District Court · Fifth Circuit
U.S. District Court for the Western 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 |
|---|---|---|---|
| James Robertson Nowlin Senior | 1981 | Ronald Reagan | TXWD0206 |
| Samuel Frederick Biery Jr. | 1994 | William J. Clinton | TXWD1001 |
| Orlando Luis Garcia | 1994 | William J. Clinton | TXWD0404 |
| David Briones Senior | 1994 | William J. Clinton | TXWD0503 |
| Alia Moses | 2002 | George W. Bush | TXWD0303 |
| Kathleen Cardone | 2003 | George W. Bush | TXWD1201 |
| Frank Montalvo Senior | 2003 | George W. Bush | TXWD1301 |
| Xavier Rodriguez | 2003 | George W. Bush | TXWD0111 |
| David Campos Guaderrama Senior | 2012 | Barack Obama | TXWD0504 |
| Robert Lee Pitman | 2014 | Barack Obama | TXWD0902 |
| Walter David Counts III | 2018 | Donald J. Trump | TXWD0603 |
| Jason Kenneth Pulliam | 2019 | Donald J. Trump | TXWD0802 |
| Ernest Gonzalez | 2024 | Joseph R. Biden | TXWD1102 |
| Leon Schydlower | 2024 | Joseph R. Biden | TXWD1302 |
| Christopher Robert Wolfe | 2026 | Donald J. Trump | TXWD0505 |
| Andrew Bray Davis | 2026 | Donald J. Trump | TXWD0208 |
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
- 16
- Seat numbers on record
- 46
| Seat | Held by | Since | Holders to date |
|---|---|---|---|
| TXWD0111 | Xavier Rodriguez | 2003 | 1 |
| TXWD0206 | James Robertson Nowlin | 1981 | 1 |
| TXWD0208 | Andrew Bray Davis | 2026 | 1 |
| TXWD0303 | Alia Moses | 2002 | 1 |
| TXWD0404 | Orlando Luis Garcia | 1994 | 1 |
| TXWD0503 | David Briones | 1994 | 1 |
| TXWD0504 | David Campos Guaderrama | 2012 | 1 |
| TXWD0505 | Christopher Robert Wolfe | 2026 | 1 |
| TXWD0603 | Walter David Counts III | 2018 | 1 |
| TXWD0802 | Jason Kenneth Pulliam | 2019 | 1 |
| TXWD0902 | Robert Lee Pitman | 2014 | 1 |
| TXWD1001 | Samuel Frederick Biery Jr. | 1994 | 1 |
| TXWD1102 | Ernest Gonzalez | 2024 | 1 |
| TXWD1201 | Kathleen Cardone | 2003 | 1 |
| TXWD1301 | Frank Montalvo | 2003 | 1 |
| TXWD1302 | Leon Schydlower | 2024 | 1 |
30 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 |
|---|---|---|---|
| TXWD0101 | Thomas Howard DuVal | 1880 | 1 |
| TXWD0102 | Ezekiel B. Turner | 1888 | 1 |
| TXWD0103 | Thomas Shelton Maxey | 1916 | 1 |
| TXWD0104 | DuVal West | 1949 | 1 |
| TXWD0105 | Robert Johnston McMillan | 1941 | 1 |
| TXWD0106 | Walter Angus Keeling | 1945 | 1 |
| TXWD0107 | Ben Herbert Rice Jr. | 1964 | 1 |
| TXWD0108 | Dorwin Wallace Suttle | 2001 | 1 |
| TXWD0109 | Clyde Frederick Shannon Jr. | 1984 | 1 |
| TXWD0110 | Edward Charles Prado | 2003 | 1 |
| TXWD0201 | William Robert Smith Sr. | 1924 | 1 |
| TXWD0202 | Charles Albert Boynton | 1954 | 1 |
| TXWD0203 | Robert Ewing Thomason | 1973 | 1 |
| TXWD0204 | William Homer Thornberry | 1965 | 1 |
| TXWD0205 | Jack Roberts | 1988 | 1 |
| TXWD0207 | Earl Leroy Yeakel III | 2023 | 1 |
| TXWD0301 | Adrian Anthony Spears | 1982 | 1 |
| TXWD0302 | Harry Lee Hudspeth | 2016 | 1 |
| TXWD0401 | Ernest Allen Guinn | 1974 | 1 |
| TXWD0402 | William Steele Sessions | 1987 | 1 |
| TXWD0403 | Emilio M. Garza | 1991 | 1 |
| TXWD0501 | John Howland Wood Jr. | 1979 | 1 |
| TXWD0502 | Lucius Desha Bunton III | 2001 | 1 |
| TXWD0601 | Hipolito Frank Garcia | 2002 | 1 |
| TXWD0602 | Robert A. Junell | 2025 | 1 |
| TXWD0701 | Walter Scott Smith Jr. | 2016 | 1 |
| TXWD0702 | Alan D Albright | 2026 | 1 |
| TXWD0801 | Sam Sparks | 2025 | 1 |
| TXWD0901 | William Royal Furgeson Jr. | 2013 | 1 |
| TXWD1101 | Philip Ray Martinez | 2021 | 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
- 9
- Democratic
- 7
| President | Judges |
|---|---|
| George W. Bush | 4 |
| Donald J. Trump | 4 |
| William J. Clinton | 3 |
| Joseph R. Biden | 2 |
| Barack Obama | 2 |
| Ronald Reagan | 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)