United States District Court for the Southern District of Texas

Appeals toFifth CircuitEstablishedMarch 11, 1902Judges19Chief JudgeRandy CraneOfficers of the courtU.S. AttorneyAlamdar S. HamdaniU.S. MarshalT. Michael O'Connorwww.txs.uscourts.gov

The United States District Court for the Southern District of Texas (in case citations, S.D. Tex.) is the federal district court with jurisdiction over the southeastern part of Texas. The court's headquarters is in Houston, Texas, and has six additional locations in the district.

Appeals from cases brought in the Southern 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).

As of December 12, 2022^[update], the United States attorney is Alamdar S. Hamdani.

Along with the Western District of Texas, District of New Mexico, and District of Arizona, it is one of the busiest district courts in terms of criminal felony filings.^[1]

History

Since its foundation, the Southern District of Texas has been served by forty-one District Judges and six Clerks of Court. 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.^[3] On February 21, 1857, the state was divided into two districts, Eastern and Western, with Judge Watrous continuing in the Eastern district.^[4] 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. Judge Amos Morrill served in the Eastern District of Texas from 1872 to 1884. He was succeeded by Chauncy B. Sabin (1884 to 1890) and David E. Bryant (1890 to 1902). In 1902, when the Southern District was created by Act of Congress, Judge Bryant continued to serve in the Eastern District of Texas.

In 1917, the General Services Administration added courtrooms and judicial offices to the second floor of the 1861 U.S. Customs House in Galveston, and it became the new federal courthouse for the Southern District of Texas. This location would later become the seat of the Galveston Division, after Congress added a second judgeship in the 1930s.^[4][5][6]

The Southern District of Texas started with one judge, Waller T. Burns, and a Clerk of Court, Christopher Dart, seated in Galveston. Since that time, the court has grown to nineteen district judgeships, six bankruptcy judgeships, fourteen magistrate judgeships, and over 200 deputy clerks.

Galveston Division

In 2007, criminal charges were filed against Judge Samuel B. Kent, the only District judge in the Galveston Division, who sat at the Federal Courthouse in Galveston, the oldest federal judgeship in the state.^[7] Due to the litigation, Chief Judge Hayden Head transferred Kent and his staff to the Houston Division.^[7][8] Judge Kent subsequently pleaded guilty, in February 2009, to obstruction of justice and, after being impeached by the House of Representatives, resigned in June 2009.^[9] The next month, it was announced that Judge Kent's post would remain vacant for the time being, and a replacement judge would be assigned to McAllen, due to the increase in cases in the Texas border area concerning subjects such as drugs and immigration.^[10]

Laredo Division

Laredo, Texas, is located on the northern bank of the Rio Grande River and is unique in its ability to operate international bridges between two Mexican states. The city presently maintains four border crossings and one rail bridge with the Mexican State of Tamaulipas at Nuevo Laredo and the Mexican State of Nuevo León at Colombia. Webb County also borders the State of Nuevo León and the State of Coahuila, Mexico, northwest of Laredo. Laredo is the largest inland port along the U.S.-Mexico border and the Pan American Highway leading into Mexico through Laredo stretches from Canada and continues into Central and South America. Because of its location and accessibility to Mexico, Laredo’s economy is primarily based on international trade with Mexico. According to the Laredo Development Foundation, more than 700 of the Fortune 1,000 companies do international business via Laredo and more than 9,000 trucks cross through town per day along with 1,800 loaded rail cars. Laredo is ranked first in growth in Texas and seventh in the country by the Milken Institute.^[11]

The division encompasses five counties with the federal courthouse located in Laredo, Texas. There are two Laredo district court judges⁠—Judges Diana Saldaña and Marina Garcia Marmolejo, who presided over more than 2,000 felony cases in 2013⁠—most of which involved charges of narcotics trafficking and alien smuggling. In addition, there are three federal magistrates who alternate duties every two weeks. Additionally, the federal grand jury convenes every other week where AUSAs rotate the responsibility of presenting felony cases.^[11]

Jurisdiction

The jurisdiction of the Southern District of Texas is divided as follows:

• The Brownsville Division covers Cameron and Willacy Counties.
• The Corpus Christi Division covers Aransas, Bee, Brooks, Duval, Jim Wells, Kenedy, Kleberg, Live Oak, Nueces, and San Patricio Counties.
• The Galveston Division covers Brazoria, Chambers, Galveston, and Matagorda Counties.
• The Houston Division covers Austin, Brazos, Colorado, Fayette, Fort Bend, Grimes, Harris, Madison, Montgomery, San Jacinto, Walker, Waller, and Wharton Counties.
• The Laredo Division covers Jim Hogg, La Salle, McMullen, Webb, and Zapata Counties.
• The McAllen Division covers Hidalgo and Starr Counties.
• The Victoria Division covers Calhoun, DeWitt, Goliad, Jackson, Lavaca, Refugio, and Victoria Counties.

