United States District Court for the Southern District of Texas

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Southern District of Texas
Fifth Circuit
Great seal of the United States.png
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:
Micaela Alvarez, Andrew Hanen, Melinda Harmon, David Hittner, Kenneth Hoyt, Lynn Hughes, Janis Jack, Sim Lake, Gray Miller, John Rainey, Lee Rosenthal, Hilda Tagle, Ewing Werlein


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.

Vacancies

See also: Current federal judicial vacancies

There are four current vacancies on the United States District Court for the Southern District of Texas, out of the court's 19 judicial positions.

Pending nominations

There are no pending nominees for this court.


Active judges

Article III judges

Judge Appointed By Assumed Office Bachelors Law

Ricardo Hinojosa

Ronald Reagan (R)

May 5, 1983 -

University of Texas, Austin, 1972

Harvard Law, 1975

Keith Ellison

Bill Clinton (D)

July 7, 1999 -

Harvard, 1972

Yale Law, 1976

Randy Crane

George W. Bush (R)

March 19, 2002 -

University of Texas, 1985

University of Texas Law, 1987

Diana Saldana

Barack Obama (D)

February 9, 2011 -

University of Texas, 1994

University of Texas, 1997

Nelva Gonzales Ramos

Barack Obama (D)

August 4, 2011 -

Southwest Texas State University, 1987

University of Texas Law, 1991

Marina Garcia Marmolejo

Barack Obama (D)

October 4, 2011 -

University of the Incarnate Word, 1992

St. Mary's University, 1996

Alfred Bennett

Barack Obama (D)

April 15, 2015 -

University of Huston, 1988

University of Texas School of Law, 1991

George Hanks

Barack Obama (D)

April 22, 2015 -

Louisiana State University, 1986

Harvard University, 1989

Rolando Olvera

Barack Obama (D)

August 4, 2015 -

Harvard University, 1985

University of Texas School of Law, Austin, 1989

Fernando Rodriguez Jr.

Donald Trump (R)

June 12, 2018 -

Yale University, 1991

University of Texas School of Law, 1997

David Morales

Donald Trump (R)

April 25, 2019 -

St. Edward's University, 1990

St. Mary's University School of Law, 1994

Jeff Brown

Donald Trump (R)

September 4, 2019 -

University of Texas, 1992

University of Houston Law Center, 1995

Charles R. Eskridge III

Donald Trump (R)

October 17, 2019 -

Trinity University, 1985

Pepperdine University School of Law, 1990

Drew Barnett Tipton

Donald Trump (R)

June 15, 2020 -

Texas A&M University, 1990

South Texas College of Law Houston, 1994

John Kazen

Joe Biden (D)

January 12, 2024 -

University of Texas at Austin, 1987

University of Houston Law School, 1990


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: 8
  • Republican appointed: 7

Senior judges

Judge Appointed By Assumed Office Bachelors Law

David Hittner

Ronald Reagan (R)

November 11, 2004 -

New York University, 1961

New York University Law, 1964

Ewing Werlein

George H.W. Bush (R)

January 1, 2006 -

Southern Methodist University, 1958

University of Texas Law, 1961

John Rainey

George H.W. Bush (R)

June 11, 2010 -

Southern Methodist University, 1967

Southern Methodist University, Dedman School of Law, 1972

Janis Jack

Bill Clinton (D)

June 1, 2011 -

University of Baltimore, 1974

South Texas College Law, 1981

Hilda Tagle

Bill Clinton (D)

December 31, 2012 -

East Texas State University, 1969

University of Texas School of Law, 1977

Kenneth Hoyt

Ronald Reagan (R)

March 2, 2013 -

Texas Southern University, 1969

Texas Southern University, Thurgood Marshall School of Law, 1972

Melinda Harmon

George H.W. Bush (R)

March 31, 2018 -

Harvard-Radcliffe College, 1969

University of Texas Law, 1972

Gray Miller

George W. Bush (R)

December 9, 2018 -

University of Houston, 1974

University of Houston Law, 1978

Sim Lake

Ronald Reagan (R)

