Ewing Werlein Jr. (born September 14, 1936) is a senior United States district judge of the

United States District Court for the 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 ...

Early life, education, and career

Born in

Houston Houston (; ) is the most populous city in Texas, the most populous city in the Southern United States, the fourth-most populous city in the United States, and the sixth-most populous city in North America, with a population of 2,304,580 i ...

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 ...

, Werlein 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

Southern Methodist University , mottoeng = "The truth will make you free" , established = , type = Private research university , accreditation = SACS , academic_affiliations = , religious_affiliation = United Methodist Church , president = R. Gerald Turner , ...

in 1958 and a

Bachelor of Laws Bachelor of Laws ( la, Legum Baccalaureus; LL.B.) is an undergraduate law degree in the United Kingdom and most common law jurisdictions. Bachelor of Laws is also the name of the law degree awarded by universities in the People's Republic of Ch ...

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 1961. He was in private practice in Houston in 1961, and then served as a first lieutenant Judge Advocate in the

United States Air Force The United States Air Force (USAF) is the Aerial warfare, air military branch, service branch of the United States Armed Forces, and is one of the eight uniformed services of the United States. Originally created on 1 August 1907, as a part ...

Judge Advocate General Corps The Judge Advocate General's Corps, also known as JAG or JAG Corps, is the military justice branch or specialty of the United States Air Force, Army, Coast Guard, Marine Corps and Navy. Officers serving in the JAG Corps are typically called jud ...

from 1961 to 1964, continuing to serve as a United States Air Force Reserve captain from 1964 to 1971. He returned to private practice in Houston from 1964 to 1992.

Federal judicial service

Senator Phil Gramm recommended Werlein for nomination to the federal bench. On November 20, 1991, Werlein was nominated by President George H. W. Bush to a new seat on the

created by 104 Stat. 5089. He 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 April 8, 1992, and received his commission on April 13, 1992. He assumed

senior status Senior status is a form of semi- retirement for United States federal judges. To qualify, a judge in the federal court system must be at least 65 years old, and the sum of the judge's age and years of service as a federal judge must be at leas ...

on January 1, 2006.

Important cases

* In 1995, Werlein declared a mistrial in the only trial resulting from a nineteenth-month

FBI The Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) is the domestic intelligence and security service of the United States and its principal federal law enforcement agency. Operating under the jurisdiction of the United States Department of Justice, t ...

bribery investigation of

NASA The National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA ) is an independent agencies of the United States government, independent agency of the US federal government responsible for the civil List of government space agencies, space program ...

(all other defendants having pleaded guilty to charges)."Mistrial Declared in NASA Contract Bribe Case", ''

The New York Times ''The New York Times'' (''the Times'', ''NYT'', or the Gray Lady) is a daily newspaper based in New York City with a worldwide readership reported in 2020 to comprise a declining 840,000 paid print subscribers, and a growing 6 million paid d ...

'' (June 30, 1995). The case was dismissed after the jury deadlocked at 9 to 3 in favor of a conviction, unable to agree on the meaning of " entrapment". * In 1996, Werlein presided over the trial of

Juan García Abrego Juan García Abrego (born September 13, 1944) is a Mexican convicted drug lord and former leader of the Gulf Cartel, a criminal group based in the state of Tamaulipas, Mexico. He started in the cartel under the tutelage of his uncle Juan Nepo ...

, a drug lord who was "once reportedly responsible for a third of the cocaine entering the United States".Bruce Nichols, "Abrego convicted of conspiracy, drug charges, money laundering", ''

The Dallas Morning News ''The Dallas Morning News'' is a daily newspaper serving the Dallas–Fort Worth area of Texas, with an average print circulation of 65,369. It was founded on October 1, 1885 by Alfred Horatio Belo as a satellite publication of the '' Galvest ...

'' (October 17, 1996). Abrego was convicted on multiple counts, and later sentenced by Werlein to 11 consecutive terms of life in prison. * In 1997, Werlein reduced what was at the time "the largest libel verdict in history", a $222.7 million award against Dow Jones & Company, to $22.7 million. * From 2004 to 2008, Werlein presided over the criminal prosecution of three British bankers implicated in the Enron scandal, culminating in their guilty pleas in 2007. On February 22, 2008, Werlein sentenced each defendant to 37 months in prison and told them they would have to redeem themselves and "pay[] back Royal Bank of Scotland every dollar or, over there, every pound." * On October 20, 2010, Werlein blocked a request for the release of a videotape of an alleged beating of Chad Holley by five members of the

Houston Police Department The Houston Police Department (HPD) is the primary law enforcement agency serving the City of Houston, Texas, United States and some surrounding areas. With approximately 5,300 officers and 1,200 civilian support personnel it is the fifth-largest ...

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Werlein, Ewing Jr. 1936 births Living people Judges of the United States District Court for the Southern District of Texas Southern Methodist University alumni United States district court judges appointed by George H. W. Bush 20th-century American judges United States Air Force officers University of Texas School of Law alumni 21st-century American judges