United States District Court for the Western District of Texas

United States District Court for the Western District of Texas
(W.D. Tex.)
Location San Antonio
More locations
Appeals to Fifth Circuit
Established February 21, 1857
Judges 13
Chief Judge Orlando Luis Garcia
Officers of the court
U.S. Attorney John Bash
U.S. Marshal Susan Pamerleau
www.txwd.uscourts.gov

The United States District Court For the Western District Of Texas (in case citations, W.D. Tex.) is a federal district court. The court convenes in San Antonio with divisions in Austin, Del Rio, El Paso, Midland, Pecos, and Waco. It has jurisdiction in over 50 Trans-Pecos, Permian Basin, and Hill Country counties of the U.S. state of Texas. This district covers over 92,000 square miles (240,000 km2) and seven divisions.

History

The first federal judge in Texas was John C. Watrous, who was appointed on May 26, 1846, and had previously served as Attorney General of the Republic of Texas. He was assigned to hold court in Galveston, at the time, the largest city in the state. As seat of the Texas Judicial District, the Galveston court had jurisdiction over the whole state.[1] On February 21, 1857, the state was divided into two districts, Eastern and Western, with Judge Watrous continuing in the Eastern district.[2] Judge Watrous and Judge Thomas H. DuVal, of the Western District of Texas, left the state on the secession of Texas from the Union, the only two United States Judges not to resign their posts in states that seceded. When Texas was restored to the Union, Watrous and DuVal resumed their duties and served until 1870.

Divisions

Appeals from cases brought in the Western District of Texas are taken to the United States Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit (except for patent claims and claims against the U.S. government under the Tucker Act, which are appealed to the Federal Circuit).

The divisions of the Western District of Texas are:

Judge Orlando Luis Garcia is the Chief Judge of the Western District of Texas District Court.

The United States Attorney's Office for the Western District of Texas represents the United States in civil and criminal litigation in the court. The office is currently occupied by Richard Durbin who became U.S. Attorney after Robert L. Pitman, the former United States Attorney resigned to take his seat on the federal bench after receiving his judicial commission on December 19, 2014.[3] Pitman previously served as the interim United States Attorney for the district in 2001, before becoming chief deputy to Johnny Sutton.[4]

Current judges

# Title Judge Duty station Born Term of service Appointed by
Active Chief Senior
29 Chief Judge Orlando Luis Garcia San Antonio 1952 1994–present 2016–present — Clinton
27 District Judge Samuel Frederick Biery Jr. San Antonio 1947 1994–present 2010–2015 — Clinton
31 District Judge Philip Ray Martinez El Paso 1957 2002–present — — G.W. Bush
32 District Judge Alia Moses Del Rio 1962 2002–present — — G.W. Bush
34 District Judge Kathleen Cardone El Paso 1953 2003–present — — G.W. Bush
35 District Judge Earl Leroy Yeakel III Austin 1945 2003–present — — G.W. Bush
36 District Judge Frank Montalvo El Paso 1956 2003–present — — G.W. Bush
37 District Judge Xavier Rodriguez San Antonio 1961 2003–present — — G.W. Bush
38 District Judge David Campos Guaderrama El Paso 1954 2012–present — — Obama
39 District Judge Robert L. Pitman San Antonio / Austin 1962 2014–present — — Obama
40 District Judge Walter David Counts III Midland 1961 2018–present — — Trump
41 District Judge Alan D. Albright Waco 1959 2018–present — — Trump
42 District Judge vacant — — — — — —
22 Senior Judge James Robertson Nowlin Austin 1937 1981–2003 1999–2003 2003–present Reagan
26 Senior Judge Sam Sparks Austin 1939 1991–2017 — 2017–present G.H.W. Bush
30 Senior Judge David Briones El Paso 1943 1994–2009 — 2009–present Clinton
33 Senior Judge Robert A. Junell Midland 1947 2003–2015 — 2015–present G.W. Bush

    Vacancies and pending nominations

    Seat Seat last held by Vacancy reason Date of vacancy Nominee Date of nomination
    8 Sam Sparks Senior Status December 31, 2017 – –

