George C. Hanks Jr.

George Carol Hanks Jr. (born September 25, 1964) is a United States district judge of the United States District Court for the Southern District of Texas.

George C. Hanks Jr.
Judge of the United States District Court for the Southern District of Texas
Assumed office
April 22, 2015
Appointed byBarack Obama
Preceded byNancy Atlas
Magistrate Judge of the United States District Court for the Southern District of Texas
In office
September 13, 2010 – April 22, 2015
Personal details
Born
George Carol Hanks Jr.

(1964-09-25) September 25, 1964
Breaux Bridge, Louisiana, U.S.
EducationLouisiana State University (BA)
Harvard University (JD)
Duke University (LLM)

Biography

Hanks was born in 1964, in Breaux Bridge, Louisiana.[1] He graduated first in his class from Louisiana State University in 1986, receiving a Bachelor of Arts, summa cum laude. He received a Juris Doctor in 1989 from Harvard Law School. He received a Master of Laws degree in 2014 from Duke University Law School. He began his legal career by serving as a law clerk for Judge Sim Lake of the United States District Court for the Southern District of Texas, from 1989 to 1991. He served as an associate at the law firm of Fulbright & Jaworski, from 1991 to 1996, and as a shareholder at the law firm of Wickliff & Hall, PC, from 1996 to 2000. In 2001, he was appointed by Governor Rick Perry to be a District Judge for the 157th Civil District Court of Texas. He was subsequently elected to the position in 2002. In 2003, he was again appointed by Governor Perry to serve as a justice of the First Court of Appeals of Texas. He was elected to the position in 2004 and reelected in 2006. From September 13, 2010 to April 22, 2015, he served as a United States magistrate judge of the Southern District of Texas.[2][3][4][5]

Federal judicial service

On September 18, 2014, President Barack Obama nominated Hanks 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 Nancy Atlas, who assumed senior status on June 20, 2014. His nomination was part of a bipartisan package of nominees which included Rolando Olvera and Alfred H. Bennett[6] His nomination was praised by both Senators John Cornyn and Ted Cruz.[7] On December 16, 2014 his nomination was returned to the President due to the sine die adjournment of the 113th Congress. On January 7, 2015, President Obama renominated him to the same position.[8] He received a hearing before the Judiciary Committee on January 21, 2015.[9] On February 26, 2015 his nomination was reported out of committee by voice vote.[10] On April 20, 2015 the United States Senate confirmed him by a 91–0 vote.[11] He received his judicial commission on April 22, 2015,[5] and was assigned to the Galveston Division of the Southern District of Texas.[12] He is the first African-American federal judge to preside over the Galveston court. Hanks has been mentioned as a possible nominee to the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit.[13]

See also

References
  1. "Senate Judiciary Committee Nomination Questionnaire" (PDF).
  2. "President Obama Nominates Seven to Serve on the United States District Courts". whitehouse.gov. 18 September 2014 – via National Archives.
  3. "District Court General Orders – Southern District of Texas" (PDF). www.txs.uscourts.gov.
  4. "Justice George Carol Hanks Jr. Judge Profile on Martindale.com". www.martindale.com.
  5. George C. Hanks Jr. at the Biographical Directory of Federal Judges, a public domain publication of the Federal Judicial Center.
  6. "Presidential Nominations and Withdrawal Sent to the Senate". whitehouse.gov. 18 September 2014 – via National Archives.
  7. "Cornyn, Cruz applaud nominations for Texas' Southern District judgeships". 20 September 2014.
  8. "Presidential Nominations Sent to the Senate". whitehouse.gov. 7 January 2015 – via National Archives.
  9. "United States Senate Committee on the Judiciary". www.judiciary.senate.gov. 21 January 2015.
  10. "Results of Executive Business Meeting – February 26, 2015" (PDF).
  11. "On the Nomination (Confirmation George C. Hanks, Jr., of Texas, to be U.S. District Judge for the Southern District)". www.senate.gov.
  12. HEFFERNAN, ERIN (2 June 2015). "Appointment with history: First African-American to preside over state's oldest federal judgeship".
  13. Lat, David (14 November 2006). "Some Fifth Circuit Scuttlebutt".
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