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United States District Court for the Southern District of Texas

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 southern part of Texas. The court's headquarters is in Houston, Texas and has six additional offices 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).

Contents

History

The oldest federal civil building in Texas, the 1861 Customs and Courthouse in Galveston, once housed the Southern District of Texas. Federal Courthouse in Galveston that housed the court & its predecessor, from 1891-1917[1]

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.[2] On February 21, 1857, the state was divided into two districts, Eastern and Western, with Judge Watrous continuing in the Eastern district.[3] 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.[3][4][5]

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

The U.S. federal building in Galveston, current home of the 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. Due to the litigation, Chief Judge Hayden Head transferred Kent and his staff to the Houston Division.[6]

Judge Kent subsequently pled guilty, in February 2009, to obstruction of justice and, after being impeached by the House of Representatives, resigned in June 2009. As a result, all cases in the Galveston Division are heard in Houston by Houston Division judges, until such time as a new judge is appointed to the Galveston Division.[7][8]. In July 2009, it was announced that former Judge Kent's vacant seat would be moved from Galveston to McAllen due to the increase in cases in the Texas border area concerning subjects such as drugs and immigration.[9]

Jurisdiction

Bob Casey Federal Courthouse in Downtown Houston

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

Judges

Judge Appointed by Began active service Ended active service Ended senior status End reason
James Allred Franklin D. Roosevelt 01939-02-23 February 23, 1939 01942-05-15 May 15, 1942 • resignation
James Allred Harry S. Truman 01949-10-13 October 13, 1949 01959-09-24 September 24, 1959 • death
Micaela Alvarez George W. Bush 02004-12-13 December 13, 2004 Incumbent • •
Nancy Friedman Atlas Bill Clinton 01995-06-30 June 30, 1995 Incumbent • •
Norman William Black Jimmy Carter 01979-05-11 May 11, 1979 01996-12-06 December 6, 1996 01997-07-23 July 23, 1997 death
Carl Olaf Bue Jr. Richard Nixon 01970-10-15 October 15, 1970 01987-09-02 September 2, 1987 Incumbent •
Waller Thomas Burns Theodore Roosevelt 01902-04-22 April 22, 1902 01917-11-17 November 17, 1917 • death
George Edward Cire Jimmy Carter 01979-05-11 May 11, 1979 01985-05-05 May 5, 1985 • death
Ben Clarkson Connally Harry S. Truman 01949-10-13 October 13, 1949 01974-12-28 December 28, 1974 01975-12-02 December 2, 1975 death
Finis E. Cowan Jimmy Carter 01977-06-14 June 14, 1977 01979-06-30 June 30, 1979 • resignation
Owen DeVol Cox Richard Nixon 01970-12-01 December 1, 1970 01981-03-20 March 20, 1981 01990-07-21 July 21, 1990 death
Randy Crane George W. Bush 02002-03-19 March 19, 2002 Incumbent • •
James DeAnda Jimmy Carter 01979-05-11 May 11, 1979 01992-10-01 October 1, 1992 • retirement
Keith P. Ellison Bill Clinton 01999-07-07 July 7, 1999 Incumbent • •
Reynaldo Guerra Garza John F. Kennedy 01961-04-14 April 14, 1961 01979-08-01 August 1, 1979 • reappointment
Hugh Gibson Jimmy Carter 01979-10-05 October 5, 1979 01989-11-01 November 1, 1989 01998-06-18 June 18, 1998 death
Vanessa Gilmore Bill Clinton 01994-06-09 June 9, 1994 Incumbent • •
Andrew S. Hanen George W. Bush 02002-05-10 May 10, 2002 Incumbent • •
Allen Burroughs Hannay Franklin D. Roosevelt 01942-08-12 August 12, 1942 01975-08-06 August 6, 1975 01983-10-22 October 22, 1983 death
Melinda Harmon George H. W. Bush 01989-05-22 May 22, 1989 Incumbent • •
Hayden Wilson Head, Jr. Ronald Reagan 01981-10-26 October 26, 1981 02009-11-12 November 12, 2009 Incumbent •
Ricardo Hinojosa Ronald Reagan 01983-05-05 May 5, 1983 Incumbent • •
David Hittner Ronald Reagan 01986-06-09 June 9, 1986 02004-11-11 November 11, 2004 Incumbent •
Kenneth M. Hoyt Ronald Reagan 01988-04-01 April 1, 1988 Incumbent • •
Lynn Nettleton Hughes Ronald Reagan 01985-12-17 December 17, 1985 Incumbent • •
Joseph Chappell Hutcheson, Jr. Woodrow Wilson 01918-04-06 April 6, 1918 01931-01-26 January 26, 1931 • reappointment
Joe McDonald Ingraham Dwight D. Eisenhower 01954-08-06 August 6, 1954 01969-12-31 December 31, 1969 • reappointment
Janis Graham Jack Bill Clinton 01994-03-11 March 11, 1994 Incumbent • •
George P. Kazen Jimmy Carter 01979-05-11 May 11, 1979 02009-05-06 May 6, 2009 Incumbent •
Thomas Martin Kennerly Herbert Hoover 01931-02-07 February 7, 1931 01954-08-29 August 29, 1954 01962-07-29 July 29, 1962 death
Samuel B. Kent George H. W. Bush 01990-10-01 October 1, 1990 02009-02-23 February 23, 2009 • resigned effective June 30, 2009 after being impeached
Sim Lake Ronald Reagan 01988-08-12 August 12, 1988 Incumbent • •
Gabrielle Kirk McDonald Jimmy Carter 01979-05-11 May 11, 1979 01988-08-14 August 14, 1988 • resignation
Gray Hampton Miller George W. Bush 02006-04-25 April 25, 2006 Incumbent • •
James Latane Noel, Jr. John F. Kennedy 01961-10-05 October 5, 1961[10] 01976-12-15 December 15, 1976 01997-08-29 August 29, 1997 death
Robert J. O'Conor, Jr. Gerald Ford 01975-04-25 April 25, 1975 01984-09-30 September 30, 1984 • resignation
John David Rainey George H. W. Bush 01990-05-14 May 14, 1990 Incumbent • •
Lee Hyman Rosenthal George H. W. Bush 01992-05-13 May 13, 1992 Incumbent • •
Woodrow Bradley Seals Lyndon B. Johnson 01966-07-23 July 23, 1966 01982-12-25 December 25, 1982 01990-10-27 October 27, 1990 death
John Virgil Singleton, Jr. Lyndon B. Johnson 01966-07-22 July 22, 1966 01988-04-01 April 1, 1988 01992-06-01 June 1, 1992 retirement
Ross N. Sterling Gerald Ford 01976-05-07 May 7, 1976 01988-01-14 January 14, 1988 • death
Hilda G. Tagle Bill Clinton 01998-03-17 March 17, 1998 Incumbent • •
Filemon Bartolome Vela Jimmy Carter 01980-06-18 June 18, 1980 02000-05-01 May 1, 2000 02004-04-13 April 13, 2004 death
Ewing Werlein, Jr. George H. W. Bush 01992-04-13 April 13, 1992 02006-01-01 January 1, 2006 Incumbent •

