United States District Court for the Southern District of Texas

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. 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.

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.

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. 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. 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.{{cite news |access-date = 2009-07-22 |archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20090712042809/http://www.chron.com/disp/story.mpl/breaking/6521675.html |archive-date = 2009-07-12 |url-status = live

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.

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.

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

:

Vacancies and pending nominations

Former judges

Chief judges

Succession of seats

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List of U.S. attorneys

Main article: United States Attorney for the Southern District of Texas

• Marcus C. McLemore 1902–1906
• 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 2022–2025

References

References

1. (March 2021). "Southern District of Texas | Meet the U.S. Attorney | United States Department of Justice".
2. Jock Pan. (May 20, 2010). "Federal Government of the United States".
3. "Southeast Archeological Center (U.S. National Park Service)".
4. "U.S. Department of Justice: 2002 Centennial Report, pgs. 1, 10".
5. "Southern District of Texas: History of the District".
6. (July 2025)
7. "Galveston Historical Foundation: More About the Custom House".
8. Paschenko, Chris. (2012-04-27). "Senate confirms Costa for isle federal judgeship". [[Galveston County Daily News]].
9. [https://www.txs.uscourts.gov/file/618/download?token=YTKL3-Dd http://www.txs.uscourts.gov/district/genord/2007/2007-17.pdf] Southern District of Texas General Order 2007–17: In Re: Relocation of Judge Sam Kent's Staff
10. Flood, Marry. (2009-02-23). "Judge Kent pleads guilty, quits to avoid 'embarrassing' trial".
11. (April 30, 2015). "Laredo". [[United States Department of Justice]].
12. (April 30, 2015). "Former Leaders".