Current judges

As of January 12, 2024^[update]:

#	Title	Judge	Duty station	Born	Term of service			Appointed by
					Active	Chief	Senior
40	Chief Judge	Randy Crane	McAllen	1965	2002–present	2022–present	—	G.W. Bush
25	District Judge	Ricardo Hinojosa	McAllen	1950	1983–present	2009–2016	—	Reagan
34	District Judge	Lee H. Rosenthal	Houston	1952	1992–present	2016–2022	—	G.H.W. Bush
39	District Judge	Keith P. Ellison	Houston	1950	1999–present	—	—	Clinton
41	District Judge	Andrew Hanen	Houston	1953	2002–present	—	—	G.W. Bush
44	District Judge	Diana Saldaña	Laredo	1971	2011–present	—	—	Obama
45	District Judge	Nelva Gonzales Ramos	Corpus Christi	1965	2011–present	—	—	Obama
46	District Judge	Marina Garcia Marmolejo	Laredo	1971	2011–present	—	—	Obama
48	District Judge	Alfred H. Bennett	Houston	1965	2015–present	—	—	Obama
49	District Judge	George C. Hanks Jr.	Houston	1964	2015–present	—	—	Obama
50	District Judge	Rolando Olvera	Brownsville	1963	2015–present	—	—	Obama
51	District Judge	Fernando Rodriguez Jr.	Brownsville	1969	2018–present	—	—	Trump
52	District Judge	David S. Morales	Corpus Christi	1968	2019–present	—	—	Trump
53	District Judge	Jeff Brown	Galveston	1970	2019–present	—	—	Trump
54	District Judge	Charles R. Eskridge III	Houston	1963	2019–present	—	—	Trump
55	District Judge	Drew B. Tipton	Corpus Christi	1967	2020–present	—	—	Trump
56	District Judge	John A. Kazen	Laredo	1964	2024–present	—	—	Biden
57	District Judge	vacant	—	—	—	—	—	—
58	District Judge	vacant	—	—	—	—	—	—
24	Senior Judge	Hayden Wilson Head Jr.	inactive	1944	1981–2009	2003–2009	2009–present	Reagan
26	Senior Judge	Lynn Hughes	Houston	1941	1985–2023	—	2023–present	Reagan
27	Senior Judge	David Hittner	Houston	1939	1986–2004	—	2004–present	Reagan
28	Senior Judge	Kenneth M. Hoyt	Houston	1948	1988–2013	—	2013–present	Reagan
29	Senior Judge	Sim Lake	Houston	1944	1988–2019	—	2019–present	Reagan
30	Senior Judge	Melinda Harmon	inactive	1946	1989–2018	—	2018–present	G.H.W. Bush
31	Senior Judge	John David Rainey	Victoria	1945	1990–2010	—	2010–present	G.H.W. Bush
33	Senior Judge	Ewing Werlein Jr.	Houston	1936	1992–2006	—	2006–present	G.H.W. Bush
35	Senior Judge	Janis Graham Jack	Corpus Christi	1946	1994–2011	—	2011–present	Clinton
38	Senior Judge	Hilda G. Tagle	inactive[12]	1946	1998–2012	—	2012–present	Clinton
42	Senior Judge	Micaela Alvarez	McAllen	1958	2004–2023	—	2023–present	G.W. Bush
43	Senior Judge	Gray H. Miller	Houston	1948	2006–2018	—	2018–present	G.W. Bush

Vacancies and pending nominations

Seat	Prior judge's duty station	Seat last held by	Vacancy reason	Date of vacancy	Nominee	Date of nomination
4	Houston	Lynn Hughes	Senior status	February 12, 2023	–	–
9	McAllen	Micaela Alvarez		June 8, 2023	–	–

