John Kazen

Southern District of Texas
	Fifth Circuit
Judgeships
	Posts: 19
	Judges: 17
	Vacancies: 2
Judges
	Chief: Randy Crane
	Active judges: Alfred Bennett, Jeff Brown, Randy Crane, Keith Ellison, Charles R. Eskridge III, Marina Garcia Marmolejo, Andrew Hanen, George Hanks, Ricardo Hinojosa, John Kazen, David Morales, Rolando Olvera, Nelva Gonzales Ramos, Fernando Rodriguez Jr., Lee Rosenthal, Diana Saldana, Drew Barnett Tipton; Senior judges:; Micaela Alvarez, Melinda Harmon, David Hittner, Kenneth Hoyt, Lynn Hughes, Janis Jack, Sim Lake, Gray Miller, John Rainey, Hilda Tagle, Ewing Werlein

Nomination Tracker
Nominee Information
	Name:
	Court: United States District Court for the Southern District of Texas
Progress
	Confirmed 120 days after nomination.
	Nominated: September 11, 2023
	ABA Rating: Well qualified
	Questionnaire: Questionnaire
	Hearing: October 4, 2023
	Hearing Transcript: Hearing Transcript
	QFRs: (Hover over QFRs to read more)
	Reported: October 26, 2023
	Confirmed: January 9, 2024
	Vote: 83-14

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John A. Kazen is a judge on the United States District Court for the Southern District of Texas. He was nominated to the court by President Joe Biden (D) on September 11, 2023, and confirmed by the United States Senate on January 9, 2024, by a vote of 83-14.^[1]^[2]^[3]^[4]^[5] To see a full list of judges appointed by Joe Biden, click here.

Prior to joining the court, Kazen was a federal magistrate judge for the United States District Court for the Southern District of Texas. He joined the court on June 13, 2018.^[6]

The United States District Court for the Southern District of Texas is one of 94 U.S. District Courts. They are the general trial courts of the United States federal courts. To learn more about the court, click here.

Judicial nominations and appointments

United States District Court for the Southern District of Texas (2024-present)

See also: Federal judges nominated by Joe Biden

On September 11, 2023, President Joe Biden (D) nominated Kazen to the United States District Court for the Southern District of Texas.^[1] Kazen received commission on January 12, 2024.^[5]

Confirmation vote

The U.S. Senate confirmed Kazen by a vote of 83-14 on January 9, 2024.^[2] To see a full breakdown of the vote on the official U.S. Senate website, click here.

Kazen confirmation vote (January 9, 2024)
Party	Yea	Nay	No vote
Democratic	46	0	2
Republican	34	14	1
Independent	3	0	0
Total	83^[7]	14	3

Senate Judiciary Committee hearing

The Senate Judiciary Committee held hearings on Kazen's nomination on October 4, 2023. The committee voted to advance Kazen's nomination to the full Senate on October 26, 2023.^[4] Click here for a list of other nominees awaiting a committee vote.

Nomination

On August 30, 2023, President Joe Biden (D) announced his intent to nominate Kazen to the United States District Court for the Southern District of Texas. The president officially nominated Kazen on September 11, 2023.

Kazen was nominated to replace Judge Vanessa Gilmore, who retired on January 2, 2022.^[2]

The American Bar Association (ABA) rated Kazen well qualified.^[8] To read more about ABA ratings, click here.

Education

B.A., University of Texas at Austin (1987)
J.D., University of Houston Law School (1990)^[6]

Career

2024-present: Judge, United States District Court for the Southern District of Texas
2018-2024: Magistrate judge, United States District Court for the Southern District of Texas
1997-2018: Private Practice, Laredo, Texas
1991-1997: Private Practice, El Paso, Texas
1990-1991: Law clerk, Hon. Robert Parker, United States District Court for the Eastern District of Texas^[6]

About the court

The United States District Court for the Southern District of Texas is one of 94 United States district courts. The court's headquarters are in Houston and has six additional offices in the district. When decisions of the court are appealed, they are appealed to the United States Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit based in downtown New Orleans at the John Minor Wisdom Federal Courthouse.

The Southern District of Texas has original jurisdiction over cases filed within its jurisdiction. These cases can include civil and criminal matters that fall under federal law.

The court is headquartered in Houston and has six additional offices in the district. When decisions of the court are appealed, they are appealed to the Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals based in downtown New Orleans at the John Minor Wisdom Federal Courthouse.

To read opinions published by this court, click here.

The federal nomination process

Federal judges are nominated by the president of the United States and confirmed by the Senate. There are multiple steps to the process:

The president nominates an individual for a judicial seat.
The nominee fills out a questionnaire and is reviewed by the Senate Judiciary Committee.
The Senate Judiciary Committee holds a hearing with the nominee, questioning them about things like their judicial philosophy, past rulings or opinions, etc.

As part of this process, the committee sends a blue slip to senators from the home state in which the judicial nomination was received, allowing them to express their approval or disapproval of the nominee.

After the hearing, the Senate Judiciary Committee will vote to approve or return the nominee.

If approved, the nominee is voted on by the full Senate.
If the Committee votes to return the nominee to the president, the president has the opportunity to re-nominate the individual.

The Senate holds a vote on the candidate.

If the Senate confirms the nomination, the nominee receives a commission to serve a lifelong position as a federal judge.
If the Senate does not confirm the nomination, that nominee does not become a judge.

External links

Footnotes

↑ ^1.0 ^1.1 Whitehouse.Gov, "Nominations Sent to the Senate," September 11, 2023
↑ ^2.0 ^2.1 ^2.2 Congress.Gov, "PN1020 — 118th Congress (2023-2024) — John A. Kazen — The Judiciary," accessed on September 11, 2023
↑ The White House, "President Biden Names Thirty-Seventh Round of Judicial Nominees and Announces One New Nominee to Serve as U.S. Marshal," accessed August 30, 2023
↑ ^4.0 ^4.1 U.S. Senate Committee on the Judiciary, "Results of Executive Business Meeting – October 26, 2023," accessed on October 26, 2023
↑ ^5.0 ^5.1 The Federal Judicial Center, "Kazen, John Andrew," accessed January 12, 2024
↑ ^6.0 ^6.1 ^6.2 United States District & Bankruptcy Court - Southern District of Texas, "Appointment of United States Magistrate Judge John A. Kazen, Laredo Division," accessed January 21, 2020
↑ Note: The bolded number reflects the largest number.
↑ [https://www.americanbar.org/content/dam/aba/administrative/government_affairs_office/emma-web-rating-chart-biden-congress.pdf American Bar Association, "STANDING COMMITTEE ONTHE FEDERAL JUDICIARY," accessed November 28th, 2023]

Political offices
Preceded by Vanessa Gilmore	United States District Court for the Southern District of Texas 2024-Present	Succeeded by -
Preceded by -	United States District Court for the Southern District of Texas 2018-2024	Succeeded by -

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