District Court · Fifth Circuit
U.S. District Court for the Southern District of Texas
The federal trial court. Juries sit here, evidence is heard here, and almost every federal case begins here.
The bench
Who sits on this court?
Judges in active service, when they were confirmed, and who nominated each.
| Judge | Since | Nominated by | Seat |
|---|---|---|---|
| Hayden Wilson Head Jr. Senior | 1981 | Ronald Reagan | TXSD0802 |
| Ricardo H. Hinojosa Senior | 1983 | Ronald Reagan | TXSD0702 |
| Lynn Nettleton Hughes Senior | 1985 | Ronald Reagan | TXSD0303 |
| David Hittner Senior | 1986 | Ronald Reagan | TXSD0902 |
| Kenneth M. Hoyt Senior | 1988 | Ronald Reagan | TXSD0106 |
| Simeon Timothy Lake III Senior | 1988 | Ronald Reagan | TXSD0204 |
| Melinda Harmon Senior | 1989 | George H.W. Bush | TXSD0602 |
| John David Rainey Senior | 1990 | George H.W. Bush | TXSD1202 |
| Ewing Werlein Jr. Senior | 1992 | George H.W. Bush | TXSD1401 |
| Lee Hyman Rosenthal Senior | 1992 | George H.W. Bush | TXSD1501 |
| Janis Graham Jack Senior | 1994 | William J. Clinton | TXSD1601 |
| Hilda G. Tagle Senior | 1998 | William J. Clinton | TXSD1801 |
| Keith P. Ellison | 1999 | William J. Clinton | TXSD1102 |
| Randy Crane | 2002 | George W. Bush | TXSD1901 |
| Andrew S. Hanen Senior | 2002 | George W. Bush | TXSD0404 |
| Micaela Alvarez Senior | 2004 | George W. Bush | TXSD0903 |
| Gray Hampton Miller Senior | 2006 | George W. Bush | TXSD1402 |
| Diana Saldaña | 2011 | Barack Obama | TXSD1302 |
| Nelva Gonzales Ramos | 2011 | Barack Obama | TXSD0803 |
| Marina Garcia Marmolejo | 2011 | Barack Obama | TXSD0505 |
| Alfred Homer Bennett | 2015 | Barack Obama | TXSD0107 |
| George Carol Hanks Jr. | 2015 | Barack Obama | TXSD1003 |
| Jose Rolando Olvera Jr. | 2015 | Barack Obama | TXSD1802 |
| Fernando Rodriguez Jr. | 2018 | Donald J. Trump | TXSD1204 |
| David Steven Morales | 2019 | Donald J. Trump | TXSD1602 |
| Jeffrey Vincent Brown | 2019 | Donald J. Trump | TXSD0603 |
| Charles R. Eskridge III | 2019 | Donald J. Trump | TXSD1403 |
| Drew Barnett Tipton | 2020 | Donald J. Trump | TXSD0205 |
| John Andrew Kazen | 2024 | Joseph R. Biden | TXSD1702 |
| Nicholas Jon Ganjei | 2026 | Donald J. Trump | TXSD0304 |
| John George Edward Marck | 2026 | Donald J. Trump | TXSD0904 |
| Arthur Roberts Jones | 2026 | Donald J. Trump | TXSD0703 |
Source · Federal Judicial Center, Biographical Directory of Article III Federal Judges, 1789–present (public domain)
What seats does this court have?
Each seat on this court, who holds it, and how many judges have held it before.
