Federal Courts in Texas

Texas is divided into four federal judicial districts, each of which is comprised of several divisions. Appeal from all Texas federal courts is to the U.S. Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals in New Orleans. Updated 2 years ago
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Map showing which counties belong to each federal judicial district

Federal Judicial Districts

Texas' counties are divided into four U.S. district courts, each with several internal divisions.

Texas is divided into four federal judicial districts, each of which is comprised of several divisions. Appeal from all Texas federal courts is to the U.S. Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals in New Orleans. The personnel below are current as of August 15, 2021.

U.S. Court of Appeals, Fifth Circuit

The Fifth Circuit is composed of Louisiana, Mississippi, and Texas. Sessions are held in each of the states at least once a year and may be scheduled at any location having adequate facilities. U.S. circuit judges are appointed for life and received a salary of $231,800 in 2021.

Circuit Judges

  • Chief Judge, Priscilla R. Owen, Austin.
  • Catharina Haynes, James C. Ho, and Don R. Willett, Dallas.
  • Edith H. Jones, Gregg J. Costa, Jennifer Walker Elrod, and Jerry E. Smith, Houston.
  • James E. Graves Jr., Leslie H. Southwick, and Cory Todd Wilson, Jackson, Miss.
  • Stuart Kyle Duncan, Lafayette, La.
  • James L. Dennis, Kurt Damian Engelhardt, and Stephen A. Higginson, New Orleans, La.
  • Andrew Stephen Oldham, San Antonio.
  • Carl E. Stewart, Shreveport, La.

Senior Judges: Fortunato P. Benavides and Patrick E. Higginbotham, Austin; Carolyn Dineen King, Houston; Rhesa H. Barksdale and E. Grady Jolly, Jackson, Miss.; John M. Duhé Jr., Jacques L. Wiener Jr., W. Eugene Davis, and Edith Brown Clement, New Orleans, La.

Clerk of Court: Lyle W. Cayce, New Orleans, La.

U.S. District Courts

U.S. district judges are appointed for life and received a salary in 2021 of $218,600.

Northern Texas District

www.txnd.uscourts.gov

District Judges

  • Chief Judge, Barbara M.G. Lynn, Dallas.
  • Matthew J. Kacsmaryk, Amarillo.
  • Jane J. Boyle, Ada Brown, David C. Godbey, Ed Kinkeade, Sam A. Lindsay, Reed O’Connor, Karen Gren Scholer, and Brantley Starr, Dallas.
  • Mark T. Pittman, Fort Worth.
  • James Wesley Hendrix, Lubbock.

Senior Judges: A. Joe Fish and Sidney A. Fitzwater, Dallas; John H. McBryde and Terry R. Means, Fort Worth; Sam R. Cummings, Lubbock.

Clerk of District Court: Karen Sublett Mitchell, Dallas.

U.S. Attorney: Prerak Shah.

Federal Public Defender: Jason Hawkins.

U.S. Marshal: (vacant).

Bankruptcy Judges: Chief Judge, Harlin D. Hale, Dallas. Judges, Stacey G.C. Jernigan and Michelle V. Larson, Dallas; Edward L. Morris and Mark X. Mullin, Fort Worth; Robert L. Jones, Lubbock.

Following are the divisions of the Northern District and the counties in each division:

Abilene Division

Callahan, Eastland, Fisher, Haskell, Howard, Jones, Mitchell, Nolan, Shackelford, Stephens, Stonewall, Taylor, and Throckmorton. Magistrate Judge: John R. Parker, Abilene. Courtroom Deputy: Jennifer Chittum.

Amarillo Division

Armstrong, Briscoe, Carson, Castro, Childress, Collingsworth, Dallam, Deaf Smith, Donley, Gray, Hall, Hansford, Hartley, Hemphill, Hutchinson, Lipscomb, Moore, Ochiltree, Oldham, Parmer, Potter, Randall, Roberts, Sherman, Swisher, and Wheeler. Magistrate Judge: Lee Ann Reno, Amarillo. Deputy-in-charge: Christopher Kordes.

Dallas Division

Dallas, Ellis, Hunt, Johnson, Kaufman, Navarro, and Rockwall. Magistrate Judges: David L. Horan, Irma Carrillo Ramirez, Rebecca Rutherford, and Renee H. Toliver, Dallas. Courtroom Deputies: Marie Gonzales, Lavenia Price, Shakira Todd, and Mervin Wright.

Fort Worth Division

Comanche, Erath, Hood, Jack, Palo Pinto, Parker, Tarrant, and Wise. Magistrate Judges: Jeffrey L. Cureton and Hal R. Ray Jr., Fort Worth. Courtroom Deputies: Julie Harwell and Elsherie Moore.

