United States District Court for the Northern District of Texas

United States District Court for the Northern District of Texas (N.D. Tex.)
Location	Dallas, Texas
Appeals to	Fifth Circuit
Established	February 24, 1879
Judges assigned	12
Chief judge	Barbara M. Lynn
Official site

The United States District Court for the Northern District of Texas (in case citations, N.D. Tex.) is a United States district court. Its first judge, Andrew Phelps McCormick, was appointed to the court on April 10, 1879. The court convenes in Dallas, Texas with divisions in Fort Worth, Amarillo, Abilene, Lubbock, San Angelo and Wichita Falls. It has jurisdiction over 100 counties in the northern and central parts of the U.S. state of Texas.

The United States Attorney's Office for the Northern District of Texas represents the United States in civil and criminal litigation in the court. The current United States Attorney is John R. Parker, serving since December 2014^[1]

Appeals from this court are heard by the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit, which includes Louisiana, Mississippi and Texas (except for patent claims and claims against the U.S. government under the Tucker Act, which are appealed to the Federal Circuit).

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 United States District Court for the District of Texas, 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.

In 1879, Texas was further subdivided with the creation of the United States District Court for the Northern District of Texas, using territory taken from both the Eastern and Western districts.^[4]

Current judges

#	Title	Judge	Duty station	Born	Term of service			Appointed by
					Active	Chief	Senior
30	Chief Judge	Barbara M. Lynn	Dallas	1952	1999–present	2016–present	—	Clinton
23	District Judge	Sidney A. Fitzwater	Dallas	1953	1986–present	2007–2014	—	Reagan
25	District Judge	John H. McBryde	Fort Worth	1931	1990–present	—	—	G.H.W. Bush
29	District Judge	Sam A. Lindsay	Dallas	1951	1998–present	—	—	Clinton
31	District Judge	David C. Godbey	Dallas	1957	2002–present	—	—	G.W. Bush
32	District Judge	James E. Kinkeade	Dallas	1951	2002–present	—	—	G.W. Bush
33	District Judge	Jane J. Boyle	Dallas	1954	2004–present	—	—	G.W. Bush
34	District Judge	Reed Charles O'Connor	Fort Worth	1965	2007–present	—	—	G.W. Bush
35	District Judge	vacant	—	—	—	—	—	—
36	District Judge	vacant	—	—	—	—	—	—
37	District Judge	vacant	—	—	—	—	—	—
38	District Judge	vacant	—	—	—	—	—	—
18	Senior Judge	Mary Lou Robinson	Amarillo	1926	1979–2016	—	2016–present	Carter
21	Senior Judge	A. Joe Fish	Dallas	1942	1983–2007	2002–2007	2007–present	Reagan
22	Senior Judge	Robert B. Maloney	inactive	1933	1985–2000	—	2000–present	Reagan
24	Senior Judge	Samuel Ray Cummings	Lubbock	1944	1987–2014	—	2014–present	Reagan
27	Senior Judge	Terry R. Means	Fort Worth	1948	1991–2013	—	2013–present	G.H.W. Bush

Vacancies and pending nominations

Seat	Seat last held by	Vacancy reason	Date of vacancy	Nominee	Date of nomination
8	Terry R. Means	Senior Status	July 3, 2013	Irma Carrillo Ramirez	March 15, 2016
3	Samuel Ray Cummings	Senior Status	December 31, 2014	E. Scott Frost	March 15, 2016
9	Mary Lou Robinson	Senior Status	February 3, 2016	—	—
9	Jorge Antonio Solis	Retired	May 1, 2016[5]	James Wesley Hendrix	March 15, 2016

