Matthew Kacsmaryk

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Matthew J. Kacsmaryk
Image of Matthew J. Kacsmaryk

Nonpartisan

United States District Court for the Northern District of Texas
Tenure

2019 - Present

Years in position

5

Education

Bachelor's

Abilene Christian University, 1999

Law

University of Texas School of Law, 2003

Personal
Birthplace
Gainesville, Fla.

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Matthew Joseph Kacsmaryk is a judge on the United States District Court for the Northern District of Texas. On September 7, 2017, President Donald Trump (R) nominated Kacsmaryk to a seat on this court.[1] The U.S. Senate confirmed Kacsmaryk on June 19, 2019, on a 52-46 vote.[2] He received commission on June 21, 2019.[3] To see a full list of judges appointed by Donald Trump, click here.

The United States District Court for the Northern 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.

Kacsmaryk was a deputy general counsel for the First Liberty Institute from 2014 to 2019.[4] According to the Amarillo Globe-News, the First Liberty Institute is "a Plano law firm that specializes in religious liberty cases."[5]

Judicial nominations and appointments

U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Texas

See also: Federal judges nominated by Donald Trump

On September 7, 2017, President Donald Trump (R) nominated Kacsmaryk to a seat on the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Texas.[1] The U.S. Senate confirmed Kacsmaryk on June 19, 2019, on a 52-46 vote.[2] To read more about the federal nominations process, click here.

Nomination Tracker
Fedbadgesmall.png
Nominee Information
Name: Matthew J. Kacsmaryk
Court: United States District Court for the Northern District of Texas
Progress
Confirmed 650 days after nomination.
ApprovedANominated: September 7, 2017
ApprovedAABA Rating: Unanimously Qualified
Questionnaire: Questionnaire
ApprovedAHearing: December 13, 2017
QFRs: QFRs (Hover over QFRs to read more)
ApprovedAReported: January 18, 2018 (first)/February 7, 2019 (second) 
ApprovedAConfirmed: June 19, 2019
ApprovedAVote: 52-46


Confirmation vote

The U.S. Senate confirmed Kacsmaryk on June 19, 2019, on a vote of 52-46.[2] Sen. Susan Collins of Maine was the only Republican senator to vote against confirming Kacsmaryk. To see a full breakdown of the vote on the official U.S. Senate website, click here.

Kacsmaryk confirmation vote (June 19, 2019)
Party Yea Nay No vote
Electiondot.png Democratic 0 43 2
Ends.png Republican 52 1 0
Grey.png Independent 0 2 0
Total 52 46 2
Change in Senate rules
See also:
Filibuster and reconciliation in the United States Congress
Federal judges nominated by Donald Trump
United States federal courts

Kacsmaryk was confirmed to a U.S. District Court under a new precedent the Senate established.

On April 3, 2019, the U.S. Senate voted 51-48 in favor of a change to chamber precedent lowering the maximum time allowed for debate on executive nominees to posts below the Cabinet level and on nominees to district court judgeships from 30 hours after invoking cloture to two.[6]

The change was passed under a procedure, often referred to as the nuclear option, that requires 51 votes rather than 60.[7]

It was the third use of the nuclear option in Senate history. In 2013, it was used to eliminate the 60-vote threshold to confirm presidential nominees, except those to the Supreme Court. In 2017, it was used to eliminate the 60-vote threshold required to confirm Supreme Court nominees.[8] For more, see Filibuster and reconciliation in the United States Congress.