Lubbock Division

Bailey, Borden, Cochran, Crosby, Dawson, Dickens, Floyd, Gaines, Garza, Hale, Hockley, Kent, Lamb, Lubbock, Lynn, Motley, Scurry, Terry, and Yoakum. Magistrate Judge: D. Gordon Bryant Jr., Lubbock. Courtroom Deputy: Zelma Medrano.

San Angelo Division

Brown, Coke, Coleman, Concho, Crockett, Glasscock, Irion, Menard, Mills, Reagan, Runnels, Schleicher, Sterling, Sutton, and Tom Green. Division Manager: Erik Paltrow.

Wichita Falls Division

Archer, Baylor, Clay, Cottle, Foard, Hardeman, King, Knox, Montague, Wichita, Wilbarger, and Young. Magistrate Judge: Hal R. Ray Jr., Wichita Falls.

Western Texas District

www.txwd.uscourts.gov

District Judges

  • Chief Judge, Orlando L. Garcia, San Antonio.
  • Robert Pitman and Lee Yeakel, Austin.
  • Alia Moses, Del Rio. Kathleen Cardone, David C. Guaderrama, and Frank Montalvo, El Paso.
  • David Counts, Midland.
  • Fred Biery, Jason Pulliam, and Xavier Rodriguez, San Antonio.
  • Alan Albright, Waco.

Senior Judges: James R. Nowlin and Sam Sparks, Austin; David Briones, El Paso; Robert A. Junell, Midland and Pecos; David A. Ezra, San Antonio.

Clerk of District Court: Jeannette Clack, San Antonio.

U.S. Attorney: Ashley Hoff.

Federal Public Defender: Maureen Scott Franco.

U.S. Marshal: Susan L. Pamerleau.

Bankruptcy Judges: Chief Judge, Ronald B. King. Judges, H. Christopher Mott and Tony M. Davis, Austin; Craig A. Gargotta, San Antonio.

Following are the divisions of the Western District, and the counties in each division.

Austin Division

Bastrop, Blanco, Burleson, Burnet, Caldwell, Gillespie, Hays, Kimble, Lampasas, Lee, Llano, Mason, McCulloch, San Saba, Travis, Washington, and Williamson. Magistrate Judges: Andrew W. Austin, Susan Hightower, and Mark Lane, Austin. Courtroom Deputies: Ka Kin “Zing” Cheng, Amanda Deichert, and James Ferrell.

Del Rio Division Edwards, Kinney, Maverick, Terrell, Uvalde, Val Verde, and Zavala. Magistrate Judges: Victor Roberto Garcia and Collis White, Del Rio. Courtroom Deputies: Mary Cienega and Carmen Levrie.

El Paso Division El Paso, Hudspeth. Magistrate Judges: Anne T. Berton, Robert F. Castañeda, Leon Schydlower, and Miguel A. Torres, El Paso. Courtroom Deputies: Veronica Medina, Veronica Montoya, Cecie Rodriguez, and Rita Velez.

Fort Hood Division

Fort Hood Military Reservation. Courtroom Deputy: Michelle Ortiz.

Midland-Odessa Division

Andrews, Crane, Ector, Martin, Midland, and Upton. Court for the Midland-Odessa Division is held at Midland, but may, at the discretion of the court, be held in Odessa. Magistrate Judge: Ronald C. Griffin, Midland. Courtroom Deputy: Monica Ramirez.

Pecos Division

Brewster, Culberson, Jeff Davis, Loving, Pecos, Presidio, Reeves, Ward, and Winkler. Magistrate Judge: David B. Fannin, Alpine. Courtroom Deputy: Yvette Lujan.

San Antonio Division

Atascosa, Bandera, Bexar, Comal, Dimmit, Frio, Gonzales, Guadalupe, Karnes, Kendall, Kerr, Medina, Real, and Wilson. Magistrate Judges: Henry J. Bemporad, Elizabeth S. “Betsy” Chestney, and Richard B. Farrer, San Antonio. Courtroom Deputies: Amy Jackson, Valeria Sandoval, and Crystal Sosa.

Waco Division

Bell, Bosque, Coryell, Falls, Freestone, Hamilton, Hill, Leon, Limestone, McLennan, Milam, Robertson, and Somervell. Magistrate Judge: Jeffrey C. Manske, Waco. Courtroom Deputy: Jennifer Galindo-Beaver.

Eastern Texas District

www.txed.uscourts.gov

District Judges

  • Chief Judge, Rodney Gilstrap, Marshall.
  • Ron Clark, Marcia A. Crone, Thad Heartfield, and Michael J. Truncale, Beaumont.
  • Sean D. Jordan and Richard Schell, Plano.
  • Amos L. Mazzant III, Sherman.
  • Robert W. Schroeder III, Texarkana.
  • J. Campbell Barker and Jeremy D. Kernodle, Tyler.

Clerk of District Court: David A. O’Toole. U.S. Attorney: Nicholas J. Ganjei.

