Orlando Luis Garcia

Orlando Luis Garcia (born November 18, 1952) is the Chief United States District Judge of the United States District Court for the Western District of Texas and former Texas state legislator.

Orlando Luis Garcia
Chief Judge of the United States District Court for the Western District of Texas
Assumed office
January 1, 2016
Preceded bySamuel Frederick Biery Jr.
Judge of the United States District Court for the Western District of Texas
Assumed office
March 11, 1994
Appointed byBill Clinton
Preceded byEmilio M. Garza
Member of the Texas House of Representatives
from the 115th district
In office
1983–1991
Succeeded byLeticia R. Van de Putte
Personal details
Born (1952-11-18) November 18, 1952
Jim Wells County, Texas
EducationUniversity of Texas at Austin (BA)
University of Texas School of Law (JD)

Education and career

Born in Jim Wells County, Texas, Garcia received a Bachelor of Arts degree from the University of Texas at Austin in 1975 and a Juris Doctor from the University of Texas School of Law in 1978. He was in private practice in San Antonio, Texas from 1978 to 1990, and a Texas state representative from 1983 to 1991. From 1991 to 1992 he was a judge of the Texas Fourth Court of Appeals.

Federal judicial service

He was nominated by President Bill Clinton on November 19, 1993, to a seat which had been vacated by Emilio M. Garza over two years before. Garcia was confirmed by the United States Senate on March 10, 1994, and received his commission on March 11, 1994. He became Chief Judge on January 1, 2016.

On February 26, 2014, in San Antonio, Garcia overturned the Texas ban on same-sex marriage, ruling that the prohibition is unconstitutional and stigmatizes the relationship of gay couples in the conservative state. He stayed his ruling pending appeal.[1]

In August 2017, Garcia granted a preliminary injunction against Texas Senate Bill 4, which imposed prohibitions against certain local policies relating to immigration.[2] That injunction was reversed in part by the United States Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit in May 2018.[3]

References

  1. Guillermo Contreras (February 26, 2014). "Texas' ban on gay marriage ruled unconstitutional". San Antonio Express-News.
  2. City of El Cenizo v. Texas, 264 F. Supp. 3d 744 (W.D. Tex. 2017).
  3. Note, Recent Case: Fifth Circuit Reverses Injunction of Texas’s Sanctuary Cities Bill, 132 Harv. L. Rev. 1738 (2019).

Sources

Texas House of Representatives
Preceded by
Unknown
Member of the Texas House of Representatives
from District 115 (San Antonio)

1983–1991
Succeeded by
Leticia R. Van de Putte
Legal offices
Preceded by
Emilio M. Garza
Judge of the United States District Court for the Western District of Texas
1994–present
Incumbent
Preceded by
Samuel Frederick Biery Jr.
Chief Judge of the United States District Court for the Western District of Texas
2016–present
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