Eastern District of Texas Federal Court Practice

William Wayne Justice (1920-2009)

Former Eastern District of Texas chief judge William Wayne Justice passed away yesterday at his home in Austin.  Judge Justice was appointed to the Eastern District bench in 1968 following several years as U.S. Attorney for the district.  Judge Justice officed in Tyler for the first thirty years of his career on the bench, then moved to Austin after taking senior status to be closer to his daughter.

His accomplishments in over forty years on the bench were many, as detailed in the obituary in today's Austin-American Statesman.  It's a good read, and will give those who didn't know much about the Judge a chance to see what all the fuss is about.  My favorite quote about Judge Justice (and I can just see her saying it with a twinkle in her eye) is from my former professor the late, great Barbara Jordan, who once said that Judge Justice "helped officials in Texas state government see their duty clearly."  I think the judge probably liked that one.

Madeleine Segal Hall (2009)

Madeleine Hall, widow of the late U.S. District Judge Sam B. Hall, Jr., for whom the Marshall federal courthouse i    s named passed away Tuesday morning at home with her three daughters.  Visitation is this evening from 6-8 pm, and funeral services will be tomorrow morning at 11 am at Eastern Hills Church of Christ.

I started to say that Judge and Mrs. Hall were married while I clerked for him, but of course they'd been married a long time before that raising their three daughters and getting Judge through an unsuccessful run for Congress in 1962 (the genesis of the Marshall Division, by the way - interesting story), and a successful one in 1976 (and four more after that), which was followed by his appointment to the federal bench in 1985, where he served until his death in 1994.  Her influence was felt at the courthouse on a daily basis when I was a law clerk - as soon as Judge Hall came in we could tell if Mrs. Hall was up when he left the house, because if she wasn't, he would be wearing one of those god-awful powder blue Congressional suits from the '70's with the wide lapels and matching shirts and ties with knots the size of my fist.  If she was up, on the other hand, he invariably looked dapper in a sportjacket and slacks with a tastefully patterned tie.  (Unless he'd been at the farm - then he was in jeans, a scruffy jacket, and that silly hat, but nobody could ever do anything about that).  There's probably an observation in there somewhere about Sam and Madeleine, but I'll leave that for those that knew the Halls better than I.

Mrs. Hall's contributions to the community in Marshall are many, and she will be missed by far more than just her family and close friends.  It was always a treat seeing this tiny china doll of a grandmother on the square at lunch and reporting to her on how Jamie and the boys were doing, and I will miss that very much.  Anyone that knew her would invariably describe her as a great lady, and there is nothing I can add to that, other than to say that if Jamie and I had ever been blessed with a daughter, I could have asked for no more than to have her grow up to be like Madeleine Hall.

Magistrate Judge Judith Guthrie reappointed

The Eastern District judges yesterday reappointed U.S. Magistrate Judge Judith Guthrie of Tyler to another term.  Bonus points to whoever can identify where this picture came from.  Hint: it's a document in the courthouse.

Kristie Wright Named Texarkana Lawyer of the Year

Congratulations are in order to Kristie Wright, who was named Texarkana's Attorney of the Year by the Texarkana Young Lawyers Association recently.  Kristie is the founder of the TYLA, as well as being monstrously active in the other (Texas) TYLA.  (She made a career of making me look bad (and feel tired) when she was the District 1 TYLA director while I was the District 1 representative on the State Bar board a few years back).  Kristie is the first woman to receive the honor, and it is a well-deserved recognition for all she has done as far as service to the bar.

Eastern District Bench/Bar Conference Details Announced

The brochure just came out for the 13th Annual Eastern District of Texas Bench/Bar Conference, which will be held October 15 and 16 at the Westin Stonebriar Resport in Frisco, Texas (reputed to be less susceptible to hurricanes than Galveston).  Download Bench Bar 09 Brochure

The panels all look good, but my personal favorite is the one I'll be chairing, What Every Law Clerk Knows, And What You Should Find Out, with Aileen Durrett, Career Law Clerk to U.S. District Judge Richard Schell & Benjamin Elacqua, Fish & Richardson, P.C. (and former law clerk to Judge Ron Clark).

