Samuel Frederick Biery Jr. | |
---|---|
![]() | |
Chief Judge of the United States District Court for the Western District of Texas | |
In office June 1, 2010 –December 31, 2015 | |
Preceded by | Walter Scott Smith Jr. |
Succeeded by | Orlando Luis Garcia |
Judge of the United States District Court for the Western District of Texas | |
Assumed office March 11,1994 | |
Appointed by | Bill Clinton |
Preceded by | Seat established by 104 Stat. 5089 |
Personal details | |
Born | McAllen,Texas,U.S. | November 11,1947
Education | Texas Lutheran College (BA) Southern Methodist University (JD) |
Samuel Frederick Biery Jr. (born November 11,1947) is a United States district judge of the United States District Court for the Western District of Texas. [1] [2] [3]
Biery was born in McAllen,Texas. He received a Bachelor of Arts degree from Texas Lutheran College in 1970 and a Juris Doctor from the Dedman School of Law at Southern Methodist University in 1973. [1] He served in the United States Army Reserve from 1970 to 1976 where he became an E4. [1] He was in private practice in San Antonio,Texas from 1973 to 1978. [1] He was a judge on the County Court at law number two in Bexar County,Texas from 1979 to 1982. [1] He was a judge on the state 150th District Court from 1983 to 1988. [1] He was a justice of the state Fourth Court of Appeals from 1989 to 1994.
On November 19,1993,Biery was nominated by President Bill Clinton to a new seat on the United States District Court for the Western District of Texas created by 104 Stat. 5089. [2] He was confirmed by the United States Senate on March 10,1994,and received his commission on March 11,1994. [2] Biery was elevated to chief judge on June 1,2010,his term as chief judge ended in late 2015. [2] On April 29,2013,his ruling on 35 Bar and Grille LLC,et. al. v. The City of San Antonio reached press notoriety for its use of puns,sexual innuendo and double entendres. [4] On August 20,2025,Judge Biery issued an injunction that precluded Texas from displaying the Ten Commandments in every classroom despite a state law passed in June. [5] [6]
In June 2022,Biery claimed that he does not read opinions handed down from the Fifth Circuit,only to later claim his remarks were "courtroom banter". [7]