The United States District Court for the Western District of Texas (in case citations, W.D. Tex.) is a federal district court. The court convenes in

San Antonio ("Cradle of Freedom") , image_map = , mapsize = 220px , map_caption = Interactive map of San Antonio , subdivision_type = Country , subdivision_name = United States , subdivision_type1= State , subdivision_name1 = Texas , subdivision_ ...

with divisions in

Austin Austin is the capital city of the U.S. state of Texas, as well as the seat and largest city of Travis County, with portions extending into Hays and Williamson counties. Incorporated on December 27, 1839, it is the 11th-most-populous city ...

, Del Rio, El Paso, Midland, Pecos, and

Waco Waco ( ) is the county seat of McLennan County, Texas, United States. It is situated along the Brazos River and I-35, halfway between Dallas and Austin. The city had a 2020 population of 138,486, making it the 22nd-most populous city in the s ...

. It has jurisdiction in over 50 Trans-Pecos, Permian Basin, and Hill Country counties of the U.S. state of

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 ...

. This district covers over and seven divisions. Along with the

District of New Mexico The District of New Mexico was a military district of the United States Army in the Territory of New Mexico that existed from 1865 to 1890. The District of Arizona and the District of New Mexico replaced the Department of New Mexico from June 27 ...

Southern District of Texas The United States District Court for the Southern District of Texas (in case citations, S.D. Tex.) is the federal district court with jurisdiction over the southeastern part of Texas. The court's headquarters is in Houston, Texas and has six ad ...

, and District of Arizona, it is one of the busiest district courts in terms of criminal felony filings.

History

The first federal judge in Texas was John C. Watrous, who was appointed on May 26, 1846, and had previously served as

Attorney General In most common law jurisdictions, the attorney general or attorney-general (sometimes abbreviated AG or Atty.-Gen) is the main legal advisor to the government. The plural is attorneys general. In some jurisdictions, attorneys general also have exec ...

of the

Republic of Texas The Republic of Texas ( es, República de Tejas) was a sovereign state in North America that existed from March 2, 1836, to February 19, 1846, that bordered Mexico, the Republic of the Rio Grande in 1840 (another breakaway republic from Me ...

. 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,

Easter Easter,Traditional names for the feast in English are "Easter Day", as in the '' Book of Common Prayer''; "Easter Sunday", used by James Ussher''The Whole Works of the Most Rev. James Ussher, Volume 4'') and Samuel Pepys''The Diary of Samue ...

n 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 federal 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.

Divisions

Appeals from cases brought in the Western District of Texas are taken to 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 * ...

(except for

patent A patent is a type of intellectual property that gives its owner the legal right to exclude others from making, using, or selling an invention for a limited period of time in exchange for publishing an enabling disclosure of the invention."A ...

claims and claims against the U.S. government under the Tucker Act, which are appealed to the

Federal Circuit The United States Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit (in case citations, Fed. Cir. or C.A.F.C.) is a United States court of appeals that has special appellate jurisdiction over certain types of specialized cases in the U.S. federal court ...

). The divisions of the Western District of Texas are: John H

Division comprises the following counties: Bastrop, Blanco, Burleson, Burnet,

Caldwell Caldwell may refer to: People * Caldwell (surname) * Caldwell (given name) * Caldwell First Nation, a federally recognized Indian band in southern Ontario, Canada Places Great Britain * Caldwell, Derbyshire, a hamlet * Caldwell, Eas ...

, Gillespie, Hays, Kimble, Lampasas,

Lee Lee may refer to: Name Given name * Lee (given name), a given name in English Surname * Chinese surnames romanized as Li or Lee: ** Li (surname 李) or Lee (Hanzi ), a common Chinese surname ** Li (surname 利) or Lee (Hanzi ), a Chinese ...

Llano ''Llano'' is the Spanish word for plain. It may refer to: * Llano, California * Llano Estacado, a region in northwest Texas and eastern New Mexico * Llano, Texas, a small city in Llano County, Texas * Llano County, Texas * Llano River, a Texas r ...

, Mason, McCulloch, San Saba, Travis,

Washington Washington commonly refers to: * Washington (state), United States * Washington, D.C., the capital of the United States ** A metonym for the federal government of the United States ** Washington metropolitan area, the metropolitan area centered o ...

and Williamson. * Del Rio Division comprises the following counties:

Edwards Edwards may refer to: People * Edwards (surname) * Edwards family, a prominent family from Chile * Edwards Barham (1937-2014), a former member of the Louisiana State Senate * Edwards Pierrepont (1817–1892), an American attorney, jurist, and or ...

, Kinney,

Maverick Maverick, Maveric or Maverik may refer to: History * Maverick (animal), an unbranded range animal, derived from U.S. cattleman Samuel Maverick Aviation * AEA Maverick, an Australian single-seat sportsplane design * General Aviation Design Bure ...

, Terrell, Uvalde, Val Verde and Zavala. * El Paso Division comprises the following counties: El Paso and Hudspeth. * Midland-Odessa Division comprises the following counties:

Andrews Andrews may refer to: Places Australia *Andrews, Queensland *Andrews, South Australia United States * Andrews, Florida (disambiguation), various places *Andrews, Indiana * Andrews, Nebraska *Andrews, North Carolina *Andrews, Oregon *Andrews, Sout ...