July 5, 2019 -

Texas A&M University, 1966

University of Texas Law, 1969

Lynn Hughes

Ronald Reagan (R)

February 12, 2023 -

University of Alabama, Tuscaloosa, 1963

University of Texas Law, 1966

Micaela Alvarez

George W. Bush (R)

June 8, 2023 -

University of Texas, 1980

University of Texas Law, 1989

Lee Rosenthal

George H.W. Bush (R)

December 1, 2024 -

University of Chicago, 1974

University of Chicago Law, 1977

Andrew Hanen

George W. Bush (R)

January 2, 2025 -

Denison University, 1975

Baylor University School of Law, 1978


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: 2
  • Republican appointed: 11

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.[1]

Judge Appointed By Assumed Office Bachelors Law

J. Scott Hacker

October 17, 2008 -

University of Texas at Austin, 1990

University of Texas School of Law, Austin, 2000

Ronald G. Morgan

May 3, 2009 -

U.S. Air Force Academy, 1977

Pennsylvania State University, Dickinson Law, 1985

Diana Quiroga

December 20, 2011 -

University of California, Berkeley, 1998

Harvard Law School, 2001

Jason B. Libby

May 9, 2013 -

Trinity University, 1992

Southern Methodist University, Dedman School of Law, 1985

Ignacio Torteya III

January 24, 2014 -

Baylor University, 1992

Baylor Law, 1995

Dena Hanovice Palermo

March 9, 2016 -

Binghamton University, 1980

Boston University School of Law, 1983

Christina Bryan

Lee Rosenthal

January 8, 2018 -

University of Texas at Austin, 1988

Harvard Law School, 1991

Andrew M. Edison

February 20, 2018 -

Dartmouth College, 1991

University of Virginia School of Law, 1994

Juan F. Alanis

April 30, 2018 -

Texas A&M, 1992

University of Texas School of Law, Austin, 1996

Peter Bray

August 3, 2018 -

Rochester Institute of Technology, 1992

University of Houston Law Center, 2000

Sam S. Sheldon

September 17, 2018 -

University of Southern California, 1992

University of Houston Law Center, 1997

Julie Hampton

January 6, 2020 -

University of Kentucky, 1998

Baylor School of Law, 2001

Christopher dos Santos

United States District Court for the Southern District of Texas

July 24, 2020 -

Georgia Institute of Technology, 2005

John Marshall Law School, Atlanta, 2009

Nadia Medrano

United States District Court for the Southern District of Texas

January 7, 2021 -

St. Mary's University, Texas, 2003

University of Texas School of Law, 2006

Mitchel Neurock

United States District Court for the Southern District of Texas

September 23, 2021 -

Rice University, 1989

Washington & Lee University School of Law, 1992


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.[2]

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.[3][4][5]

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.[3][4][5]

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.[2][3][4][5]

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.[6]


Former judges

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

Jurisdiction

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

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:

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.

United States District Court for the Southern 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 18,788 17,283 12,871 19 43 989 30 5 6 187 3
2011 14,940 15,922 10,437 19 36 786 31 5 7 364 7
2012 15,024 15,050 11,784 19 16 791 27 5 8 376 8
2013 15,130 15,115 11,891 19 34 796 26 5 7 400 8
2014 14,222 13,972 12,196 19 41 749 23 5 7 420 8
2015 14,770 14,380 12,598 19 32 777 25 5 7 374 7
2016 14,713 14,569 12,850 19 24 774 27 5 8 387 7
2017 13,656 14,049 12,470 19 24 719 23 5 8 417 8
2018 15,628 14,354 13,588 19 26 823 24 5 8 362 6
2019 19,046 17,858 14,951 19 34 1,002 25 4 8 333 6
2020 15,637 15,384 15,288 19 5 823 15 5 8 329 6
2021 15,652 16,639 14,501 19 0 824 22 5 9 330 6
2022 15,151 14,817 14,876 19 12 797 25 5 9 345 6
2023 14,140 14,458 14,599 19 26 744 20 5 8 348 6
Average 15,464 15,275 13,207 19 25 814 25 5 8 355 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 6th Circuit. Texas was then assigned to the United States Court of Appeals for the 5th 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 Southern District of Texas had eighteen judicial posts added over time for a total of nineteen current posts.[7]

