United States District Court for the Western District of Texas
| United States District Court for the Western District of Texas (W.D. Tex.) |
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| Location | San Antonio, Texas |
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| Appeals to | Fifth Circuit |
| Established | February 21, 1857 |
| Judges assigned | 13 |
| Chief judge | Samuel Frederick Biery Jr. |
| Official site | |
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:
- Austin Division
- Del Rio Division
- El Paso Division
- Midland Division
- Pecos Division
- San Antonio Division
- Waco Division
Judge Samuel Frederick Biery Jr. is the Chief Judge of the W. D. 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. John E. Murphy is the Acting United States Attorney for the Western District of Texas since the resignation of Johnny Sutton on April 19, 2009.
Current judges
- As of November 30, 2008, a vacancy exists in the Western District of Texas due to Judge W. Royal Furgeson, Jr.'s decision to assume senior status. No replacement nomination is pending at this time.
| # | Title | Judge | Duty station | Born | Term of service | Appointed by | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Active | Chief | Senior | ||||||
| 27 | Chief Judge | Samuel Frederick Biery Jr. | San Antonio | 1947 | 1994–present | 2010–present | — | Clinton |
| 24 | District Judge | Walter Scott Smith, Jr. | Waco | 1940 | 1984–present | 2003–2010 | — | Reagan |
| 26 | District Judge | Sam Sparks | Austin | 1939 | 1991–present | — | — | G.H.W. Bush |
| 29 | District Judge | Orlando Luis Garcia | San Antonio | 1952 | 1994–present | — | — | Clinton |
| 31 | District Judge | Philip Ray Martinez | El Paso | 1957 | 2002–present | — | — | G.W. Bush |
| 32 | District Judge | Alia M. Ludlum | Del Rio | 1962 | 2002–present | — | — | G.W. Bush |
| 33 | District Judge | Robert A. Junell | Midland | 1947 | 2003–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 |
| — | District Judge | (vacant) | (n/a) | (n/a) | (n/a) | (n/a) | (n/a) | (n/a) |
| 19 | Senior District Judge | Harry Lee Hudspeth | Austin | 1935 | 1979–2001 | 1992–1999 | 2001–present | Carter |
| 22 | Senior District Judge | James Robertson Nowlin | Austin | 1937 | 1981–2003 | 1999–2003 | 2003–present | Reagan |
| 30 | Senior District Judge | David Briones | El Paso | 1943 | 1994–2009 | (none) | 2009–present | Clinton |
Former judges
| Judge | Appointed by | Began active service |
Ended active service |
Ended senior status |
End reason |
| Charles Albert Boynton | Calvin Coolidge | December 17, 1924 | May 1, 1947 | October 12, 1954 | death |
| Lucius Desha Bunton III | Jimmy Carter | November 27, 1979 | December 1, 1992 | January 17, 2001 | death |
| Thomas Howard DuVal | Franklin Pierce | March 3, 1857 | October 10, 1880 | – | death |
| Hipolito Frank Garcia | Jimmy Carter | September 30, 1980 | January 16, 2002 | – | death |
| William Royal Furgeson, Jr. | Bill Clinton | March 10, 1994 | November 30, 2008 | – | moved [3] |
| Emilio M. Garza | Ronald Reagan | April 20, 1988 | June 7, 1991 | – | reappointment |
| Ernest Allen Guinn | Lyndon B. Johnson | July 27, 1966 | June 9, 1974 | – | death |
| Walter Angus Keeling | Franklin D. Roosevelt | January 28, 1942 | January 22, 1945 | – | death |
| Thomas Sheldon Maxey | Grover Cleveland | June 25, 1888 | December 12, 1916 | – | retirement |
| Robert Johnston McMillan | Herbert Hoover | January 19, 1932 | October 27, 1941 | – | death |
| Edward C. Prado | Ronald Reagan | March 30, 1984 | May 13, 2003 | – | reappointment |
| Ben Herbert Rice, Jr. | Harry S. Truman | September 28, 1945 | March 14, 1964 | – | death |
| Jack Roberts | Lyndon B. Johnson | July 22, 1966 | May 1, 1980 | February 27, 1988 | death |
| William S. Sessions | Gerald Ford | December 20, 1974 | November 1, 1987 | – | resignation |
| Clyde Frederick Shannon Jr. | Jimmy Carter | June 18, 1980 | January 1, 1984 | – | resignation |
| William Robert Smith | Woodrow Wilson | April 12, 1917 | August 16, 1924 | – | death |
| Adrian Anthony Spears | John F. Kennedy | October 5, 1961[4] | October 10, 1979 | December 31, 1982 | resignation |
| Dorwin Wallace Suttle | Lyndon B. Johnson | July 2, 1964 | October 10, 1979 | September 29, 2001 | death |
| R. Ewing Thomason | Harry S. Truman | June 5, 1947 | June 1, 1963 | November 8, 1973 | death |
| Homer Thornberry | John F. Kennedy | December 17, 1963 | July 2, 1965 | – | reappointment |
| Ezekiel B. Turner | Rutherford B. Hayes | November 18, 1880[5] | June 2, 1888 | – | death |
| DuVal West | Woodrow Wilson | December 21, 1916 | November 30, 1931 | May 13, 1949 | death |
| John H. Wood, Jr. | Richard Nixon | December 1, 1970 | May 29, 1979 | – | death |
Notes
- ^ U.S. Department of Justice: 2002 Centennial Report, pgs. 1, 10
- ^ Southern District of Texas: History of the District
- ^ As of 2008, sitting in N.D. Tex.
- ^ 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.
- ^ 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.
External links
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