Enrique Moreno (December 28, 1955 – October 10, 2019) was a Mexican-American attorney from

El Paso, Texas El Paso (; "the pass") is a city in and the county seat, seat of El Paso County, Texas, El Paso County in the western corner of the U.S. state of Texas. The 2020 population of the city from the United States Census Bureau, U.S. Census Bureau w ...

and once a federal judicial nominee to the

U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit The United States Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit (in case citations, 5th Cir.) is a federal court with appellate jurisdiction over the district courts in the following federal judicial districts: * Eastern District of Louisiana * Mi ...

Early life and education

Born in

Chihuahua Chihuahua may refer to: Places *Chihuahua (state), a Mexican state **Chihuahua (dog), a breed of dog named after the state **Chihuahua cheese, a type of cheese originating in the state **Chihuahua City, the capital city of the state **Chihuahua Mun ...

, Mexico and the son of a carpenter and a seamstress, Moreno earned a bachelor's degree from

Harvard University Harvard University is a private Ivy League research university in Cambridge, Massachusetts. Founded in 1636 as Harvard College and named for its first benefactor, the Puritan clergyman John Harvard, it is the oldest institution of higher le ...

in 1978 and a J.D. degree from

Harvard Law School Harvard Law School (Harvard Law or HLS) is the law school of Harvard University, a private research university in Cambridge, Massachusetts. Founded in 1817, it is the oldest continuously operating law school in the United States. Each class ...

in 1981.

Professional career

Moreno began his career as a personal injury and product liability attorney in 1981. He has worked for four different law firms in his career. He has been the practitioner of the Law Offices of Enrique Moreno since 1999. Moreno won several large judgments in his legal career. In August 2001, Moreno was one of five lawyers to win a $55,515,000 judgment for an El Paso man against

Kelly-Moore Paints Kelly-Moore Paints is an American paint manufacturing company founded in 1946 by William Kelly and William Moore. It is based in San Carlos, California. The company has 157 stores located in California, Texas, Oklahoma, and Nevada. The company’s ...

for placing

asbestos Asbestos () is a naturally occurring fibrous silicate mineral. There are six types, all of which are composed of long and thin fibrous crystals, each fibre being composed of many microscopic "fibrils" that can be released into the atmosphere b ...

-containing

fibers Fiber or fibre (from la, fibra, links=no) is a natural or artificial substance that is significantly longer than it is wide. Fibers are often used in the manufacture of other materials. The strongest engineering materials often incorporate ...

in a joint compound product that caused pleural mesothelioma in a patient. On April 12, 2006, Moreno won a $27.5 million judgment for an Iran-born American citizen against

Southwest Airlines Southwest Airlines Co., typically referred to as Southwest, is one of the major airlines of the United States and the world's largest low-cost carrier. It is headquartered in Dallas, Texas, and has scheduled service to 121 destinations in the U ...

in a landmark racial profiling case after Southwest's flight attendants had her arrested after she had complained about poor service on the airline. In 2007, Moreno began leading an anti-corruption group in El Paso called the Citizens' Commission on Best Practices in Government.

Nomination to the Fifth Circuit

On September 16, 1999, President Clinton nominated Moreno to be a judge on the

. Moreno was nominated to the vacancy that had been created by Judge William Lockhart Garwood taking senior status. Clinton in 1997 had nominated Jorge Rangel to the seat, but Rangel withdrew his nomination in 1998 after objections from Senate Republicans. Citing what they called Moreno's lack of experience, both of Texas Republican senators at the time,

Phil Gramm William Philip Gramm (born July 8, 1942) is an American economist and politician who represented Texas in both chambers of Congress. Though he began his political career as a Democrat, Gramm switched to the Republican Party in 1983. Gramm was ...

and

Kay Bailey Hutchison Kay Bailey Hutchison (born Kathryn Ann Bailey; July 22, 1943) is an American attorney, television correspondent, politician, diplomat, and was the 22nd United States Permanent Representative to NATO from 2017 until 2021. A member of the Republi ...

, opposed Moreno's nomination.Clinton angered by Republicans' opposition to judicial nominee - May 6, 2000
In May 2000, Clinton publicly denounced the senators, saying that Moreno had "unbelievable academic credentials; he was endorsed by every conceivable professional association." Clinton also suggested that the senators wanted a judicial nominee who was "more politically malleable." For his part, Moreno said in a statement that he had "been blessed with the support and encouragement of many people. I am especially grateful and proud of my community's support for my nomination." Moreno's nomination became an issue in the 2000 presidential election. At a campaign stop on July 1, 2000, then-Vice President Gore criticized Senate Republicans for holding up Moreno's nomination. "I believe that it is time to call upon Congress to stop playing politics with judicial nominations and confirm Enrique Moreno," Gore said. Given that the Republicans controlled the

U.S. Senate The United States Senate is the upper chamber of the United States Congress, with the House of Representatives being the lower chamber. Together they compose the national bicameral legislature of the United States. The composition and powe ...

for Clinton's entire second term and given that 2000 was a presidential election year, Moreno's nomination languished. He never received a hearing before the U.S. Senate Judiciary Committee, and the Senate as a result never took a full vote on his nomination. Clinton renominated him on January 3, 2001, but his nomination was withdrawn by President Bush on March 20, 2001, along with 61 other executive and judicial nominations that Clinton had made. President George W. Bush nominated Priscilla Owen to the seat on the Fifth Circuit in 2001. She won Senate confirmation in 2005. In 2002, after Democrats recaptured the Senate, Moreno was one of several of Clinton's scuttled judicial nominees to be invited to appear before the Senate Judiciary Committee to discuss the process. Moreno told the committee that "I am often asked if I am personally disappointed or bitter about my experience. Let me say that I am not. You see, I have received so much encouragement, support, good will, and kindness from so many sources. It would be an act of selfishness for anyone who has experienced what I have experienced to say that they have a right to be personally disappointed. I am not personally disappointed. I am disappointed for my community, for the many people that supported my nomination, and for the many people that identified with my nomination. With all due respect, I believe that they deserved better."

Death

Moreno died from complications of cancer on October 10, 2019.

References

External links

Law Offices of Enrique Moreno profile
{{DEFAULTSORT:Moreno, Enrique 1955 births 2019 deaths American lawyers of Mexican descent Deaths from cancer in Texas Harvard Law School alumni Mexican emigrants to the United States People from Chihuahua City Lawyers from El Paso, Texas 20th-century American lawyers