Federal Public Defender: John D. McElroy. U.S. Marshal: John M. Garrison.

Bankruptcy Judges: Chief Judge, Brenda T. Rhoades, Plano; Joshua Searcy, Tyler.

Following are the divisions of the Eastern District and the counties in each division:

Beaumont Division

Hardin, Jasper, Jefferson, Liberty, Newton, and Orange. Magistrate Judges: Keith F. Giblin and Zach Hawthorn, Beaumont. Courtroom Deputies: Tonya Piper and Sherre White.

Lufkin Division

Angelina, Houston, Nacogdoches, Polk, Sabine, San Augustine, Shelby, Trinity, and Tyler. Deputy-in-charge: Brandy Fairley.

Marshall Division

Camp, Cass, Harrison, Marion, Morris, and Upshur. Magistrate Judge: Roy Payne, Marshall. Courtroom Deputy: Becky Andrews.

Sherman Division

Collin, Cooke, Delta, Denton, Fannin, Grayson, Hopkins, and Lamar. Magistrate Judges: Christine A. Nowak, Sherman, and Kimberly C. Priest Johnson, Plano. Courtroom Deputies: Jane Amerson and Karen Lee.

Texarkana Division

Bowie, Franklin, Red River, and Titus. Magistrate Judge: Caroline M. Craven, Texarkana. Courtroom Deputy: Hailey Amox.

Tyler Division

Anderson, Cherokee, Gregg, Henderson, Panola, Rains, Rusk, Smith, Van Zandt, and Wood. Magistrate Judges: John D. Love and K. Nicole Mitchell, Tyler. Courtroom Deputies: Sharon Baum and Lisa Hardwick.

Southern Texas District

www.txs.uscourts.gov

District Judges

  • Chief Judge, Lee H. Rosenthal, Houston. Rolando Olvera and Fernando Rodriguez Jr., Brownsville.
  • David S. Morales, Nelva Gonzales Ramos, and Drew B. Tipton, Corpus Christi.
  • Jeffrey V. Brown, Galveston.
  • Alfred H. Bennett, Keith P. Ellison, Charles Eskridge, Vanessa D. Gilmore, Andrew S. Hanen, George C. Hanks Jr., and Lynn N. Hughes, Houston.
  • Marina Garcia Marmolejo and Diana Saldaña, Laredo.
  • Micaela Alvarez, Randy Crane, and Ricardo H. Hinojosa, McAllen.

Senior Judges: Janis Graham Jack, Corpus Christi; David Hittner, Kenneth M. Hoyt, Sim Lake, Gray H. Miller, Hilda G. Tagle, and Ewing Werlein Jr., Houston; John D. Rainey, Victoria.

Clerk of Court: Nathan Ochsner, Houston.

U.S. Attorney: Jennifer Lowery, Houston.

Federal Public Defender: Marjorie A. Meyers.

U.S. Marshal: T. Michael O’Connor.

Bankruptcy Judges: Chief Judge, David Jones, Houston; Judges, Marvin Isgur, Christopher M. Lopez, and Jeffrey P. Norman, Houston; Eduardo V. Rodriguez, McAllen.

Following are the divisions of the Southern District and the counties in each division:

Brownsville Division

Cameron and Willacy. Magistrate Judges: Ronald G. Morgan and Ignacio Torteya III, Brownsville. Deputy-in-charge: Rosy D’Venturi.

Corpus Christi Division

Aransas, Bee, Brooks, Duval, Jim Wells, Kenedy, Kleberg, Live Oak, Nueces, and San Patricio. Magistrate Judges: Julie K. Hampton and Jason B. Libby, Corpus Christi. Deputy-in-charge: Jared Marks.

Galveston Division

Brazoria, Chambers, Galveston, and Matagorda. Magistrate Judge: Andrew M. Edison, Galveston. Deputy-in-charge: Lucia Smith.

Houston Division

Austin, Brazos, Colorado, Fayette, Fort Bend, Grimes, Harris, Madison, Montgomery, San Jacinto, Walker, Waller, and Wharton. Magistrate Judges: Peter Bray, Christina A. Bryan, Dena Hanovice Palermo, Sam S. Sheldon, and Frances H. Stacy, Houston. Deputy-in-charge: Darlene Hansen.

Laredo Division

Jim Hogg, La Salle, McMullen, Webb, and Zapata. Magistrate Judges: Christopher A. dos Santos, John A. Kazen, and Diana Song Quiroga, Laredo. Deputy-in-charge: Aimee Veliz.

McAllen Division

Hidalgo and Starr. Magistrate Judges: Juan F. Alanis, J. Scott Hacker, and Nadia S. Medrano, McAllen. Deputy-in-charge: Velma T. Barrera.

Victoria Division

Calhoun, DeWitt, Goliad, Jackson, Lavaca, Refugio, and Victoria. Deputy-in-charge: Lana Tesch.

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