Fernando Rodriguez Jr.
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2018 - Present
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Fernando Rodriguez Jr. is a judge on the United States District Court for the Southern District of Texas. He was nominated to the court by President Donald Trump (R) on September 7, 2017, and confirmed by the U.S. Senate on June 5, 2018, by a vote of 96-0.[1][2] To see a full list of judges appointed by Donald Trump, click here.
The United States District Court for the Southern 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.
At the time of his nomination, Rodriguez worked as a field office director in the Dominican Republic for International Justice Mission.[3]
Judicial nominations and appointments
United States District Court for the Southern District of Texas
- See also: Federal judges nominated by Donald Trump
Rodriguez was nominated to the United States District Court for the Southern District of Texas by President Donald Trump (R) on September 7, 2017. The U.S. Senate confirmed Rodriguez on June 5, 2018, by a vote of 96-0.[1] He received commission on June 12, 2018.[2] To read more about the federal nomination process, click here.
 |
| Nominee Information |
| Name: Fernando Rodriguez Jr. |
| Court: United States District Court for the Southern District of Texas |
| Progress |
| Confirmed 271 days after nomination. |
| Questionnaire: Questionnaire |
| QFRs: (Hover over QFRs to read more) |
Confirmation vote
The U.S. Senate confirmed Rodriguez on June 5, 2018, on a vote of 96-0.[1] To see a full breakdown of the vote on the official U.S. Senate website, click here.
| Fernando Rodriguez Jr. confirmation vote (June 5, 2018) | |||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Party | Yea | Nay | No vote | ||||||
| 44 | 0 | 3 | |||||||
| 50 | 0 | 1 | |||||||
| 2 | 0 | 0 | |||||||
| Total | 96 | 0 | 4 | ||||||
Senate Judiciary Committee hearing
Rodriguez had his hearing before the Senate Judiciary Committee on November 29, 2017. The committee voted to advance Rodriguez's nomination to the full Senate on January 11, 2018.[1]
Nomination
Rodriguez was nominated to replace Judge Gregg Costa, who resigned on June 2, 2014.
The American Bar Association unanimously rated Rodriguez qualified for the position.[4] To read more about ABA ratings, click here.
Education
Rodriguez earned his bachelor's degree with honors from Yale University in 1991 and his J.D. with honors from the University of Texas School of Law in 1997.[3][2]
Professional career
- 2018-present: Judge, United States District Court for the Southern District of Texas
- 2010-2018: Field office director, International Justice Mission
- 2010 - 2013: Field office director, Bolivia
- 2013-2018: Field office director, Dominican Republic
- 1998-2009: Private practice, Dallas, Texas
- 1997-1998: Briefing attorney, Nathan Hecht, Supreme Court of Texas
- 1991-1994: Teacher, Teach for America[3][2]
About the court
| Southern District of Texas |
|---|
| Fifth Circuit |
|
| Judgeships |
| Posts: 19 |
| Judges: 15 |
| Vacancies: 4 |
| Judges |
| Chief: Randy Crane |
| Active judges: Alfred Bennett, Jeff Brown, Randy Crane, Keith Ellison, Charles R. Eskridge III, Marina Garcia Marmolejo, George Hanks, Ricardo Hinojosa, John Kazen, David Morales, Rolando Olvera, Nelva Gonzales Ramos, Fernando Rodriguez Jr., Diana Saldana, Drew Barnett Tipton Senior judges: |
The United States District Court for the Southern District of Texas is one of 94 United States district courts. The court's headquarters are in Houston and has six additional offices in the district. 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 Southern 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 Corpus Christi Division, covering Aransas, Bee, Brooks, Duval, Jim Wells, Kenedy, Kleberg, Live Oak, Nueces, and San Patricio counties.
- The Houston Division covers Austin, Brazos, Colorado, Fayette, Fort Bend, Grimes, Harris, Madison, Montgomery, San Jacinto, Walker, Waller, and Wharton counties.
- The Victoria Division, covering Calhoun, DeWitt, Goliad, Jackson, Lavaca, Refugio, and Victoria 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.