Former judges

#	Judge	State	Born–died	Active service	Chief Judge	Age at appointment	Senior status	Appointed by	Reason for termination
1	McCormick, Andrew PhelpsAndrew Phelps McCormick	TX	1832–1916	1879–1892	—	{{{age at appointment}}}	—	Hayes, Hayes	reappointment
2	Rector, John B.John B. Rector	TX	1837–1898	1892–1898	—	{{{age at appointment}}}	—	Harrison, B.B. Harrison	death
3	Meek, Edward RoscoeEdward Roscoe Meek	TX	1865–1939	1899[6]–1935	—	{{{age at appointment}}}	1935–1939	McKinley, McKinley	death
4	Wilson, James CliftonJames Clifton Wilson	TX	1874–1951	1919[7]–1951	—	{{{age at appointment}}}	—	Wilson, Wilson	retirement
5	Atwell, William HawleyWilliam Hawley Atwell	TX	1869–1961	1923–1954	1948–1954	{{{age at appointment}}}	1954–1961	Harding, Harding	death
6	Davidson, Thomas WhitfieldThomas Whitfield Davidson	TX	1876–1974	1936–1965	1954–1959	{{{age at appointment}}}	1965–1974	Roosevelt, F.F. Roosevelt	death
7	Dooley, Joseph BrannonJoseph Brannon Dooley	TX	1889–1967	1947–1966	1959	{{{age at appointment}}}	1966–1967	Truman, Truman	death
8	Estes, Joe EwingJoe Ewing Estes	TX	1903–1989	1955–1972	1959–1972	{{{age at appointment}}}	1972–1989	Eisenhower, Eisenhower	death
9	Brewster, LeoLeo Brewster	TX	1903–1979	1961[8]–1973	1972–1973	{{{age at appointment}}}	1973–1979	Kennedy, Kennedy	death
10	Hughes, Sarah T.Sarah T. Hughes	TX	1896–1985	1961[9]–1975	—	{{{age at appointment}}}	1975–1985	Kennedy, Kennedy	death
11	Taylor, Jr., William McLaughlinWilliam McLaughlin Taylor, Jr.	TX	1909–1985	1966–1979	1973–1977	{{{age at appointment}}}	1979–1985	Johnson, L.L. Johnson	death
12	Woodward, Halbert OwenHalbert Owen Woodward	TX	1918–2000	1968–1986	1977–1986	{{{age at appointment}}}	1986–2000	Johnson, L.L. Johnson	death
13	Hill, Robert MaddenRobert Madden Hill	TX	1928–1987	1970–1984	—	{{{age at appointment}}}	—	Nixon, Nixon	reappointment
14	Mahon, Eldon BrooksEldon Brooks Mahon	TX	1918–2005	1972–1989	—	{{{age at appointment}}}	1989–2005	Nixon, Nixon	death
15	Porter, Robert WilliamRobert William Porter	TX	1926–1991	1974–1990	1986–1989	{{{age at appointment}}}	1990–1991	Nixon, Nixon	death
16	Higginbotham, PatrickPatrick Higginbotham	TX	1938–present	1975–1982	—	{{{age at appointment}}}	—	Ford, Ford	reappointment
17	Belew Jr., David OwenDavid Owen Belew Jr.	TX	1920–2001	1979–1990	—	{{{age at appointment}}}	1990–2001	Carter, Carter	death
19	Sanders, Jr., Harold BarefootHarold Barefoot Sanders, Jr.	TX	1925–2008	1979–1996	1989–1995	{{{age at appointment}}}	1996–2008	Carter, Carter	death
20	Buchmeyer, JerryJerry Buchmeyer	TX	1933–2009	1979–2003	1995–2001	{{{age at appointment}}}	2003–2009	Carter, Carter	death
26	Solis, Jorge AntonioJorge Antonio Solis	TX	1951–present	1991–2016	2014–2016	{{{age at appointment}}}	—	G.H.W. Bush, G.H.W. Bush	retirement
28	Kendall, Elton JoeElton Joe Kendall	TX	1954–present	1992–2002	—	{{{age at appointment}}}	—	Bush, G.H.W.G.H.W. Bush	retirement

Succession of seats

Seat 1 Seat established on February 24, 1879 by 20 Stat. 318 McCormick 1879–1892 Rector 1892–1898 Seat abolished on April 9, 1898 pursuant to 30 Stat. 240

Seat 2 Seat established on February 9, 1898 by 30 Stat. 240 Meek 1899–1935 Davidson 1936–1965 Taylor, Jr. 1966–1979 Buchmeyer 1979–2003 Boyle 2004–present

Seat 3 Seat established on February 26, 1919 by 40 Stat. 1183 Wilson 1919–1947 Dooley 1947–1966 Woodward 1968–1986 Cummings 1987–2014 vacant 2014–present

Seat 4 Seat established on September 14, 1922 by 42 Stat. 837 (temporary) Seat made permanent on August 19, 1935 by 49 Stat. 659 Atwell 1923–1954 Estes 1955–1972 Mahon 1972–1989 McBryde 1990–present

Seat 5 Seat established on May 19, 1961 by 75 Stat. 80 Brewster 1961–1973 Porter 1974–1990 Solis 1991–2016 vacant 2016–present

Seat 6 Seat established on May 19, 1961 by 75 Stat. 80 Hughes 1962–1975 Higginbotham 1975–1982 Fish 1983–2007 O'Connor 2007–present

Seat 7 Seat established on June 2, 1970 by 84 Stat. 294 Hill 1970–1984 Fitzwater 1986–present

Seat 8 Seat established on October 20, 1978 by 92 Stat. 1629 Belew, Jr. 1979–1990 Means 1991–2013 vacant 2013–present

Seat 9 Seat established on October 20, 1978 by 92 Stat. 1629 Robinson 1979–2016 vacant 2016–present

Seat 10 Seat established on October 20, 1978 by 92 Stat. 1629 Sanders, Jr. 1979–1996 Lynn 1999–present

Seat 11 Seat established on July 10, 1984 by 98 Stat. 333 Maloney 1985–2000 Godbey 2002–present

Seat 12 Seat established on December 1, 1990 by 104 Stat. 5089 Kendall 1992–2002 Kinkeade 2002–present

Seat 13 Seat established on December 1, 1990 by 104 Stat. 5089 Lindsay 1998–present

See also

• Courts of Texas
• List of United States federal courthouses in Texas

Notes

1. "Office of the United States Attorneys". Executive Office for United States Attorneys. United States Department of Justice.
2. U.S. Department of Justice: 2002 Centennial Report, pgs. 1, 10
3. Southern District of Texas: History of the District
4. U.S. District Courts of Texas, Legislative history, Federal Judicial Center.
5. Future Judicial Vacancies. United States Courts
6. Recess appointment; formally nominated on December 13, 1898, confirmed by the United States Senate on February 15, 1899, and received commission on February 15, 1899.
7. Recess appointment; formally nominated on May 23, 1919, confirmed by the United States Senate on June 24, 1919, and received commission on June 24, 1919.
8. 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.
9. 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.

External links

• Official site