Ernesto Gonzalez (Texas)

Western District of Texas
	Fifth Circuit
Judgeships
	Posts: 13
	Judges: 11
	Vacancies: 2
Judges
	Chief: Alia Moses
	Active judges: Alan Albright, Samuel Biery, Kathleen Cardone, David Counts, Orlando Garcia, Ernesto Gonzalez, Alia Moses, Robert Pitman, Jason Pulliam, Xavier Rodriguez, Leon Schydlower; Senior judges:; David Briones, David Alan Ezra, David Guaderrama, Robert Junell, Frank Montalvo, James Nowlin, Sam Sparks

Nomination Tracker
Nominee Information
	Name: Ernesto Gonzalez
	Court: United States District Court for the Western District of Texas
Progress
	Confirmed 72 days after nomination.
	Nominated: January 10, 2024
	ABA Rating: Well Qualified
	Questionnaire: Questionnaire
	Hearing: January 24, 2024
	Hearing Transcript: Hearing Transcript
	QFRs: (Hover over QFRs to read more)
	Reported: February 29, 2024
	Confirmed: March 22, 2024
	Vote: 88-7
	Withdrawn: February 7, 2024

Ernest Gonzalez is a judge on the United States District Court for the Western District of Texas. He was nominated to the court by President Joe Biden (D) on January 10, 2024, and confirmed by the United States Senate on March 22, 2024, by a vote of 88-7.^[1]^[2]^[3]^[4]^[5] Gonzalez was one of 235 Article III judges nominated by President Joe Biden (D) and confirmed by the U.S. Senate. To see a full list of judges appointed by Joe Biden, click here.

The United States District Court for the Western District of Texas is one of 94 U.S. District Courts. They are the general trial courts of the United States federal courts. To learn more about the court, click here

Prior to joining the court, Gonzalez was a senior attorney advisor in the U.S. Department of Justice’s Criminal Division, Narcotics and Dangerous Drugs Section.^[2]

Judicial nominations and appointments

United States District Court for the Western District of Texas (2024-present)

See also: Federal judges nominated by Joe Biden

On January 10, 2024, President Joe Biden (D) nominated Gonzalez to the United States District Court for the Western District of Texas.^[3] Gonzalez received commission on April 9, 2024.^[5] To read more about the federal nominations process, click here.

Confirmation vote

The U.S. Senate confirmed Gonzalez by a vote of 88-7 on March 22, 2024.^[1] To see a full breakdown of the vote on the official U.S. Senate website, click here.

Gonzalez confirmation vote (March 22, 2024)
Party	Yea	Nay	No vote
Democratic	48	0	0
Republican	37	7	5
Independent	3	0	0
Total	88^[6]	7	5

Senate Judiciary Committee hearing

The Senate Judiciary Committee held hearings on Gonzalez's nomination on January 24, 2024. Gonzalez was reported to the full Senate on February 29, 2024, after a 20-1 committee vote.^[7] Click here for a list of other nominees awaiting a committee vote.

Nomination

On December 19, 2023, President Joe Biden (D) announced his intent to nominate Gonzalez to the United States District Court for the Western District of Texas. The president officially nominated Gonzalez on January 10, 2024. Click here for a list of other nominees who have been nominated by President Joe Biden.

Gonzalez was nominated to replace Judge Frank Montalvo, who assumed senior status on December 1, 2022.^[8]

The American Bar Association (ABA) rated Gonzalez well qualified.^[9] To read more about ABA ratings, click here.

Biography

Education

Gonzalez earned a bachelor's degree from the University of Texas at San Antonio in 1987 and a law degree from Texas Southern University, Thurgood Marshall School of Law in 1993.^[5]

Professional career

2024-present: Judge, United States District Court for the Western District of Texas
2023-2024: Senior attorney advisor, Narcotics and Dangerous Drug Section, Criminal Division, U.S. Department of Justice
2003-2023: Assistant U.S. attorney, Eastern District of Texas
- 2022-2023: Chief, OCDETF Section
- 2017-2022: Lead assistant U.S. attorney, OCDETF Sectionlead assistant U.S. attorney, OCDETF Section
2000-2003: Assistant U.S. attorney, Organized Crime Drug Enforcement Task Forces (OCDETF) Section, Western District of Texas
2000: Assistant attorney general IV/special assistant U.S. attorney, Western District of Texas (on detail), Texas Attorney General's Office
1994-2000: Assistant district attorney, Bexar County, Texas
1987-1991: Senior accountant^[5]

About the court

The United States District Court For the Western District Of Texas is a United States district court with jurisdiction over the counties in the western part of the State of Texas. This district covers over 92,000 square miles and seven divisions. It is one of 94 United States district courts. When decisions of the court are appealed, they are appealed to the United States Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit based in downtown New Orleans at the John Minor Wisdom Federal Courthouse.

The Western District of Texas has original jurisdiction over cases filed within its jurisdiction. These cases can include civil and criminal matters that fall under federal law.

There are seven court divisions, each covering the following counties:

The Austin Division, covering Bastrop, Blanco, Burleson, Burnet, Caldwell, Gillespie, Hays, Kimble, Lampasas, Lee, Llano, Mason, McCulloch, San Saba, Travis, Washington, and Williamson counties;

The Del Rio Division, covering Edwards, Kinney, Maverick, Terrell, Uvalde, Val Verde, and Zavala counties;

The El Paso Division, covering El Paso and Hudspeth counties;

The Midland Division, covering Andrews, Crane, Ector, Martin, Midland, and Upton counties;

The Pecos Division, covering Brewster, Culberson, Jeff Davis, Loving, Pecos, Presidio, Reeves, Ward, and Winkler counties;

The San Antonio Division, covering Atascosa, Bandera, Bexar, Comal, Dimmit, Frio, Gonzales, Guadalupe, Karnes, Kendall, Kerr, Medina, Real, and Wilson counties; and

The Waco Division, covering Bell, Bosque, Coryell, Falls, Freestone, Hamilton, Hill, Leon, Limestone, McLennan, Milam, Robertson, and Somervell counties.

To read opinions published by this court, click here.

The federal nomination process

Federal judges are nominated by the president of the United States and confirmed by the Senate. There are multiple steps to the process:

The president nominates an individual for a judicial seat.
The nominee fills out a questionnaire and is reviewed by the Senate Judiciary Committee.
The Senate Judiciary Committee holds a hearing with the nominee, questioning them about things like their judicial philosophy, past rulings or opinions, etc.

As part of this process, the committee sends a blue slip to senators from the home state in which the judicial nomination was received, allowing them to express their approval or disapproval of the nominee.

After the hearing, the Senate Judiciary Committee will vote to approve or return the nominee.

If approved, the nominee is voted on by the full Senate.
If the Committee votes to return the nominee to the president, the president has the opportunity to re-nominate the individual.

The Senate holds a vote on the candidate.

If the Senate confirms the nomination, the nominee receives a commission to serve a lifelong position as a federal judge.
If the Senate does not confirm the nomination, that nominee does not become a judge.