William Royal Furgeson Jr. | |
---|---|
Senior Judge of the United States District Court for the Western District of Texas | |
In office November 30, 2008 –May 31, 2013 | |
Judge of the United States District Court for the Western District of Texas | |
In office March 11,1994 –November 30,2008 | |
Appointed by | Bill Clinton |
Preceded by | Seat established by 104 Stat. 5089 |
Succeeded by | Robert L. Pitman |
Personal details | |
Born | William Royal Furgeson Jr. December 9,1941 Lubbock,Texas |
Education | Texas Technological College (BA) University of Texas School of Law (JD) |
William Royal Furgeson Jr. (born December 9,1941) [1] is a retired United States district judge of the United States District Court for the Western District of Texas. After leaving the bench,he became the Founding Dean of University of North Texas at Dallas College of Law in June 2013,where he served for five years. He retired in June 2018 as Dean Emeritus and now practices with the law firm of Furgeson Malouf Law PLLC.
Born in Lubbock,Texas,Furgeson received a Bachelor of Arts degree from Texas Technological College (now Texas Tech University) in 1964 and a Juris Doctor with honors from the University of Texas School of Law in 1967. While in law school,he was an associate editor of the Texas Law Review. He served in the United States Army from 1967 to 1969,attaining the rank of captain. Returning to Texas after his military service,he shortly served as an assistant county attorney of County Attorney's Office,Lubbock,Texas,before he was appointed a law clerk for Judge Halbert O. Woodward of the United States District Court for the Northern District of Texas from 1969 to 1970.
In 1970 he started private practice in El Paso,practicing law for twenty-four years until 1993 with the law firm Kemp Smith. He is a fellow of the American College of Trial Lawyers,a member of the American Law Institute,and Board Certified by the Texas Board of Legal Specialization in Civil Trial Law. While in private practice,he was general campaign chair and president of the El Paso United Way,president of the El Paso chapter of the American Board of Trial Advocates,and president of the El Paso Bar Association.
On November 19,1993,President Bill Clinton nominated Furgeson to a new seat on the United States District Court for the Western District of Texas created by 104 Stat. 5089. He was confirmed by the United States Senate on March 10,1994,and received his commission on March 11,1994. In 2008,after taking senior status,Furgeson was reassigned to the United States District Court for the Northern District of Texas. He assumed senior status on November 30,2008,and retired on May 31,2013,to become the founding dean of the University of North Texas at Dallas College of Law,which opened in the fall of 2014. [2] [3]
During his time on the bench,in addition to his ongoing district court obligations,he was a panel judge on the Judicial Panel on Multidistrict Litigation,President of the Federal Judges Association,and a member of the Judicial Branch Committee of the Judicial Conference of the United States. He has also served as chair of the Judicial Resources Committee of the Judicial Conference of the United States.
"Law school is not easy. We will require you to work hard. Law practice is not easy. Representing people in their most important affairs is hard work. But,being a lawyer is a unique and rewarding opportunity to help others structure their lives in accordance with the law. It is a high calling." [4]
Robert Ewing Thomason known as R. Ewing Thomason was a Texas politician,a member and Speaker of the Texas House of Representatives,the mayor of El Paso,a Democratic member of the United States House of Representatives,and a United States district judge of the United States District Court for the Western District of Texas.
Sidney Allen Fitzwater is a senior United States district judge of the United States District Court for the Northern District of Texas in Dallas,Texas.
David Briones is a senior United States district judge of the United States District Court for the Western District of Texas.
Harry Lee Hudspeth was a United States district judge of the United States District Court for the Western District of Texas.
Philip Ray Martinez was a United States district judge of the United States District Court for the Western District of Texas.
Harold Barefoot Sanders Jr. was an American attorney,politician,and jurist who served as a United States district judge of the United States District Court for the Northern District of Texas and counsel to President Lyndon B. Johnson. He was best known for overseeing the lawsuit to desegregate the Dallas Independent School District.
Jorge Antonio Solis was a United States District Judge and Chief Judge of the United States District Court for the Northern District of Texas.
Ronald McLeod Whyte was United States district judge of the United States District Court for the Northern District of California in San Jose,California.
Robert Lee Pitman is an American attorney who serves as a United States district judge of the United States District Court for the Western District of Texas. He is a former United States attorney for the Western District of Texas. He was previously a United States magistrate judge of the same court.
David Campos Guaderrama is a Senior United States district judge of the United States District Court for the Western District of Texas.
Karen Anne Gren Scholer is an American lawyer who serves as a United States district judge of the United States District Court for the Northern District of Texas.
James Wesley Hendrix is a United States district judge of the United States District Court for the Northern District of Texas and former assistant United States attorney for the same district. He presides over the Northern District's Lubbock,Abilene,and San Angelo Divisions,which account for 47 of the Northern District's 100 counties,and span an area larger than Pennsylvania.
Jeffrey Carl Mateer is an American lawyer. From 2016 to 2020,he served as First Assistant Attorney General of Texas. In September 2017,he was nominated by President Donald Trump to become a United States district judge of the United States District Court for the Eastern District of Texas;however,the nomination was withdrawn in December 2017.
Fernando Rodriguez Jr. is a United States district judge of the United States District Court for the Southern District of Texas.
Robert Rees Summerhays is an American lawyer who serves as a United States district judge of the United States District Court for the Western District of Louisiana. He was formerly a United States bankruptcy judge of the same court.
John Campbell "Cam" Barker is an American federal judge of the United States District Court for the Eastern District of Texas.
Ada Elene Brown is an American lawyer who is a district judge of the United States District Court for the Northern District of Texas. She is a former trial judge of the Dallas County courts and a former Justice of the Fifth Court of Appeals of Texas. She was the first African-American woman federal judge nominated by President Donald Trump and confirmed by the Senate. She is also the first African American woman to sit as a federal judge in the 140- year-history of the Northern District of Texas.
John Andrew Kazen is an American lawyer from Texas who has served as a United States district judge of the United States District Court for the Southern District of Texas since 2024. He previously served as a United States magistrate judge of the same court from 2018 to 2024.
Leon Schydlower is an American lawyer who has served as a United States district judge of the United States District Court for the Western District of Texas since 2024. He previously served as a United States magistrate judge of the same court from 2015 to 2024.