See also
- United States District Court for the Southern District of Texas
- United States Court of Appeals for the 5th Circuit
External links
Footnotes
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 1.2 1.3 United States Congress, "PN 991 — Fernando Rodriguez Jr. — The Judiciary," accessed September 9, 2017
- ↑ 2.0 2.1 2.2 2.3 Federal Judicial Center, "Rodriguez, Fernando, Jr.," accessed June 6, 2018
- ↑ 3.0 3.1 3.2 The White House, "President Donald J. Trump announces seventh wave of judicial candidates," September 7, 2017
- ↑ American Bar Association, "Ratings of Article III and Article IV judicial nominees," accessed April 30, 2020
| Political offices | ||
|---|---|---|
| Preceded by - |
United States District Court for the Southern District of Texas 2018-Present |
Succeeded by - |
| |||
|---|---|---|---|
| 2017 |
Thomas Parker • Elizabeth Branch • Neil Gorsuch • Amul Thapar • David C. Nye • John K. Bush • Kevin Newsom • Timothy J. Kelly • Ralph Erickson • Scott Palk • Trevor McFadden • Joan Larsen • Amy Coney Barrett • Allison Eid • Stephanos Bibas • Donald Coggins Jr. • Dabney Friedrich • Greg Katsas • Steven Grasz • Don Willett • James Ho • William L. Campbell Jr. • David Stras • Tilman E. Self III • Karen Gren Scholer • Terry A. Doughty • Claria Horn Boom • John Broomes • Rebecca Grady Jennings • Kyle Duncan • Kurt Engelhardt • Michael B. Brennan • Joel Carson • Robert Wier • Fernando Rodriguez Jr. • Annemarie Carney Axon • | ||
| 2018 |
Andrew Oldham • Amy St. Eve • Michael Scudder • John Nalbandian • Mark Bennett • Andrew Oldham • Britt Grant • Colm Connolly • Maryellen Noreika • Jill Otake • Jeffrey Beaverstock • Emily Coody Marks • Holly Lou Teeter • Julius Richardson • Charles B. Goodwin • Barry Ashe • Stan Baker • A. Marvin Quattlebaum Jr. • Terry F. Moorer • Susan Baxter • William Jung • Alan Albright • Dominic Lanza • Eric Tostrud • Charles Williams • Nancy E. Brasel • James Sweeney • Kari A. Dooley • Marilyn J. Horan • Robert Summerhays • Brett Kavanaugh • David Porter • Liles Burke • Michael Juneau • Peter Phipps • Lance Walker • Richard Sullivan • Eli Richardson • Ryan Nelson • Chad F. Kenney, Sr. • Susan Brnovich • William M. Ray, II • Jeremy Kernodle • Thomas Kleeh • J.P. Hanlon • Mark Norris • Jonathan Kobes • Michael Brown • David Counts | ||
| 2019 |
Eric Miller • Chad Readler • Eric Murphy • Neomi Rao • Paul Matey • Allison Jones Rushing • Bridget S. Bade • Roy Altman • Patrick Wyrick • Holly Brady • David Morales • Andrew Brasher • J. Campbell Barker • Rodolfo Ruiz • Daniel Domenico • Michael Truncale • Michael Park • Joseph Bianco • Raúl Arias-Marxuach • Daniel Collins • Joshua Wolson • Wendy Vitter • Kenneth Kiyul Lee • Kenneth Bell • Stephen Clark • Howard Nielson • Rodney Smith • Jean-Paul Boulee • Sarah Daggett Morrison • Rossie Alston • Pamela A. Barker • Corey Maze • Greg Guidry • Matthew Kacsmaryk • Allen Winsor • Carl Nichols • James Cain, Jr. • Tom Barber • J. Nicholas Ranjan • Clifton L. Corker • Peter Phipps • Daniel Bress • Damon Leichty • Wendy W. Berger • Peter Welte • Michael Liburdi • William Shaw Stickman • Mark Pittman • Karin J. Immergut • Jason Pulliam • Brantley Starr • Brian Buescher • James Wesley Hendrix • Timothy Reif • Martha Pacold • Sean Jordan • Mary Rowland • John M. Younge • Jeff Brown • Ada Brown • Steven Grimberg • Stephanie A. Gallagher • Steven Seeger • Stephanie Haines • Mary McElroy • David J. Novak • Frank W. Volk • Charles Eskridge • Rachel Kovner • Justin Walker • T. Kent Wetherell • Danielle Hunsaker • Lee Rudofsky • Jennifer Philpott Wilson • William Nardini • Steven Menashi • Robert J. Luck • Eric Komitee • Douglas Cole • John Sinatra • Sarah Pitlyk • Barbara Lagoa • Richard Myers II • Sherri Lydon • Patrick Bumatay • R. Austin Huffaker • Miller Baker • Anuraag Singhal • Karen Marston • Jodi Dishman • Mary Kay Vyskocil • Matthew McFarland • John Gallagher • Bernard Jones • Kea Riggs • Robert J. Colville • Stephanie Dawkins Davis • Gary R. Brown • David Barlow • Lewis Liman | ||