Federal Judicial Conference recommendation (2019)

In March 2019, the Federal Judicial Conference (FJC) recommended that two judgeships be added to the district.[8] Based on FJC data, the district handled 585 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.[9]

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.[10] 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.[11]

Judicial posts

The following table highlights the development of judicial posts for the Southern District of Texas:[7]

Year Statute Total Seats
December 29, 1845 9 Stat. 1 1
March 11, 1902 32 Stat. 64 1
May 31, 1938 52 Stat. 584 2
August 3, 1949 63 Stat. 493 4 (1 post temporary)
February 10, 1954 68 Stat. 8 4
May 19, 1961 75 Stat. 80 5
March 18, 1966 80 Stat. 75 7
June 2, 1970 84 Stat. 294 8
October 20, 1978 92 Stat. 1629 13
December 1, 1990 104 Stat. 5089 18
December 21, 2000 114 Stat. 2762 19

Noteworthy cases

For a searchable list of opinions, click here.

Federal courthouse

Seven separate courthouses serve the Southern District of 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.[19][20]

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.[21]

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.

See also

External links


Footnotes

  1. Federal Judicial Center, "Magistrate Judgeships," accessed June 11, 2021
  2. 2.0 2.1 United States Courts, "Frequently Asked Questions," accessed January 25, 2022
  3. 3.0 3.1 3.2 Cornell Law School Legal Information Institute, "28 U.S. Code § 136 - Chief judges; precedence of district judges," accessed January 25, 2022
  4. 4.0 4.1 4.2 Cornell Law School Legal Information Institute, "28 U.S. Code § 258 - Chief judges; precedence of judges," accessed January 25, 2022
  5. 5.0 5.1 5.2 Cornell Law School Legal Information Institute, "28 U.S. Code § 45 - Chief judges; precedence of judges," accessed January 25, 2022
  6. Cornell Law School Legal Information Institute, "28 U.S. Code § 171 - Appointment and number of judges; character of court; designation of chief judge," accessed January 25, 2022
  7. 7.0 7.1 Federal Judicial Center, "U.S. District Courts for the Districts of Texas," accessed May 19, 2021
  8. Federal Judicial Conference, "March 2019 Recommendations," accessed July 25, 2019
  9. US Courts, "Table X-1A—Other Judicial Business (September 30, 2018)," accessed July 24, 2019
  10. US Courts, "Governance & the Judicial Conference," accessed July 25, 2019
  11. US Courts, "About the Judicial Conference," accessed July 25, 2019
  12. 12.0 12.1 12.2 New York Times, "A Bid to Park Recalled G.M. Cars Is Denied," April 17, 2014
  13. CNBC, "Judge to hear motion on parking GM recalled cars," March 27, 2014
  14. 14.0 14.1 14.2 14.3 Courthouse News Service, "Oilmen Get No Relief Under Terrorism Law," February 19, 2014
  15. Courthouse News Service, "Baby Seat Manufacturer Isn't to Blame for Injury," December 2, 2013
  16. Pensions&Investments, "BP must face investors' fraud claims tied to oil spill," February 14, 2012
  17. Clemens v. McNamee, "Memorandum and Order," February 12, 2009
  18. 18.0 18.1 Boston Globe, "Federal judge rejects Clemens bid," July 2, 2009
  19. US Courts, "Federal Judgeships," accessed May 10, 2021 (archived)
  20. 20.0 20.1 U.S. Courts, "United States District Court Federal Judiciary Frequently Asked Questions," accessed May 10, 2021 (archived)
  21. United States District Courts, "District Courts," accessed May 10, 2021
  22. The 'Lectric Law Library, "Understanding the U.S. federal courts"