United States District Court for the Eastern District of Texas

Eastern District of Texas
Fifth Circuit
Judgeships
Posts: 8
Judges: 8
Vacancies: 0
Judges
Chief: Amos Mazzant
Active judges: J. Campbell Barker, Marcia Crone, James Gilstrap, Sean Jordan, Jeremy Kernodle, Amos Mazzant, Robert William Schroeder III, Michael Truncale Senior judges: Ron Clark, Richard Schell

The United States District Court for the Eastern District of Texas is one of 94 United States district courts. The court's headquarters are in Tyler, Texas. 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.

Vacancies

See also: Current federal judicial vacancies

There are no current vacancies on the United States District Court for the Eastern District of Texas, out of the court's eight judicial positions.

Pending nominations

There are no pending nominees for this court.

Active judges

Article III judges

Judge	Appointed By	Assumed Office	Bachelors	Law
Marcia Crone	George W. Bush (R)	October 3, 2003 -	University of Texas, 1973	University of Houston Law Center, 1978
James Gilstrap	Barack Obama (D)	December 6, 2011 -	Baylor University, 1978	Baylor University School of Law, 1981
Amos Mazzant	Barack Obama (D)	December 19, 2014 -	University of Pittsburgh, 1987	Baylor University School of Law, 1990
Robert William Schroeder III	Barack Obama (D)	December 19, 2014 -	University of Arkansas, Little Rock, 1989	American University, Washington College of Law, 1994
Jeremy Kernodle	Donald Trump (R)	November 2, 2018 -	Harding University, 1998	Vanderbilt University Law School, 2001
J. Campbell Barker	Donald Trump (R)	May 3, 2019 -	Texas A&M University, 2002	University of Texas School of Law, 2005
Michael Truncale	Donald Trump (R)	May 16, 2019 -	Lamar University, 1978	Southern Methodist University, 1985
Sean Jordan	Donald Trump (R)	August 20, 2019 -	University of Texas, Austin, 1991	University of Texas School of Law, 1994

Active Article III judges by appointing political party

The list below displays the number of active judges by the party of the appointing president. It does not reflect how a judge may rule on specific cases or their own political preferences.

• Democrat appointed: 3
• Republican appointed: 5

Senior judges

Judge	Appointed By	Assumed Office	Bachelors	Law
Richard Schell	Ronald Reagan (R)	March 10, 2015 -	Southern Methodist University, 1972	Southern Methodist University, 1975
Ron Clark	George W. Bush (R)	February 28, 2018 -	University of Connecticut, 1973	University of Texas School of Law, 1979

Senior judges by appointing political party

The list below displays the number of senior judges by the party of the appointing president. It does not reflect how a judge may rule on specific cases or their own political preferences.

• Democrat appointed:
• Republican appointed: 2

Magistrate judges

Federal magistrate judges are federal judges who serve in United States district courts, but they are not appointed by the president and they do not serve life terms. Magistrate judges are assigned duties by the district judges in the district in which they serve. They may preside over most phases of federal proceedings, except for criminal felony trials. The specific duties of a magistrate judge vary from district to district, but the responsibilities always include handling matters that would otherwise be on the dockets of the district judges. Full-time magistrate judges serve for renewable terms of eight years. Some federal district courts have part-time magistrate judges, who serve for renewable terms of four years.

Judge	Appointed By	Assumed Office	Bachelors	Law
John Love		January 20, 2006 -	Texas A&M University, 1992	St. Mary's University of San Antonio, 1995
Zack Hawthorn		August 2, 2011 -	University of Texas at Austin, 1998	University of Texas School of Law, Austin, 2001
Roy Payne		December 28, 2011 -	University of Virginia, 1974	Louisiana State University, 1977
Katie Nicole Mitchell		August 16, 2013 -	Texas A&M University, 2001	Baylor University School of Law, 2006
Kimberly Priest Johnson		September 1, 2016 -	University of North Texas, 1994	Southern Methodist University, Dedman School of Law, 2000
Christine Stetson	United States District Court for the Eastern District of Texas	August 31, 2021 -

Former chief judges

In order to qualify for the office of chief judge in an Article III circuit or district court, or on the United States Court of International Trade, a judge must be in active service and hold seniority over the court's commissioned judges who are 64 years of age or under, have served one year or more, and have not previously served as chief judge.

In the event that no judge on the court meets those qualifications, the youngest judge in regular active service aged 65 years or more and who has served as a judge for one year or more shall become chief judge. If no judge meets those qualifications, the judge holding seniority in active service who has not served as chief before shall become the chief judge.