| 2020 |
Lawrence VanDyke • Daniel Traynor • John Kness • Joshua Kindred • Philip Halpern • Silvia Carreno-Coll • Scott Rash • John Heil • Anna Manasco • John L. Badalamenti • Drew Tipton • Andrew Brasher • Cory Wilson • Scott Hardy • David Joseph • Matthew Schelp • John Cronan • Justin Walker • Brett H. Ludwig • Christy Wiegand • Thomas Cullen • Diane Gujarati • Stanley Blumenfeld • Mark Scarsi • John Holcomb • Stephen P. McGlynn • Todd Robinson • Hala Jarbou • David Dugan • Iain D. Johnston • Franklin U. Valderrama • John Hinderaker • Roderick Young • Michael Newman • Aileen Cannon • James Knepp • Kathryn Kimball Mizelle • Benjamin Beaton • Kristi Johnson • Toby Crouse • Philip Calabrese • Taylor McNeel • Thomas Kirsch • Stephen Vaden • Katherine Crytzer • Fernando Aenlle-Rocha • Charles Atchley • Joseph Dawson | ||
| |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Active judges |
Chief Judge: Randy Crane • Keith Ellison (Texas) • Ricardo Hinojosa • George Hanks • Jeff Brown (Texas) • Alfred Bennett • Rolando Olvera • Nelva Gonzales Ramos • Marina Garcia Marmolejo • Diana Saldana • Fernando Rodriguez Jr. • David Morales (Texas federal judge) • Charles Eskridge • Drew Tipton • John Kazen | ||
| Senior judges |
Janis Jack • Micaela Alvarez • Lynn Hughes • Andrew Hanen • Melinda Harmon • David Hittner • Kenneth Hoyt (Texas) • Sim Lake • Gray Miller • John Rainey • Lee Rosenthal • Hilda Tagle • Ewing Werlein • | ||
| Magistrate judges | Ronald G. Morgan • J. Scott Hacker • Diana Quiroga • Jason Libby (Texas) • Ignacio Torteya III • Dena Palermo • Juan F. Alanis • Andrew M. Edison • Sam S. Sheldon • Julie Hampton • Christopher dos Santos • Nadia Medrano • Mitchel Neurock • | ||
| Former Article III judges |
Samuel Kent • Reynaldo Garza • Waller Thomas Burns (Texas judge) • Joseph Chappell Hutcheson • Hayden Head • Nancy Atlas • Vanessa Gilmore • Thomas Martin Kennerly • James Allred • Adriana Arce-Flores • John Black (Texas) • Calvin Botley • Brian Owsley • Norman Black • Carl Bue • George Cire • Ben Connally • Finis Cowan • Owen Cox • James DeAnda • Hugh Gibson • Allen Hannay • Joe Ingraham • Gabrielle McDonald • James Noel • Robert O'Conor • Woodrow Seals • John Singleton • Ross Sterling • Filemon Vela (Texas judge) • Gregg Costa • | ||
| Former Chief judges |
Reynaldo Garza • Hayden Head • Ricardo Hinojosa • Lee Rosenthal • George Kazen • Norman Black • Ben Connally • James DeAnda • Allen Hannay • John Singleton • | ||
Federal courts:
Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals • U.S. District Court: Eastern District of Texas, Western District of Texas, Northern District of Texas, Southern District of Texas • U.S. Bankruptcy Court: Eastern District of Texas, Western District of Texas, Northern District of Texas, Southern District of Texas
State courts:
Texas Supreme Court • Texas Court of Appeals • Texas Court of Criminal Appeals • Texas District Courts • Texas County Courts • Texas County Courts at Law • Texas Statutory Probate Courts • Texas Justice of the Peace Courts
State resources:
Courts in Texas • Texas judicial elections • Judicial selection in Texas