Robert L. Pitman | |
---|---|
![]() | |
Judge of the United States District Court for the Western District of Texas | |
Assumed office December 19, 2014 | |
Appointed by | Barack Obama |
Preceded by | William Royal Furgeson Jr. |
United States Attorney for the Western District of Texas | |
In office October 3,2011 –December 19,2014 | |
Appointed by | Barack Obama |
Preceded by | Johnny Sutton |
Succeeded by | Richard Durbin |
Magistrate Judge of the United States District Court for the Western District of Texas | |
In office 2003–2011 | |
Personal details | |
Born | Robert Lee Pitman 1962 (age 61–62) Fort Worth,Texas,U.S. |
Education | Abilene Christian University (BA) University of Texas,Austin (JD) University of Oxford (MSt) |
Robert Lee Pitman (born 1962) [1] is an American attorney and jurist who serves as a United States district judge of the United States District Court for the Western District of Texas and former United States Attorney for the Western District of Texas. He was previously a United States Magistrate Judge of the same court.
Pitman was born in Fort Worth,Texas,in 1962,the youngest of five children. [1] [2] He received a Bachelor of Science degree from Abilene Christian University,where he was student body president. [3] Pitman then obtained a Juris Doctor from the University of Texas School of Law. [3] After completing law school,Pitman served as a law clerk for Judge David Owen Belew Jr. of the United States District Court for the Northern District of Texas in Fort Worth. [3] Pitman holds a Master of Studies degree in International Human Rights Law from the University of Oxford. [4] [5]
Following his judicial clerkship,Pitman began his career at the international law firm of Fulbright and Jaworski in Houston. In 2001,Pitman briefly served as interim United States Attorney for the Western District of Texas. [3] As United States attorney on September 11,2001,he formed the first anti-terrorism task force in the district,uniting local,state,and federal law enforcement agencies in their counter-terrorism efforts and in their work to better secure Texas' international border. He was replaced by George W. Bush appointee Johnny Sutton,who asked Pitman to remain in the office as his chief deputy. [3] In October 2003,Pitman was selected to serve as a United States magistrate judge for the United States District Court for the Western District of Texas. [3] As magistrate judge,Pitman consistently ranked highest among all local,state,and federal judges in the judicial poll conducted annually by the Austin Bar Association. [6] In 2009,Republican Senators John Cornyn and Kay Bailey Hutchison sent Pitman's name to Democratic President Barack Obama as one of two candidates for United States attorney for the Western District of Texas. [7] [8] The recommendation of Pitman,who is openly gay,was publicly opposed by a social conservative group in Texas. [7] [8] On June 27,2011,almost two years after Pitman was recommended for the post,Obama notified members of Congress that he would nominate Pitman to be United States attorney for the Western District of Texas. [9] He was formally nominated the following day. [10] Citing his credentials and experience,and expressing a desire to fill the position with the most qualified candidate,he was supported by Texas' two United States Senators,both Republicans. With their support,the United States Senate confirmed Pitman to be the chief federal law enforcement officer in the Western District of Texas on September 26,2011. He took office on October 3,2011. He left office on December 19,2014,upon receiving his judicial commission. [4] [5] He is currently an adjunct professor at the University of Texas School of Law.
On June 26,2014,President Barack Obama nominated Pitman to serve as a United States district judge of the United States District Court for the Western District of Texas,to the seat vacated by Judge William Royal Furgeson Jr.,who assumed senior status on November 30,2008. [11] He received a hearing before the United States Senate Committee on the Judiciary for September 9,2014. [12] On November 20,2014,his nomination was reported out of committee by voice vote. [13] On Saturday,December 13,2014,Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid filed a motion to invoke cloture on the nomination. On December 16,2014,Reid withdrew his cloture motion on Pitman's nomination,and the Senate proceeded to vote to confirm Pitman by a voice vote. He received his judicial commission on December 19,2014. [5]
Pitman is a sixth-generation Texan and lives in Austin. He is an avid outdoorsman and horseman. Pitman was the first openly gay United States attorney in Texas. [19] He was one of four openly LGBT U.S. Attorneys,alongside Jenny Durkan of the Western District of Washington,Laura Duffy of the Southern District of California and Anne Tompkins of the Western District of North Carolina. [20] Upon receiving his judicial commission,Pitman became the first openly gay judge to sit on the federal bench within the Fifth Circuit of the federal court system,which covers Texas,Louisiana,and Mississippi. [21] [22] [23]
U.S. President Barack Obama nominated over 400 individuals for federal judgeships during his presidency. Of these nominations,Congress confirmed 329 judgeships,173 during the 111th &112th Congresses and 156 during the 113th and 114th Congresses.
Laura Elizabeth Duffy is an American lawyer and judge who serves on the San Diego County Superior Court and served as the United States Attorney for the Southern District of California from 2010 to 2017.
James Paul Oetken,known professionally as J. Paul Oetken,is a United States district judge of the United States District Court for the Southern District of New York. He is the first openly gay man to be confirmed as an Article III judge.
Max Oliver Cogburn Jr. is a United States district judge of the United States District Court for the Western District of North Carolina.
Alison Julie Nathan is an American lawyer who has served as a United States circuit judge of the United States Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit since 2022. She served as a United States district judge of the United States District Court for the Southern District of New York from 2011 to 2022. She previously served as associate White House counsel for President Barack Obama.
Thomas Owen Rice is a United States district judge of the United States District Court for the Eastern District of Washington.
Michael Walter Fitzgerald is a United States district judge of the United States District Court for the Central District of California.
Gregg Jeffrey Costa is an American attorney who is a former United States circuit judge of the United States Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit and former United States district judge of the United States District Court for the Southern District of Texas.
Michael J. McShane is an American lawyer serving as the chief United States district judge of the United States District Court for the District of Oregon. He previously served as a state court judge on the Oregon Multnomah County Circuit Court from 2001 to 2013.
Todd Michael Hughes is a United States circuit judge of the United States Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit.
Judith Ellen Levy is an American lawyer who has served as a United States district judge of the United States District Court for the Eastern District of Michigan since 2014.
David Jason Hale is a United States district judge of the United States District Court for the Western District of Kentucky and former United States attorney for the Western District of Kentucky.
Theodore David Chuang is a United States district judge of the United States District Court for the District of Maryland and former deputy general counsel of the United States Department of Homeland Security.
Salvador Mendoza Jr. is an American lawyer serving as United States circuit judge of the United States Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit. He previously served as a United States district judge of the United States District Court for the Eastern District of Washington from 2014 to 2022 and as a Washington state court judge from 2002 to 2014.
Darrin Phillip Gayles is a United States district judge of the United States District Court for the Southern District of Florida and former Florida Circuit Court judge.
Amos Louis Mazzant III is a United States district judge of the United States District Court for the Eastern District of Texas and former United States magistrate judge of the same court.
Alfred Homer Bennett is a United States district judge of the United States District Court for the Southern District of Texas.
Walter David Counts III is a United States district judge of the United States District Court for the Western District of Texas. He was formerly a United States magistrate judge of the same court.
Matthew Joseph Kacsmaryk is a United States district judge of the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Texas. He was nominated to the position by President Donald Trump in 2017 and sworn in for the position in 2019.
David James Porter is a United States circuit judge of the United States Court of Appeals for the Third Circuit.