Orlando Luis Garcia (born November 18, 1952) is a
United States district judge
The United States district courts are the trial courts of the U.S. federal judiciary. There is one district court for each federal judicial district, which each cover one U.S. state or, in some cases, a portion of a state. Each district cou ...
of the
United States District Court for the Western District of Texas and former
Texas
Texas (, ; Spanish: ''Texas'', ''Tejas'') is a state in the South Central region of the United States. At 268,596 square miles (695,662 km2), and with more than 29.1 million residents in 2020, it is the second-largest U.S. state by ...
state legislator
A state legislature is a legislative branch or body of a political subdivision in a federal system.
Two federations literally use the term "state legislature":
* The legislative branches of each of the fifty state governments of the United S ...
.
Education and career
Born in
Jim Wells County,
Texas
Texas (, ; Spanish: ''Texas'', ''Tejas'') is a state in the South Central region of the United States. At 268,596 square miles (695,662 km2), and with more than 29.1 million residents in 2020, it is the second-largest U.S. state by ...
, Garcia received a
Bachelor of Arts
Bachelor of arts (BA or AB; from the Latin ', ', or ') is a bachelor's degree awarded for an undergraduate program in the arts, or, in some cases, other disciplines. A Bachelor of Arts degree course is generally completed in three or four year ...
degree from the
University of Texas at Austin
The University of Texas at Austin (UT Austin, UT, or Texas) is a public research university in Austin, Texas. It was founded in 1883 and is the oldest institution in the University of Texas System. With 40,916 undergraduate students, 11,07 ...
in 1975 and a
Juris Doctor from the
University of Texas School of Law
The University of Texas School of Law (Texas Law) is the law school of the University of Texas at Austin. Texas Law is consistently ranked as one of the top law schools in the United States and is highly selective—registering the 8th lowest ac ...
in 1978. He was in private practice in
San Antonio
("Cradle of Freedom")
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, Texas from 1978 to 1990, and a Texas state representative from 1983 to 1991. From 1991 to 1992 he was a judge of the Texas Fourth Court of Appeals.
Federal judicial service
He was nominated by President
Bill Clinton
William Jefferson Clinton ( né Blythe III; born August 19, 1946) is an American politician who served as the 42nd president of the United States from 1993 to 2001. He previously served as governor of Arkansas from 1979 to 1981 and agai ...
on November 19, 1993, to a seat which had been vacated by
Emilio M. Garza over two years before. Garcia was confirmed by the
United States 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 pow ...
on March 10, 1994, and received his commission on March 11, 1994. He became chief judge on January 1, 2016 and served until November 18, 2022, when he turned 70 years old.
On February 26, 2014, in San Antonio, Garcia
overturned the
Texas ban on
same-sex marriage
Same-sex marriage, also known as gay marriage, is the marriage of two people of the same sex or gender. marriage between same-sex couples is legally performed and recognized in 33 countries, with the most recent being Mexico, constituting ...
, ruling that the prohibition is unconstitutional and stigmatizes the relationship of gay couples in the conservative state. He stayed his ruling pending appeal.
In August 2017, Garcia granted a preliminary injunction against
Texas Senate Bill 4, which imposed prohibitions against certain local policies relating to immigration. That injunction was reversed in part by the
United States 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
* M ...
in May 2018.
See also
*
List of Hispanic/Latino American jurists
This is a list of Hispanic/Latino Americans who are or were judges, magistrate judges, court commissioners, or administrative law judges. If known, it will be listed if a judge has served on multiple courts.
Other topics of interest
* List ...
References
Sources
*
{{DEFAULTSORT:Garcia, Orlando Luis
1952 births
Living people
20th-century American judges
21st-century American judges
Hispanic and Latino American judges
Hispanic and Latino American state legislators in Texas
Judges of the United States District Court for the Western District of Texas
Members of the Texas House of Representatives
People from Jim Wells County, Texas
Texas Democrats
United States district court judges appointed by Bill Clinton
University of Texas School of Law alumni