Fernando Rodriguez Jr.

Fernando Rodriguez Jr.
Judge of the United States District Court for the Southern District of Texas
Incumbent
Assumed office June 12, 2018
Appointed by	Donald Trump
Preceded by	Gregg Costa
Personal details
Born	1969 (age 55–56) Harlingen, Texas, U.S.
Education	Yale University (BA) University of Texas at Austin (JD)

Fernando Rodriguez Jr. (born 1969) is a United States district judge of the United States District Court for the Southern District of Texas.

Biography

Rodriguez earned his Bachelor of Arts from Yale University and his Juris Doctor, with honors, from the University of Texas School of Law.

From 1997 to 1998, he served as a briefing attorney for then-Associate Justice Nathan Hecht of the Supreme Court of Texas. Before joining International Justice Mission, Rodriguez was a partner in the Dallas office of Baker Botts LLP, where his practice focused on commercial litigation.^[1]

Before becoming a judge, Rodriguez worked as a field office director in the Dominican Republic for International Justice Mission, where he led efforts to combat sex trafficking of children. His work contributed to the rescue of more than 110 victims and 21 convictions of the perpetrators. He previously led similar efforts against the sexual abuse of children in Bolivia.^[2]

Federal judicial service

On September 7, 2017, President Donald Trump nominated Rodriguez to serve as a United States District Judge of the United States District Court for the Southern District of Texas, to the seat vacated by Judge Gregg Costa, who was elevated to the United States Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit on May 20, 2014.^[3][4] On November 29, 2017, a hearing was held on his nomination before the Senate Judiciary Committee.^[5] On January 11, 2018, his nomination was reported out of committee by a voice vote.^[6] On June 5, 2018, the United States Senate invoked cloture on his nomination by a 94–1 vote.^[7] Later that day, Rodriguez was confirmed by a 96–0 vote.^[8] He received his judicial commission on June 12, 2018.^[9]

See also

• List of Hispanic and Latino American jurists

References

1. Banks, Gabrielle (November 25, 2017). "Seven Texas lawyers in line for vacant federal judgeships". Houston Chronicle. Retrieved December 16, 2017.
2. "President Donald J. Trump Announces Seventh Wave of Judicial Candidates". whitehouse.gov. September 7, 2017. Retrieved September 8, 2017 – via National Archives. This article incorporates text from this source, which is in the public domain.
3. Osborne, James (September 7, 2017). "Trump moves to fill Texas judicial vacancies". Houston Chronicle. Retrieved December 16, 2017.
4. "Nine Nominations Sent to the Senate Today". whitehouse.gov. September 7, 2017. Retrieved September 8, 2017 – via National Archives.
5. United States Senate Committee on the Judiciary: Nominations for November 29, 2017
6. "Results of Executive Business Meeting – January 11, 2018" (PDF). Senate Judiciary Committee.
7. "On the Cloture Motion (Motion to Invoke Cloture: Fernando Rodriguez Jr., of Texas, to be U.S. District Judge for the Southern District of Texas)". United States Senate. June 5, 2018.
8. "On the Nomination (Confirmation: Fernando Rodriguez, Jr., of Texas, to the United States District Judge for the Southern District of Texas)". United States Senate. June 6, 2018. Retrieved June 6, 2018.
9. Fernando Rodriguez Jr. at the Biographical Directory of Federal Judges, a publication of the Federal Judicial Center.

External links

• Fernando Rodriguez Jr. at the Biographical Directory of Federal Judges, a publication of the Federal Judicial Center.

Legal offices
Preceded by Gregg Costa	Judge of the United States District Court for the Southern District of Texas 2018–present	Incumbent