Senate Judiciary Committee hearing

The Senate Judiciary Committee held hearings on Kacsmaryk's nomination on December 13, 2017.[1] The committee favorably reported the nomination on January 18, 2018.[9]

The committee favorably reported Kacsmaryk's nomination a second time on February 7, 2019, by a 12-10 vote. Kacsmaryk's nomination was one of 44 that Sen. Lindsey Graham (R-S.C.) reported that day.[10]

Nomination

Kacsmaryk was nominated by President Donald Trump (R) on September 7, 2017, to a seat on the United States District Court for the Northern District of Texas vacated by Mary Lou Robinson.[1] Robinson assumed senior status on February 11, 2016.[11]

Kacsmaryk's nomination was returned to the president on January 3, 2018, under the provisions of Senate Rule XXXI, paragraph 6 of the Standing Rules of the Senate.[1] The president renominated Kacsmaryk on January 8, 2018.[9]

At the sine die adjournment of the 115th Congress on January 3, 2019, the Senate returned Kacsmaryk's nomination to President Trump.[12] Kacsmaryk was one of 51 individuals the president re-nominated on January 23, 2019.[13]

The American Bar Association unanimously rated Kacsmaryk qualified for the nomination.[14] To read more about ABA ratings, click here.

Early life and education

Kacsmaryk was born in Gainesville, Florida, in 1977. He earned his bachelor's degree, summa cum laude, from Abilene Christian University in 1999 and his J.D. from the University of Texas School of Law in 2003.[4]

Professional career

Noteworthy events

Federal judges sign letter regarding hiring Columbia University students (2024)

On May 6, 2024, Kacsmaryk and 12 other federal judges signed a letter to Columbia University saying they would not hire undergraduates or law students from the university, beginning with the entering class of 2024.[15]

In the letter, the judges said, "As judges who hire law clerks every year to serve in the federal judiciary, we have lost confidence in Columbia as an institution of higher education."[16]

They signed the letter in the context of student demonstrations at Columbia University over the Israel-Hamas War. The students who participated in the demonstrations demanded that the university divest all of its finances from "companies and institutions that profit from Israeli apartheid, genocide and occupation in Palestine."[17]

The judges said they believed the university should institute consequences for faculty and students who participated in the demonstrations. They also called on the university to practice "neutrality and nondiscrimination in the protection of freedom of speech" and "viewpoint diversity on the faculty and across the administration."[16]

The Washington Post reported that Dean of Columbia Law School Gillian Lester said in a statement that graduates are "consistently sought out by leading employers in the private and public sectors, including the judiciary." Lester did not directly address the letter.[15]


About the court

Northern District of Texas
Fifth Circuit
Great seal of the United States.png
Judgeships
Posts: 12
Judges: 11
Vacancies: 1
Judges
Chief: David Godbey
Active judges: Jane Boyle, Ada Brown, David Godbey, James Wesley Hendrix, Matthew J. Kacsmaryk, James Kinkeade, Sam Lindsay, Reed O'Connor, Mark Pittman, Karen Gren Scholer, Brantley Starr

Senior judges:
Sam Cummings, A. Joe Fish, Sidney Fitzwater, Barbara Lynn, Robert Maloney, Terry Means


The United States District Court for the Northern District of Texas is one of 94 United States district courts. 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 Counties of the Northern District of Texas (click for larger map)

The Northern 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.

There are seven court divisions, each covering the following counties:

The Abilene Division, covering Callahan, Eastland, Fisher, Haskell, Howard, Jones, Mitchell, Nolan, Shackelford, Stephens, Stonewall, Taylor, and Throckmorton counties

The Amarillo Division, covering Armstrong, Briscoe, Carson, Castro, Childress, Collingsworth, Dallam, Deaf Smith, Donley, Gray, Hall, Hansford, Hartley, Hemphill, Hutchinson, Lipscomb, Moore, Ochiltree, Oldham, Parmer, Potter, Randall, Roberts, Sherman, Swisher, and Wheeler counties

The Dallas Division, covering Dallas, Ellis, Hunt, Johnson, Kaufman, Navarro, and Rockwall counties

The Fort Worth Division, covering Comanche, Erath, Hood, Jack, Palo Pinto, Parker, Tarrant, and Wise counties