Magistrate Judges

Magistrate Judge John R. Froeschner of the Galveston Division

Notes

  1. ^ National Park Service Archaeological Field Inspection
  2. ^ U.S. Department of Justice: 2002 Centennial Report, pgs. 1, 10
  3. ^ a b Southern District of Texas: History of the District
  4. ^ General Services Administration: U.S. Custom House, Galveston, Texas
  5. ^ Galveston Historical Foundation: More About the Custom House
  6. ^ http://www.txs.uscourts.gov/district/genord/2007/2007-17.pdf Southern District of Texas General Order 2007-17
  7. ^ http://www.txsd.uscourts.gov/addresses/gal.pdf Galveston Division Contact Information
  8. ^ Flood, Marry (2009-02-23). "Judge Kent accepts plea deal and retires from bench". http://www.chron.com/disp/story.mpl/front/6276260.html. Retrieved 2009-02-23.
  9. ^ Rice, Harvey (2009-07-09). "Kent's judgeship in Galveston moving to McAllen". Houston Chronicle. http://www.chron.com/disp/story.mpl/breaking/6521675.html. Retrieved 2009-07-22. "The Galveston federal courthouse where disgraced former U.S. District Judge Samuel Kent presided for 18 years will remain vacant and his replacement moved to McAllen, the chief judge of the Southern District said Thursday. [...] The decision to move the post from Galveston to McAllen was made because few cases are heard in Galveston while immigration and drug cases are swamping judges in courts near the border, Chief Judge Hayden Head said." (Archived by WebCite at http://www.webcitation.org/5iS6Y7PYp)
  10. ^ 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.

See also

External links

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Categories: United States district courts | Texas law | Houston, Texas | Brownsville, Texas | Corpus Christi, Texas | Galveston, Texas | Laredo, Texas | McAllen, Texas | Victoria, Texas

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