United States District Court for the Western District of Texas


The United States District Court for the Western District of Texas is a federal district court. The court convenes in San Antonio with divisions in Austin, Del Rio, El Paso, Midland, Pecos, and Waco. It has jurisdiction in over 50 Trans-Pecos, Permian Basin, and Hill Country counties of the U.S. state of Texas. This district covers over and seven divisions.
Along with the District of New Mexico, Southern District of Texas, 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 of the Republic of Texas. 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, Eastern 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 divisions of the Western District of Texas are:
Judge Orlando Luis Garcia is the Chief Judge of the Western District of Texas District Court.
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 current United States Attorney is John Bash.

Current judges


Former judges

Chief judges

Succession of seats