Former judges

#	Judge	State	Born–died	Active service	Chief Judge	Senior status	Appointed by	Reason for termination
1	Waller Thomas Burns	TX	1858–1917	1902–1917	—	—	T. Roosevelt	death
2	Joseph Chappell Hutcheson Jr.	TX	1879–1973	1918–1931	—	—	Wilson	elevation to 5th Cir.
3	Thomas Martin Kennerly	TX	1874–1962	1931–1954	—	1954–1962	Hoover	death
4	James Burr V Allred	TX	1899–1959	1939–1942	—	—	F. Roosevelt	resignation
4.1	James Burr V Allred	TX	1899–1959	1949–1959	—	—	Truman	death
5	Allen Burroughs Hannay	TX	1892–1983	1942–1975	1954–1962	1975–1983	F. Roosevelt	death
6	Ben Clarkson Connally	TX	1909–1975	1949–1974	1962–1974	1974–1975	Truman	death
7	Joe McDonald Ingraham	TX	1903–1990	1954–1969	—	—	Eisenhower	elevation to 5th Cir.
8	Reynaldo Guerra Garza	TX	1915–2004	1961–1979	1974–1979	—	Kennedy	elevation to 5th Cir.
9	James Latane Noel Jr.	TX	1909–1997	1961–1976[Note 1]	—	1976–1997	Kennedy	death
10	John Virgil Singleton Jr.	TX	1918–2015	1966–1988	1979–1988	1988–1992	L. Johnson	retirement
11	Woodrow Bradley Seals	TX	1917–1990	1966–1982	—	1982–1990	L. Johnson	death
12	Carl Olaf Bue Jr.	TX	1922–2020	1970–1987	—	1987–2020	Nixon	death
13	Owen DeVol Cox	TX	1910–1990	1970–1981	—	1981–1990	Nixon	death
14	Robert J. O'Conor Jr.	TX	1934–2023	1975–1984	—	—	Ford	resignation
15	Ross N. Sterling	TX	1931–1988	1976–1988	—	—	Ford	death
16	Finis E. Cowan	TX	1929–2023	1977–1979	—	—	Carter	resignation
17	George Edward Cire	TX	1922–1985	1979–1985	—	—	Carter	death
18	James DeAnda	TX	1925–2006	1979–1992	1988–1992	—	Carter	retirement
19	Norman William Black	TX	1931–1997	1979–1996	1992–1996	1996–1997	Carter	death
20	George P. Kazen	TX	1940–2021	1979–2009	1996–2003	2009–2018	Carter	retirement
21	Gabrielle Kirk McDonald	TX	1942–present	1979–1988	—	—	Carter	resignation
22	Hugh Gibson	TX	1918–1998	1979–1989	—	1989–1998	Carter	death
23	Filemon Bartolome Vela	TX	1935–2004	1980–2000	—	2000–2004	Carter	death
32	Samuel B. Kent	TX	1949–present	1990–2009	—	—	G.H.W. Bush	impeachment and resignation
36	Vanessa Gilmore	TX	1956–present	1994–2022	—	—	Clinton	retirement
37	Nancy Atlas	TX	1949–present	1995–2014	—	2014–2022	Clinton	retirement
47	Gregg Costa	TX	1972–present	2012–2014	—	—	Obama	elevation to 5th Cir.

Chief judges

Chief judges have administrative responsibilities with respect to their district court. Unlike the Supreme Court, where one justice is specifically nominated to be chief, the office of chief judge rotates among the district court judges. To be chief, a judge must have been in active service on the court for at least one year, be under the age of 65, and have not previously served as chief judge.

A vacancy is filled by the judge highest in seniority among the group of qualified judges. The chief judge serves for a term of seven years, or until age 70, whichever occurs first. The age restrictions are waived if no members of the court would otherwise be qualified for the position.

When the office was created in 1948, the chief judge was the longest-serving judge who had not elected to retire, on what has since 1958 been known as senior status, or declined to serve as chief judge. After August 6, 1959, judges could not become or remain chief after turning 70 years old. The current rules have been in operation since October 1, 1982.

Succession of seats

List of U.S. attorneys

• Marcus C. McLemore 1902 – 1906^[13]
• Lodowick McDaniel 1906 – 1914
• John Edward Green Jr. 1914 – 1919
• David Edward Simmons 1919 – 1922
• Henry Matthews Holden 1922 – 1934
• Douglas Wear McGregor 1934 – 1944
• Brian Sylvester Odem 1944 – 1954
• Malcolm Richard Wilkey 1954 – 1957
• William B. Butler 1957 – 1961
• Woodrow Bradley Seals 1961 – 1966
• Morton Lee Susman 1966 – 1969
• Anthony Perez Farris 1969 – 1974
• Edward B. McDonough Jr. 1974 – 1977
• Jose Antonio Canales 1977 – 1980
• Daniel Kuldell Hedges 1981 – 1985
• Henry K. Oncken 1985 – 1990
• Ronald G. Woods 1990 – 1993
• Gaynelle Griffin Jones 1993 – 1997
• Mervyn Milton Mosbacker 1999 – 2001
• Michael T. Shelby 2001 – 2005
• Donald J. DeGabrielle 2006 – 2008
• Kenneth Magidson 2011 – 2017
• Ryan Patrick 2018 – 2021
• Alamdar S. Hamdani 2022 –

See also

• Courts of Texas
• List of current United States district judges
• List of United States federal courthouses in Texas

References

External links

• U.S. District Court for the Southern District of Texas