1901 Harrison County Courthouse in Marshall Rededicated

 After fifteen years working on the project I unfortunately missed the big day Saturday, but it went ahead without me, and the historic Harrison County Courthouse was rededicated Saturday in Marshall.  Which means that that godawful square brick and glass box across the street is now officially the courthouse annex.  (What they'll call the building that was previously the annex now I'm not sure). As readers know, Judge Everingham has already conducted one hearing in the building when both courtrooms in the federal courthouse were busy with trials, and we all expect (and hope for) many more.
The adjacent picture by Courtney Case provides a good view of the rotunda interior from the third floor (the green circle at the bottom is the new glass floor that provides light into the basement level - there used to be one just like it in the Texas Capitol).
Also shown is a picture of the two singers for the event, Don Parks and Nancy Vines of Marshall, who handled the national and state anthems.  (I can't help but point out that Don and Nancy were also the two singers at Jamie and my wedding thirteen years ago, which should give you an idea just how small Marshall really is).  It's also a pretty good picture of the courthouse from ground level.

East Texas lawyer's kidney switches sides in litigation

This month's Baylor magazine had a short article about something that I think exemplifies (well, in a pretty extreme way, admittedly) the way counsel on opposite sides of the courtroom get along in East Texas. 
In February of this year, Baylor Law grad Keith Langston (JD '01) donated a kidney to fellow BU law grad Scott Skelton (JD '92 - a very good year, I might add) after Scott suffered kidney failure.  Scott and Keith both practice in East Texas, and know each other well - they've actually been opposite each other in over 4,000 cases over the past five years.  (No word yet on whether the procedure gives rise to a conflict, whether TTLA and TADC have worked out membership exceptions to cover this sort of thing, or whether this was really just part of a very intensely negotiated settlement agreement).
Both have been organ donors for many years, but plan on working together to get the word out about live donation.  Keith points out that the entire waiting list for kidney donors could be taken care of through live donation, a procedure that requires only about a week's worth of time from the donor.  Oh, yes, and a kidney.
And no, this isn't something you can get your local counsel to do for you.

Dallas Bar Association IP Section Bench-Bar Event

Tomorrow evening, June 11, the Dallas Bar Association's Intellectual Property Section is having its 4th annual bench/bar event from 5:30-7:30 pm at the Pavilion at the Belo Mansion.  Cocktails, hors d'ouevres and dessert will be served, and admission is free of charge.  Summer associates (for the firms that still have them) are welcome.

Correction: Judge Mazzant investiture set for Friday (not Thursday)

Yesterday I posted that Judge Mazzant's investiture was set for Thursday at 3pm in Sherman.  It is actually Friday at 3pm - sorry for the confusion.  I had my Thursday and Friday mixed up all day yesterday.

Investiture of Judge Mazzant set for this Thursday in Sherman

The official investiture of the Eastern District's newest judge, Magistrate Judge Amos Mazzant of Sherman will take place at 3pm on Thursday of this week in Sherman.   The district judges of the Eastern District appointed then-Justice Mazzant, who previously had served on the Fifth Court of Appeals in Dallas since 2004, on January 9.
Judge Mazzant is a familiar face to Eastern District practitioners - after graduating from Baylor Law School in 1990 he clerked for retired U.S. District Judge Paul Brown in Sherman, as well as former magistrate judge Robert Faulkner, and Judge Faulkner's successor Judge Don Bush.  He also served as president of the Texas Young Lawyers Association (TYLA) in 2001, and was named Baylor Law School Outstanding Young Lawyer of the Year in 2002. 
Judge Mazzant was not the only former Eastern District law clerk assuming a bench this spring.  I had the pleasure in February of attending the investiture of my successor as Judge Sam B. Hall, Jr.'s law clerk, Jill R. Willis as a new state district judge in January in the 429th in Collin County.  (Clerking for Judge Hall has anti-aging side effects, by the way.  It really has been sixteen years since we were clerks).
Nor is Jill, er, Judge Willis, the only other former ED clerk elevated to the bench recently.  Brian Gary of Sherman was also named to the 397th state court bench in adjacent Grayson County last summer.  Brian and I were in the same law school class at Baylor, and he clerked for Judge Richard Schell, who was in Beaumont at the time, but has since relocated to Plano.

Good to see these judges on the bench!