, Crane, Ector,

Martin Martin may refer to: Places * Martin City (disambiguation) * Martin County (disambiguation) * Martin Township (disambiguation) Antarctica * Martin Peninsula, Marie Byrd Land * Port Martin, Adelie Land * Point Martin, South Orkney Islands Austr ...

, Midland and

Upton Upton may refer to: Places United Kingdom England * Upton, Slough, Berkshire (in Buckinghamshire until 1974) * Upton, Buckinghamshire, a hamlet near Aylesbury * Upton, Cambridgeshire, Peterborough * Upton, Huntingdonshire, a location in Cambridg ...

. * Pecos Division comprises the following counties: Brewster, Culberton, Jeff Davis,

Loving Loving may refer to: * Love, a range of human emotions * Loving (surname) * ''Loving v. Virginia'', a 1967 landmark United States Supreme Court civil rights case Film and television * Loving (1970 film), ''Loving'' (1970 film), an American fi ...

, Pecos, Presidio, Reeves, Ward and Winkler. *

Division comprises the following counties: Atascosa,

Bandera Bandera - from a Spanish word meaning a ''flag'' - may refer to: Places * Bandera County, Texas ** Bandera, Texas, its county seat ** Bandera Creek, a river in Texas, with its source near Bandera Pass ** Bandera Pass, a mountain pass in Bandera C ...

, Bexar, Comal, Dimmit,

Frio Frío or Frio may refer to: __NOTOC__ Places * Frio River, Texas, United States * Frio County, Texas Frio County is a county located in the U.S. state of Texas. As of the 2020 census, its population was 18,385. The county seat is Pearsall. ...

, Gonzales, Guadalupe, Karnes, Kendall, Kerr,

Medina Medina,, ', "the radiant city"; or , ', (), "the city" officially Al Madinah Al Munawwarah (, , Turkish: Medine-i Münevvere) and also commonly simplified as Madīnah or Madinah (, ), is the Holiest sites in Islam, second-holiest city in Islam, ...

, Real and

Wilson Wilson may refer to: People *Wilson (name) ** List of people with given name Wilson ** List of people with surname Wilson * Wilson (footballer, 1927–1998), Brazilian manager and defender * Wilson (footballer, born 1984), full name Wilson R ...

. *

Division comprises the following counties: Bell,

Bosque A bosque ( ) is a type of gallery forest habitat found along the riparian flood plains of stream and river banks in the southwestern United States. It derives its name from the Spanish word for ' woodlands'. Setting In the predominantly ari ...

, Coryell, Falls, Freestone,

Hamilton Hamilton may refer to: People * Hamilton (name), a common British surname and occasional given name, usually of Scottish origin, including a list of persons with the surname ** The Duke of Hamilton, the premier peer of Scotland ** Lord Hamilto ...

Hill A hill is a landform that extends above the surrounding terrain. It often has a distinct summit. Terminology The distinction between a hill and a mountain is unclear and largely subjective, but a hill is universally considered to be not a ...

Leon Leon, Léon (French) or León (Spanish) may refer to: Places Europe * León, Spain, capital city of the Province of León * Province of León, Spain * Kingdom of León, an independent state in the Iberian Peninsula from 910 to 1230 and again f ...

Limestone Limestone ( calcium carbonate ) is a type of carbonate sedimentary rock which is the main source of the material lime. It is composed mostly of the minerals calcite and aragonite, which are different crystal forms of . Limestone forms w ...

, McLennan, Milam,

Robertson Robertson may refer to: People * Robertson (surname) (includes a list of people with this name) * Robertson (given name) * Clan Robertson, a Scottish clan * Robertson, stage name of Belgian magician Étienne-Gaspard Robert (1763–1837) Place ...

and

Somervell Somervell may refer to: People * Alexander Somervell (1796-1854), Texan soldier who led the Somervell Expedition into Mexico * Arthur Somervell (1863–1937), British composer * Brehon B. Somervell (1892–1955), American general * D. C. Somervell ...

. The United States Attorney's Office for the Western District of Texas represents the United States in civil and criminal litigation in the court. the United States Attorney is Jaime E. Esparza.

Notable Cases

*Kocurek Assassination Attempt: Judge Lee Yeakel presided over the case of Chimene Onyeri, an aspiring Houston rapper who attempted to assassinate of Travis County district judge

Julie Kocurek Julie H. Kocurek (born October 2, 1964) is an American attorney and judge who is currently a Texas state court judge, having served as presiding judge of the 390th District Court in Austin, Texas since January 1999, being appointed by then-govern ...

after she previously sentenced him for probation violation and a criminal theft and fraud enterprise he ran, having shot her as she and her son were returning home from a football game at his high school before she was about to sentence him. After his many associates testified of his schemes, a federal jury convicted Onyeri on 17 counts of fraud, theft, racketeering and attempted murder and sentenced him to life in prison.

Current judges

Vacancies and pending nominations

Former judges

Chief judges

Succession of seats

References

External links

U.S. District Court for the Western District of Texas
{{DEFAULTSORT:United States District Court for the Western District of Texas Texas, Western District Texas law Val Verde County, Texas El Paso, Texas Midland, Texas Reeves County, Texas San Antonio Waco, Texas Austin, Texas Courthouses in Texas 1857 establishments in Texas Courts and tribunals established in 1857