The chief judge serves for a term of seven years until another judge becomes eligible to serve in the position. No judge is permitted to serve as chief judge after reaching the age of 70 years unless no other judge is qualified to serve.

Unlike the chief justice of the United States, a chief judge returns to active service after the expiration of their term and does not create a vacancy on the court by the fact of their promotion.

On the United States Court of Federal Claims, the chief judge is selected by the president of the United States. The judge must be less than 70 years of age. A chief may serve until they reach age 70 or until another judge is designated by the president as the new chief judge. If the president selects a new chief judge, the former chief judge may continue active service on the court for the remainder of their appointed term.

James Gilstrap - (2018 - 2025) Ron Clark - (2015 - 2018) Leonard Davis - (2012 - 2015) David Folsom - (2009 - 2012) Thad Heartfield - (2003 - 2009) John H. Hannah - (2001 - 2003) Richard Schell - (1994 - 2001)

Robert Parker - (1990 - 1994) William Justice - (1980 - 1990) Joseph Fisher - (1967 - 1980) Joseph Sheehy - (1954 - 1967)

Former judges

For more information on the judges of the Eastern District of Texas, see former federal judges of the Eastern District of Texas.

Jurisdiction

The Counties of the Eastern District of Texas (click for larger map)

The Eastern 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 six court divisions, each covering the following counties:

The Beaumont Division, covering Hardin, Jasper, Jefferson, Liberty, Newton and Orange counties.

The Lufkin Division, covering Angelina, Houston, Nacogdoches, Polk, Sabine, Shelby, San Augustine, Trinity and Tyler counties.

The Marshall Division, covering Camp, Cass, Harrison, Marion, Morris and Upshur counties.

The Sherman Division, covering Collin, Cooke, Denton, Grayson, Delta, Fannin, Hopkins and Lamar counties.

The Texarkana Division, covering Bowie, Franklin, Titus and Red River counties.

The Tyler Division, covering Anderson, Cherokee, Gregg, Henderson, Panola, Rains, Rusk, Smith, Van Zandt and Wood counties.

Caseloads

This section contains court management statistics dating back to 2010. It was last updated in September 2024. Click [show] below for more information on caseload terms and definitions.

Caseload statistics explanation
Term	Explanation
Cases filed and terminated	The number of civil and criminal lawsuits formally initiated or decided by the court in a calendar year. The chart below reflects the table columns Cases filed and Cases terminated.
Average time from filing to disposition	The average amount of time, in months, from a case's date of filing to date of disposition (acquittal, sentencing, dismissal, etc.). The chart below reflects the table columns Median time (Criminal) and Median time (Civil).
Starting case load	The number of cases pending from the previous calendar year.
Cases filed	The number of civil and criminal lawsuits formally initiated in a calendar year.
Cases terminated	The total number of civil and criminal lawsuits decided by the court in a calendar year.
Remaining cases	The number of civil and criminal cases pending at the end of a given year.
Median time (Criminal)	The average amount of time, in months, from a case's date of filing to the date of disposition. In criminal cases, the date of disposition occurs on the day of sentencing or acquittal/dismissal.
Median time (Civil)	The average amount of time, in months, from a case's date of filing to the date of disposition.
Three-year civil cases	The number and percent of civil cases that were filed more than three years before the end of the given calendar year.
Vacant posts	The number of months during the year an authorized judgeship was vacant.
Trial/Post	The number of trials completed divided by the number of authorized judgeships on the court. Trials include evidentiary trials, hearings on temporary restraining orders, and preliminary injunctions.
Source: United States Courts, "Explanation of the Judicial Caseload Profiles for United States District Courts," accessed September 25, 2018

United States District Court for the Eastern District of Texas caseload stats, 2010-2023
Year	Cases Filed	Cases Terminated	Cases Pending	Number of Judgeships	Vacant Judgeship Months	Average Total Filings per Judgeship	Trials Completed per Judgeship	Median time from filing to disposition, criminal	Median time from filing to disposition, civil	Three-year civil cases (#)	Three-year civil cases (%)
2010	4,452	3,638	4,834	8	12	557	20	10	10	180	5
2011	3,784	3,755	4,133	8	14	473	18	12	9	192	6
2012	4,683	4,217	5,416	8	22	585	16	12	10	185	5
2013	5,330	4,928	5,790	8	24	666	19	12	9	231	6
2014	4,800	4,963	5,563	8	24	600	15	13	8	251	7
2015	6,063	5,720	5,788	8	17	758	16	14	6	258	6
2016	5,594	5,648	5,741	8	36	699	14	12	8	254	6
2017	4,230	4,990	4,995	8	36	529	13	12	7	246	7
2018	4,020	3,879	5,145	8	42	503	12	10	9	239	7
2019	4,051	3,908	5,080	8	15	506	11	10	9	260	8
2020	4,301	3,885	5,510	8	0	538	12	13	9	254	8
2021	4,421	3,940	6,001	8	0	553	14	14	8	280	9
2022	4,260	3,936	6,325	8	0	533	16	18	9	259	8
2023	4,222	3,995	6,568	8	0	528	13	22	8	279	8
Average	4,587	4,386	5,492	8	17	573	15	13	9	241	7