- Judges seated now
- 32
- Seat numbers on record
- 60
| Seat | Held by | Since | Holders to date |
|---|---|---|---|
| TXSD0106 | Kenneth M. Hoyt | 1988 | 1 |
| TXSD0107 | Alfred Homer Bennett | 2015 | 1 |
| TXSD0204 | Simeon Timothy Lake III | 1988 | 1 |
| TXSD0205 | Drew Barnett Tipton | 2020 | 1 |
| TXSD0303 | Lynn Nettleton Hughes | 1985 | 1 |
| TXSD0304 | Nicholas Jon Ganjei | 2026 | 1 |
| TXSD0404 | Andrew S. Hanen | 2002 | 1 |
| TXSD0505 | Marina Garcia Marmolejo | 2011 | 1 |
| TXSD0602 | Melinda Harmon | 1989 | 1 |
| TXSD0603 | Jeffrey Vincent Brown | 2019 | 1 |
| TXSD0702 | Ricardo H. Hinojosa | 1983 | 1 |
| TXSD0703 | Arthur Roberts Jones | 2026 | 1 |
| TXSD0802 | Hayden Wilson Head Jr. | 1981 | 1 |
| TXSD0803 | Nelva Gonzales Ramos | 2011 | 1 |
| TXSD0902 | David Hittner | 1986 | 1 |
| TXSD0903 | Micaela Alvarez | 2004 | 1 |
| TXSD0904 | John George Edward Marck | 2026 | 1 |
| TXSD1003 | George Carol Hanks Jr. | 2015 | 1 |
| TXSD1102 | Keith P. Ellison | 1999 | 1 |
| TXSD1202 | John David Rainey | 1990 | 1 |
| TXSD1204 | Fernando Rodriguez Jr. | 2018 | 1 |
| TXSD1302 | Diana Saldaña | 2011 | 1 |
| TXSD1401 | Ewing Werlein Jr. | 1992 | 1 |
| TXSD1402 | Gray Hampton Miller | 2006 | 1 |
| TXSD1403 | Charles R. Eskridge III | 2019 | 1 |
| TXSD1501 | Lee Hyman Rosenthal | 1992 | 1 |
| TXSD1601 | Janis Graham Jack | 1994 | 1 |
| TXSD1602 | David Steven Morales | 2019 | 1 |
| TXSD1702 | John Andrew Kazen | 2024 | 1 |
| TXSD1801 | Hilda G. Tagle | 1998 | 1 |
| TXSD1802 | Jose Rolando Olvera Jr. | 2015 | 1 |
| TXSD1901 | Randy Crane | 2002 | 1 |
28 seat numbers with no sitting judge
These are seat numbers in the historical record with nobody currently in them. That usually means the seat was abolished or renumbered, not that it is open today — Congress has changed the size of federal courts many times. Do not read this as a vacancy list.
| Seat | Last held by | Until | Holders |
|---|---|---|---|
| TXSD0101 | Waller Thomas Burns | 1917 | 1 |
| TXSD0102 | Joseph Chappell Hutcheson Jr. | 1931 | 1 |
| TXSD0103 | Thomas Martin Kennerly | 1962 | 1 |
| TXSD0104 | Joe McDonald Ingraham | 1969 | 1 |
| TXSD0105 | Carl Olaf Bue Jr. | 2020 | 1 |
| TXSD0201 | James Allred V. | 1942 | 1 |
| TXSD0202 | Allen Burroughs Hannay | 1983 | 1 |
| TXSD0203 | Ross N. Sterling | 1988 | 1 |
| TXSD0301 | Ben Clarkson Connally | 1975 | 1 |
| TXSD0302 | Robert J. O'Conor Jr. | 1984 | 1 |
| TXSD0401 | James Allred V. | 1959 | 1 |
| TXSD0402 | Reynaldo Guerra Garza | 1979 | 1 |
| TXSD0403 | Filemon Bartolome Vela | 2004 | 1 |
| TXSD0501 | James Latane Noel Jr. | 1997 | 1 |
| TXSD0502 | Finis E. Cowan | 1979 | 1 |
| TXSD0503 | Hugh Gibson | 1998 | 1 |
| TXSD0504 | Samuel B. Kent | 2009 | 1 |
| TXSD0601 | John Virgil Singleton Jr. | 1992 | 1 |
| TXSD0701 | Woodrow Bradley Seals | 1990 | 1 |
| TXSD0801 | Owen DeVol Cox | 1990 | 1 |
| TXSD0901 | George Edward Cire | 1985 | 1 |
| TXSD1001 | James DeAnda | 1992 | 1 |
| TXSD1002 | Nancy Friedman Atlas | 2022 | 1 |
| TXSD1101 | Norman William Black | 1997 | 1 |
| TXSD1201 | Gabrielle Anne Kirk McDonald | 1988 | 1 |
| TXSD1203 | Gregg Jeffrey Costa | 2014 | 1 |
| TXSD1301 | George P. Kazen | 2018 | 1 |
| TXSD1701 | Vanessa D. Gilmore | 2022 | 1 |
This site does not publish a vacancy count. Seat identifiers are not stable across court renamings and reorganisations, so a seat that was vacated and refilled can appear empty when it is not. The Administrative Office of the U.S. Courts publishes the authoritative list of current judicial vacancies: uscourts.gov.
Seats are created by Congress and filled by the President with the Senate's consent. For current vacancies, use the Administrative Office's published list rather than inferring them from this table.
Source · Federal Judicial Center, Biographical Directory of Article III Federal Judges, 1789–present (public domain)
How this bench was built
Who appointed them?
The tally of presidents who placed the sitting judges on this court.
- Republican
- 22
- Democratic
- 10
| President | Judges |
|---|---|
| Donald J. Trump | 8 |
| Barack Obama | 6 |
| Ronald Reagan | 6 |
| George W. Bush | 4 |
| George H.W. Bush | 4 |
| William J. Clinton | 3 |
| Joseph R. Biden | 1 |
The party of the president who appointed a judge is a matter of record. How that judge will rule is not, and this site draws no inference from one to the other.
Source · Federal Judicial Center, Biographical Directory of Article III Federal Judges, 1789–present (public domain)