    Former judges

    # Judge State Born–died Active service Chief Judge Senior status Appointed by Reason for
    termination
    1 Thomas Howard DuVal TX 1813–1880 1857–1880 — — Pierce death
    2 Ezekiel B. Turner TX 1825–1888 1880–1888[Note 1] — — Hayes death
    3 Thomas Sheldon Maxey TX 1846–1921 1888–1916 — — Cleveland retirement
    4 DuVal West TX 1861–1949 1916–1931 — 1931–1949 Wilson death
    5 William Robert Smith TX 1863–1924 1917–1924 — — Wilson death
    6 Charles Albert Boynton TX 1867–1954 1924–1947 — 1947–1954 Coolidge death
    7 Robert Johnston McMillan TX 1885–1941 1932–1941 — — Hoover death
    8 Walter Angus Keeling TX 1873–1945 1942–1945 — — F. Roosevelt death
    9 Ben Herbert Rice Jr. TX 1889–1964 1945–1964 1948–1962 — Truman death
    10 R. Ewing Thomason TX 1879–1973 1947–1963 — 1963–1973 Truman death
    11 Adrian Anthony Spears TX 1910–1991 1961–1979[Note 2] 1962–1979 1979–1982 Kennedy retirement
    12 Homer Thornberry TX 1909–1995 1963–1965 — — Kennedy appointment to 5th Cir.
    13 Dorwin Wallace Suttle TX 1906–2001 1964–1979 — 1979–2001 L. Johnson death
    14 Jack Roberts TX 1910–1988 1966–1980 1979–1980 1980–1988 L. Johnson death
    15 Ernest Allen Guinn TX 1905–1974 1966–1974 — — L. Johnson death
    16 John H. Wood Jr. TX 1916–1979 1970–1979 — — Nixon assassination
    17 William S. Sessions TX 1930–present 1974–1987 1980–1987 — Ford resignation
    18 Lucius Desha Bunton III TX 1924–2001 1979–1992 1987–1992 1992–2001 Carter death
    19 Harry Lee Hudspeth TX 1935–present 1979–2001 1992–1999 2001–2016 Carter retirement
    20 Clyde Frederick Shannon Jr. TX 1942–present 1980–1984 — — Carter resignation
    21 Hipolito Frank Garcia TX 1925–2002 1980–2002 — — Carter death
    23 Edward C. Prado TX 1947–present 1984–2003 — — Reagan appointment to 5th Cir.
    24 Walter Scott Smith Jr. TX 1940–present 1984–2016 2003–2010 — Reagan retirement
    25 Emilio M. Garza TX 1947–present 1988–1991 — — Reagan appointment to 5th Cir.
    28 William Royal Furgeson Jr. TX 1941–present 1994–2008 — 2008–2013 Clinton retirement
    1. ↑ Recess appointment; formally nominated on December 14, 1880, confirmed by the United States Senate on December 20, 1880, and received commission on December 20, 1880.
    2. ↑ Recess appointment; formally nominated on January 15, 1962, confirmed by the United States Senate on March 16, 1962, and received commission on March 17, 1962.

    Chief judges

    Chief judges have administrative responsibilities with respect to their district court. Unlike the Supreme Court, where one justice is specifically nominated to be chief, the office of chief judge rotates among the district court judges. To be chief, a judge must have been in active service on the court for at least one year, be under the age of 65, and have not previously served as chief judge. A vacancy is filled by the judge highest in seniority among the group of qualified judges. The chief judge serves for a term of seven years or until age 70, whichever occurs first. The age restrictions are waived if no members of the court would otherwise be qualified for the position.

    When the office was created in 1948, the chief judge was the longest-serving judge who had not elected to retire on what has since 1958 been known as senior status or declined to serve as chief judge. After August 6, 1959, judges could not become or remain chief after turning 70 years old. The current rules have been in operation since October 1, 1982.

    Succession of seats

    See also

    Notes

    1. ↑ "U.S. Department of Justice: 2002 Centennial Report, pgs. 1, 10" (PDF). Archived from the original (PDF) on 2009-06-01. Retrieved 2010-05-24.
    2. ↑ Southern District of Texas: History of the District Archived 2009-09-17 at the Wayback Machine.
    3. ↑ Johnson, Chris (17 December 2014). "Gay attorney confirmed to federal judiciary in Texas". Washington Blade. Retrieved 22 December 2014.
    4. ↑ Kreytak, Steven (December 1, 2003). "Behind the bench, a man to be counted on: New judge won praise for fairness, kindness in 13 years as U.S. prosecutor". Austin American-Statesman. Retrieved September 29, 2011.
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