History

On December 29, 1845, the State of Texas was organized as one judicial district. One judgeship was authorized for this U.S. district court, and being that it was not assigned to a judicial circuit, the district court was granted the same jurisdiction as the United States circuit courts, excluding appeals and writs of error, which are the jurisdiction of the Supreme Court.

Texas was divided into two judicial districts, known as the Eastern District of Texas and the Western District of Texas, on February 21, 1857. One judgeship was authorized for the court in each district. Circuit court jurisdiction of the district court in Texas was repealed on July 15, 1862, and a U.S. circuit court was established for the district and assigned over to the United States Court of Appeals for the Sixth Circuit. Texas was then assigned to the United States Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit on July 23, 1866.

The Northern District of Texas was established on February 24, 1879, with one judgeship authorized to the district court. On February 9, 1898, a temporary judgeship was authorized to the Northern District. However, the statute provided that any vacancy in the existing judgeship would not be filled.

A few years later, on March 11, 1902, the Southern District of Texas was established and one judgeship was authorized to this district court.

The Eastern District of Texas had seven judicial posts added over time for a total of eight current posts.

Federal Judicial Conference recommendation (2019)

In March 2019, the Federal Judicial Conference (FJC) recommended that two judgeships be added to the district and one temporary judgeship be made permanent. Based on FJC data, the district handled 579 weighted filings per judgeship from September 2017 to September 2018. Weighted filings are a specific metric used by the federal judiciary that accounts for the different amounts of time judges require to resolve types of civil and criminal cases. The national average in that period for weighted filings per judgeship was 513.

The FJC is the policy-making body for the United States federal courts system. It was first organized as the Conference of Senior Circuit Judges in 1922. The Chief Justice of the Supreme Court of the United States serves as chair of the conference. The members of the conference are the chief judge of each judicial circuit, the Chief Judge of the Court of International Trade, and a district judge from each regional judicial circuit.

Judicial posts

The following table highlights the development of judicial posts for the Eastern District of Texas:

Year	Statute	Total Seats
December 29, 1845	9 Stat. 1	1
February 21, 1857	11 Stat. 164	1
February 10, 1954	68 Stat. 8	2
June 2, 1970	84 Stat. 294	3
October 20, 1978	92 Stat. 1629	4
July 10, 1984	98 Stat. 333	6
December 1, 1990	104 Stat. 5089	7
November 2, 2002	116 Stat. 1758	8

Federal courthouse

Seven separate courthouses serve the Eastern District of Texas. Each division has its own courthouse, except for one. The Sherman division has two courthouses, one in Plano, Texas and one in Sherman, Texas.

About United States District Courts

The United States district courts are the general trial courts of the United States federal courts. There are 94 such courts. Both civil and criminal cases are filed in the district court, which is a court of both law and equity.

There is a United States bankruptcy court and a number of bankruptcy judges associated with each United States district court. Each federal judicial district has at least one courthouse, and most districts have more than one.

There is at least one judicial district for each state, and one each for Puerto Rico and the District of Columbia. District courts in three insular areas—the United States Virgin Islands, Guam, and the Northern Mariana Islands—exercise the same jurisdiction as U.S. district courts. Despite their name, these courts are technically not District Courts of the United States. Judges on these territorial courts do not enjoy the protections of Article III of the Constitution, and serve terms of 10 years rather than for life.

There are 677 U.S. District Court judgeships.

The number of federal district judge positions is set by the U.S. Congress in Title 28 of the U.S. Code, Section 133, which authorizes a set number of judge positions, or judgeships, making changes and adjustments in these numbers from time to time.

In order to relieve the pressure of trying the hundreds of thousands of cases brought before the federal district courts each year, many trials are tried by juries, along with a presiding judge.

Appointments by president

The chart below shows the number of district court judges confirmed by the U.S. Senate through March 1 of the first year of each president's term in office. At this point in the term, no president had made Article III judicial appointments.