may be influenced by a constitution , written or tacit , and the rights encoded therein . The law shapes politics , economics , history and society in various ways and serves as a mediator of relations between people . The Legislature of the state of Texas is the ___MASK31___ of Texas . The legislature is a bicameral body composed of a 31 - member Senate and a 150 - member House of Representatives . The ___MASK31___ meets at the Capitol in Austin . It is a powerful arm of the Texas government not only because of its power of the purse to control and direct the activities of state government and the strong constitutional connections between it and the Lieutenant ___MASK93___ of Texas , but also due to Texas ' s plural executive .