United States District Court for the Southern District of Texas

The United States District Court for the Southern District of Texas is the Federal district court with jurisdiction over the southern part of Texas and is a part of the Fifth Circuit. The court's headquarters is in Houston, Texas and has six additional offices in the district.

* 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.

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, to hold court in Galveston, with jurisdiction over the whole state. Judge Watrous had been Attorney General of the Republic of Texas. On February 21, 1857, the state was divided into two districts, Eastern and Western, with Judge Watrous continuing in the Eastern district. 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.

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

Judges

The District Judges (active and senior) sitting as of September 2008 are:

*Hayden Head (Chief Judge)
*George P. Kazen
*Ricardo H. Hinojosa
*Lynn N. Hughes
*David Hittner
*Kenneth M. Hoyt
*Sim Lake
*Melinda Harmon
*John D. Rainey
*Samuel B. Kent
*Ewing Werlein, Jr.
*Lee H. Rosenthal
*Janis Graham Jack
*Vanessa Gilmore
*Nancy F. Atlas
*Hilda G. Tagle
*Keith P. Ellison
*Randy Crane
*Andrew S. Hanen
*Micaela Alvarez
*Gray H. Miller

External links

* [http://www.txs.uscourts.gov/ U.S. District Court for the Southern District of Texas]