U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Texas
Texas · A federal trial court, where federal civil and criminal cases are first heard. Appeals go to the Fifth Circuit.
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.
Party letters here are the appointing president’s, never a judge’s own: D Democratic, R Republican, N pre-modern-party era (Federalist, Whig, and other early parties); “–” means no recorded party. Counts cover the court’s entire history.
Judges in active service
- Marcia A. Crone
- James R. Gilstrap
- Amos L. Mazzant III
- Robert W. Schroeder III
- Jeremy D. Kernodle
- J. C. Barker
- Sean D. Jordan
- Michael J. Truncale
Senior judges
Still members of the court: senior judges have stepped back from a full docket but continue to hear cases.
Seats over time
Each band is one judgeship, from the court’s founding to today. A segment’s width is the holder’s tenure; its color is the appointing president’s party. Gaps are vacancies.
Amos Louis Mazzant III (current) · Robert William Schroeder III (current) · Richard A. Schell (current) · Sean D. Jordan (current) · James Rodney Gilstrap (current) · Ron Clark (current) · Michael Joseph Truncale (current) · J. Campbell Barker (current) · Jeremy Daniel Kernodle (current) · Marcia A. Crone (current) · William Wayne Justice · Joseph Jefferson Fisher · William Merritt Steger · Thad Heartfield
Former judges
| Judge | Appointed by | Years |
|---|---|---|
| Michael H. Schneider Sr. | G.W. Bush (R) | 2004–2016 |
| Leonard E. Davis | G.W. 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 | L.B. 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 | B. Harrison (R) | 1890–1910 |
| Chauncey Brewer Sabin | Arthur (R) | 1884–1890 |
| Amos Morrill | Grant (R) | 1872–1883 |
| John Charles Watrous | Reassigned | 1857–1870 |
| Joel C. C. Winch | Grant (R) | 1871 |
Magistrate judges
Appointed by the judges of this district to renewable 8-year terms, not nominated by the president or confirmed by the Senate. They handle pretrial matters, misdemeanors, and many civil cases by consent.
| Magistrate judge | Years |
|---|---|
| Kimberly C. Priest Johnson | 2016–present |
| Christine A. Nowak | 2015–present |
| Katie Nicole Mitchell | 2013–present |
| Zack Hawthorn | 2011–present |
| Zachary J. Hawthorne | 2011–present |
| Roy S. Payne | 2011–present |
| John D. Love | 2006–present |
| Keith F. Giblin | 2004–present |
| Caroline M. Craven | 1998–present |
| Donald D. Bush | 2003–2016 |
| Judith K Guthrie | 1986–2013 |
Bankruptcy court
Practicing before this court
The rules that govern a case here (the E.D. Texas’s local rules, standing orders, and each judge’s own procedures) live on the court’s official site. Direct links:
Links to the court’s own site, verified 2026-07-05. Rules change. Confirm against the court’s current posting before filing.
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. This court is also served by magistrate judges, listed above, whom the district’s own judges appoint. Read more on how federal judges are appointed.
Source: FJC Biographical Directory and CourtListener / Free Law Project (bulk data). Data as of 2026-08-10 (FJC); magistrates 2026-03-31 (CourtListener bulk snapshot). Verify against the primary source before relying.