Ewing Werlein Jr. (born September 14, 1936) is a
senior United States district judge of the
.
Biography
Werlein was born in
Houston
Houston ( ) is the List of cities in Texas by population, most populous city in the U.S. state of Texas and in the Southern United States. Located in Southeast Texas near Galveston Bay and the Gulf of Mexico, it is the county seat, seat of ...
. He received a
Bachelor of Arts
A Bachelor of Arts (abbreviated B.A., BA, A.B. or AB; from the Latin ', ', or ') is the holder of a bachelor's degree awarded for an undergraduate program in the liberal arts, or, in some cases, other disciplines. A Bachelor of Arts deg ...
degree from
Southern Methodist University
Southern Methodist University (SMU) is a Private university, private research university in Dallas, Texas, United States, with a satellite campus in Taos County, New Mexico. SMU was founded on April 17, 1911, by the Methodist Episcopal Church, ...
in 1958 and a
Bachelor of Laws
A Bachelor of Laws (; LLB) is an undergraduate law degree offered in most common law countries as the primary law degree and serves as the first professional qualification for legal practitioners. This degree requires the study of core legal subje ...
from the
University of Texas School of Law
The University of Texas School of Law (Texas Law) is the Law school in the United States, law school of the University of Texas at Austin, a public university, public research university in Austin, Texas. According to Texas Law’s American Bar ...
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 Air force, air service branch of the United States Department of Defense. It is one of the six United States Armed Forces and one of the eight uniformed services of the United States. Tracing its ori ...
Judge Advocate General Corps
The Judge Advocate General's Corps (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 judge advocates. ...
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
William Philip Gramm (born July 8, 1942) is an American economist and politician who represented Texas in both chambers of United States Congress, Congress. Though he began his political career as a Democratic Party (United States), Democrat, Gr ...
recommended Werlein for nomination to the federal bench. On November 20, 1991, Werlein was nominated by President
George H. W. Bush
George Herbert Walker BushBefore the outcome of the 2000 United States presidential election, he was usually referred to simply as "George Bush" but became more commonly known as "George H. W. Bush", "Bush Senior," "Bush 41," and even "Bush th ...
to a new seat on the
created by 104 Stat. 5089. He was confirmed by the
United States Senate
The United States Senate is a chamber of the Bicameralism, bicameral United States Congress; it is the upper house, with the United States House of Representatives, U.S. House of Representatives being the lower house. Together, the Senate and ...
on April 8, 1992, and received his commission on April 13, 1992. He assumed
senior status 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 agency, intelligence and Security agency, security service of the United States and Federal law enforcement in the United States, its principal federal law enforcement ag ...
bribery
Bribery is the corrupt solicitation, payment, or Offer and acceptance, acceptance of a private favor (a bribe) in exchange for official action. The purpose of a bribe is to influence the actions of the recipient, a person in charge of an official ...
investigation of
NASA
The National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA ) is an independent agencies of the United States government, independent agency of the federal government of the United States, US federal government responsible for the United States ...
(all other defendants having pleaded guilty to charges).
["Mistrial Declared in NASA Contract Bribe Case", '']The New York Times
''The New York Times'' (''NYT'') is an American daily newspaper based in New York City. ''The New York Times'' covers domestic, national, and international news, and publishes opinion pieces, investigative reports, and reviews. As one of ...
'' (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
Entrapment is a practice in which a law enforcement agent or an agent of the state induces a person to commit a crime that the person would have otherwise been unlikely or unwilling to commit.''Sloane'' (1990) 49 A Crim R 270. See also agent prov ...
".
* In 1996, Werlein presided over the trial of
Juan García Abrego, a
drug lord
A drug lord, drug baron, kingpin, or lord of drugs is a type of crime boss in charge of a drug trafficking network, organization, or enterprise.
Crime barons may be difficult to bring to justice: usually, they do not possess illegal goods. Ra ...
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 in 2022 of 65,369. It was founded on October 1, 1885, by Alfred Horatio Belo as a satellite publication of the ' ...
'' (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
Defamation is a communication that injures a third party's reputation and causes a legally redressable injury. The precise legal definition of defamation varies from country to country. It is not necessarily restricted to making assertions ...
verdict in history", a $222.7 million award against
Dow Jones & Company
Dow Jones & Company, Inc. (also known simply as Dow Jones) is an American publishing firm owned by News Corp, and led by CEO Almar Latour. The company publishes ''The Wall Street Journal'', '' Barron's'', '' MarketWatch'', ''Mansion Global'' ...
, to $22.7 million.
* From 2004 to 2008, Werlein presided over the criminal prosecution of three British bankers implicated in the
Enron scandal
The Enron scandal was an accounting scandal sparked by American energy company Enron, Enron Corporation filing for bankruptcy after news of widespread internal fraud became public in October 2001, which led to the dissolution of its accounting ...
, 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 municipal 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 fi ...
.
References
External links
*
{{DEFAULTSORT:Werlein, Ewing Jr.
1936 births
Living people
21st-century American judges
Judges of the United States District Court for the Southern District of Texas
Southern Methodist University alumni
United States Air Force officers
United States district court judges appointed by George H. W. Bush
University of Texas School of Law alumni