News and Announcements

Judge Ada Brown is the first woman of African American heritage to serve as a district judge in the Northern District of Texas, in the over 140-year history of the court. She also is one of just a handful of individuals with Native American ancestry to ever become a federal judge.

In the U.S. district courts, filings of civil cases involving insurance typically have surged following weather catastrophes. Over the past 20 years, devastating hurricanes and severe floods have resulted in the Eastern District of Louisiana processing the most insurance cases of any district court.

Judge J. Clifford Wallace, a federal judge who has advised judiciaries in more than 70 countries during his half-century on the bench, has been selected to receive the 2022 Susan and Carl Bolch Jr. Prize for the Rule of Law. He will be honored during a ceremony in San Diego on March 18, 2022.

As America honors Veterans Day, many federal judges have a special link to the Judge Advocate General’s Corps — better known to many as JAG. Four judges and a senior Judiciary leader recall their experiences as military lawyers.

Personal and business bankruptcy filings fell 29.1 percent for the 12-month period ending Sept. 30, 2021. A steady decline in filings has continued since the coronavirus (COVID-19) crisis began.  

Judge Jennifer Walker Elrod testified before a House subcommittee today to describe judges’ recusal standards and case conflict screening process that help judges maintain high ethical standards.

Chief Justice John G. Roberts, Jr., has named five new chairs of Judicial Conference committees and extended the term of four current chairs by one year. The appointments took effect on Oct. 1, 2021.

The federal Judiciary has unveiled a new Vulnerability Disclosure Policy to ensure the security of data that can be accessed online. The policy gives security researchers clear guidelines on how they may conduct vulnerability discovery activities. It also instructs researchers on how to submit discovered vulnerabilities to the Judiciary.

Judge Julia Smith Gibbons, former budget chair for the U.S. Judicial Conference who was a pioneering woman judge in her home state of Tennessee, is the recipient of the 2021 Edward J. Devitt Distinguished Service to Justice Award. Gibbons serves on the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Sixth Circuit.  

Cuauhtemoc Ortega grew up in the working-class neighborhood of La Puente in Los Angeles County, where people he knew sometimes struggled through negative encounters with law enforcement and immigration officials. Now, he leads the Federal Public Defender’s Office representing La Puente and the greater Los Angeles area.