The Lubbock Division, covering Bailey, Borden, Cochran, Crosby, Dawson, Dickens, Floyd, Gaines, Garza, Hale, Hockley, Kent, Lamb, Lubbock, Lynn, Motley, Scurry, Terry, and Yoakum counties

The San Angelo Division, covering Brown, Coke, Coleman, Concho, Crockett, Glasscock, Irion, Menard, Mills, Reagan, Runnels, Schleicher, Sterling, Sutton, and Tom Green counties

The Wichita Falls Division, covering Archer, Baylor, Clay, Cottle, Foard, Hardeman, King, Knox, Montague, Wichita, Wilbarger, and Young counties

The court convenes in Dallas with divisions in Fort Worth, Amarillo, Abilene, Lubbock, San Angelo, and Wichita Falls. It has jurisdiction over 100 counties in the Northern and Central parts of the state of Texas.

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.


See also

External links

Footnotes

  1. ↑ 1.0 1.1 1.2 1.3 1.4 United States Congress, "PN 998 — Matthew J. Kacsmaryk — The Judiciary," accessed September 9, 2017
  2. ↑ 2.0 2.1 2.2 Congress.gov, "PN233 — Matthew J. Kacsmaryk — The Judiciary," accessed June 20, 2019
  3. ↑ Federal Judicial Center, "Kacsmaryk, Matthew Joseph," accessed June 24, 2019
  4. ↑ 4.0 4.1 4.2 Senate Judiciary Committee, "Questionnaire for judicial nominees: Matthew Joseph Kacsmaryk," accessed June 20, 2019
  5. ↑ Amarillo Globe-News, "Trump picks Plano lawyer for Amarillo judge vacancy," September 7, 2017
  6. ↑ The Hill, "GOP triggers 'nuclear option' to speed up Trump picks," April 3, 2019
  7. ↑ Axios, "Senate GOP invokes 'nuclear option' to speed up confirmations of Trump nominees," April 3, 2019
  8. ↑ NBC News, "McConnell to use 'nuclear option' to confirm lower-level nominees," April 2, 2019
  9. ↑ 9.0 9.1 Congress.gov, "PN1416 — Matthew J. Kacsmaryk — The Judiciary," accessed June 20, 2019
  10. ↑ Senate Judiciary Committee, "Results of Executive Business Meeting," February 7, 2019
  11. ↑ Federal Judicial Center, "Robinson, Mary Lou," accessed June 20, 2019
  12. ↑ Under Senate Rule XXXI, paragraph 6 of the Standing Rules of the Senate, pending nominations are returned to the president if the Senate adjourns sine die or recesses for more than 30 days. Congressional Research Service, "Senate Consideration of Presidential Nominations: Committee and Floor Procedure," April 11, 2017
  13. ↑ WhiteHouse.gov, "Nominations Sent to the Senate," January 23, 2019
  14. ↑ American Bar Association, "Ratings of Article III and Article IV judicial nominees, 115th Congress," accessed November 8, 2017
  15. ↑ 15.0 15.1 The Washington Post, "Conservative judges say they will boycott Columbia University students," May 7, 2024
  16. ↑ 16.0 16.1 The Washington Post, "Letter to Columbia University," May 6, 2024
  17. ↑ Columbia University Apartheid Divest, "Demands," accessed May 14, 2024

Political offices
Preceded by
- 		United States District Court for the Northern District of Texas
2019-Present		 Succeeded by
-


Texas courts

Federal courts:

Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals • U.S. District Court: Eastern District of Texas, Western District of Texas, Northern District of Texas, Southern District of Texas • U.S. Bankruptcy Court: Eastern District of Texas, Western District of Texas, Northern District of Texas, Southern District of Texas

State courts:

Texas Supreme Court • Texas Court of Appeals • Texas Court of Criminal Appeals • Texas District Courts • Texas County Courts • Texas County Courts at Law • Texas Statutory Probate Courts • Texas Justice of the Peace Courts

State resources:

Courts in Texas • Texas judicial elections • Judicial selection in Texas

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