U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Texas
U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Texas is a United States district court, a federal trial court where most federal civil and criminal cases are first heard. It lies within the Fifth Circuit, which reviews its decisions on appeal. This page lists every judge to serve on the court, current and former, with who appointed them and whom they succeeded.
| Judge | Appointed by | Since |
|---|---|---|
| Richard A. Schell | Reagan (R) | 1988 |
| Ron Clark | Bush (R) | 2002 |
| Marcia A. Crone | Bush (R) | 2003 |
| James Rodney Gilstrap | Obama (D) | 2011 |
| Amos Louis Mazzant III | Obama (D) | 2014 |
| Robert William Schroeder III | Obama (D) | 2014 |
| Jeremy Daniel Kernodle | Trump (R) | 2018 |
| J. Campbell Barker | Trump (R) | 2019 |
| Sean D. Jordan | Trump (R) | 2019 |
| Michael Joseph Truncale | Trump (R) | 2019 |
| Judge | Appointed by | Years |
|---|---|---|
| Michael H. Schneider Sr. | Bush (R) | 2004–2016 |
| Leonard E. Davis | Bush (R) | 2002–2015 |
| T. John Ward | Clinton (D) | 1999–2011 |
| David Folsom | Clinton (D) | 1995–2012 |
| Thad Heartfield | Clinton (D) | 1995–2022 |
| John H. Hannah Jr. | Clinton (D) | 1994–2003 |
| Paul Neeley Brown | Reagan (R) | 1985–2012 |
| Howell Cobb | Reagan (R) | 1985–2005 |
| Sam Blakeley Hall Jr. | Reagan (R) | 1985–1994 |
| Robert Manley Parker | Carter (D) | 1979–1994 |
| William Merritt Steger | Nixon (R) | 1970–2006 |
| William Wayne Justice | Johnson (D) | 1968–2009 |
| Joseph Jefferson Fisher | Eisenhower (R) | 1959–2000 |
| Lamar John Ryan Cecil | Eisenhower (R) | 1954–1958 |
| Joseph Warren Sheehy | Truman (D) | 1951–1967 |
| Randolph Bryant | Hoover (R) | 1931–1951 |
| William Lee Estes | Wilson (D) | 1920–1930 |
| Gordon James Russell | Taft (R) | 1910–1919 |
| David Ezekiel Bryant | Harrison (R) | 1890–1910 |
| Chauncey Brewer Sabin | Arthur (R) | 1884–1890 |
| Amos Morrill | Grant (R) | 1872–1883 |
| John Charles Watrous | (reassignment) (N) | 1857–1870 |
| Joel C. C. Winch | Grant (R) | ?–1871 |
How a judge gets here. Each judge is nominated by a president and confirmed by the U.S. Senate, then holds a numbered seat, for life, until they take senior status, or until they leave the bench. Open any judge to see who appointed them, how the Senate voted, and whom they succeeded, a chain that runs back to 1857.
Source: FJC Biographical Directory. Data last verified 2026-06-28. Verify against the primary source before relying.