Del Rio Division Federal District Court to Receive Second Full-Time U.S. District Judge
By: Ricardo E. Calderon, Eagle Pass Business Journal, Inc., Copyright 2021
The United States District Court for the Western District of Texas, Del Rio Division, in Del Rio, Texas will be receiving a second full-time U.S. District Judge assigned to it after the Western District of Texas judges approved to assign one of the El Paso Division judgeships to the Del Rio Division.
U.S. District Judge Alia Moses announced at a court hearing on Monday, April 26, 2021 that the Western District of Texas District Judges had approved to reassign one of the five El Paso Division judgeships to the Del Rio Division to assist it handle the heavy caseload.
Judge Moses noted that it might take up to a year before the new federal district judge is up and operating in the Del Rio Division.
A vacancy recently occurred within the Western District of Texas, El Paso Division, when U.S. District Judge Phillip Martinez unexpectedly passed away from a heart attack in February 2021.
The criminal caseload has increased significantly in the Del Rio Division with a total of 3,229 cases filed in 2019 with only one U.S. District Judge compared to 3,992 cases in the El Paso Division with five U.S. District Judges.
U.S. District Judge Alia Moses has been the lone full-time federal district judge in the Del Rio Division since 2002, when she was sworn in.
Judge Moses noted that despite the COVID-19 pandemic, the criminal caseload has increased in the Del Rio Division. Judge Moses welcomes the assignment of a second full-time U.S. District Judge to the Del Rio Division.
