As was widely-reported, on May 18 Donald Trump released a list of eleven judges who he would consider for the U.S. Supreme Court -- if presented with such task. The list included Justice Don Willett of the Supreme Court of Texas.

Justice Willett is well-known nationally as a grand master on Twitter. With over 49,000 followers he is easily the number one most popular tweeting judge. That’s a staggering number of followers for anyone, let alone a judge. Willett’s Twitter accomplishments include a formal recognition, by the Texas House of Representatives, as a “Tweeter Laureate,” for his “lively and engaging presence on Twitter.” [Willett is also a tremendously talented writer. I read his opinions even if they have nothing to do with insurance. And I usually read nothing that has nothing to do with insurance.]

Willett’s Twitter feed is one of only a handful that I never fail to read. There’s a reason why he has so many followers. His tweets are, well, just that good. I could try to explain why, but I’d do a bad job of it. To really appreciate Willett’s gift for this social media platform you need to go to @JusticeWillett and see for yourself. My personal favorites are the ones related to his enormous-Texas pride. Justice Willett has even tweeted a few things from Coverage Opinions, which is always very flattering.

I had the privilege of doing a Q&A with Justice Willett for the May 7, 2014 issue of Coverage Opinions. His Honor was very kind and generous with his responses. Check it out here http://coverageopinions.info/Vol3Issue8/Declarations.html. At that time Justice Willett was already widely-known for his Twitter presence – and had just 5,500 followers. [It’s simply amazing what happens when someone does a Q&A in Coverage Opinions. I just don’t get why people say that proximate cause is such a hard concept to grasp.]

Also in the May 7, 2014 issue of CO I did a separate story spilling 1,600 words why I believe that Justice Willett is the most important liability insurance judge in America. It was obviously a non-scientific conclusion, but I undertook a lot of analysis in reaching it. Check it out here. http://coverageopinions.info/Vol3Issue8/JusticeDonWillet.html

Of course, being the most important liability insurance judge in America is of no value on the U.S. Supreme Court. It’s like being the best figure skater in the Sahara. But imagine if it were. Would a candidate’s positon on the pollution exclusion be a litmus test for being confirmed?