Nelva Gonzales Ramos

Nelva Gonzales Ramos
Do you have a photo that could go here? Submit it for this profile by emailing us!
Judge
United States District Court for the Southern District of Texas
Seat #8
Station	Corpus Christi, TX
Tenure
08/08/2011-Present
Party	Democratic
Predecessor	Hayden Head
Elections and appointments
Appointed by	Pres. Barack Obama
Education
Bachelor's	Southwest Texas State University, 1987
J.D.	University of Texas Law, 1991
Past experience
Judge, Texas District 347
2000-2011
Personal
Born	1966
Hometown	Port Lavaca, TX

Nelva Gonzales Ramos is an Article III federal judge for the United States District Court for the Southern District of Texas. She was nominated by President Barack Obama in January 2011.

Education

Ramos received her bachelor's degree from Southwest Texas State University in 1987 and her J.D. from the University of Texas School of Law in 1991.

Professional career

• 2001-2011: District judge, Texas 347th Judicial District
• 1999-2000: Attorney in private practice, Corpus Christi, Texas
• 1997-1999: Judge, Municipal Court, City of Corpus Christi, Texas
• 1991-1997: Attorney in private practice, Corpus Christi, Texas

Judicial career

Southern District of Texas

Nomination Tracker
	Candidate:	Nelva Gonzales Ramos
	Court:	Southern District of Texas
	Progress:	Confirmed 187 days after nomination.
A	Nominated:	1/27/2011
A	ABA Rating:	Substantial Majority Qualified, Minority Well Qualified
D	Questionnaire:
A	Hearing:	4/13/2011
D	QFRs:
D	Reported:
A	Confirmed:	8/2/2011
	Vote:

Ramos was nominated to the United States District Court for the Southern District of Texas to replace the retired Hayden Head.

Ramos was rated Substantial Majority Qualified, Minority Well Qualified by the American Bar Association. She had a hearing before the Senate Judiciary Committee on April 13, 2011. The Senate Judiciary Committee voted to send Ramos's nomination to the full Senate for a vote on May 12, 2011.

Ramos was confirmed by a Senate voice vote on August 2, 2011. After receiving word on August 4, 2011, that the paperwork had been signed by President Obama, Ramos was officially sworn in at the federal courthouse in Corpus Christi.

In late May 2011, before Senate confirmation hearings were scheduled, Governor Rick Perry interviewed applicants to replace Ramos as judge of the Texas 347th Judicial District.

Notable cases

Texas voter ID law discriminatory; blocked by federal judge (2014)

A federal judge ruled that Texas is unable to enforce its new law that would require voters to show identification prior to voting. Opponents of the law claimed that it would prevent minorities, who are less likely to have an approved form of ID, from voting. Judge Nelva Gonzalez Ramos, who agreed with opponents of the law, ruled less than a month before the November 2014 elections. Judge Ramos wrote that the law was enacted with a discriminatory purpose and put undue burdens upon citizens trying to carry out their right to vote.

Supporters of the law said that it had wide-spread public approval, including from minorities. Further, the state attorney’s office pointed out that similar laws in other states had been upheld. Opponents, however, claimed that the Texas law was stricter and discriminatory in nature. For example, college ID’s would not have been acceptable but a handgun permit would. The state would have offered special voting ID’s for a cost of $3 if a person could show a legal birth certificate, but opponents claimed this was an undue burden on the poorest in the state who could not afford to travel to the offices to obtain these ID’s.

Articles:

• Dallas Morning News, "Federal judge blocks Texas voter ID law; state promises a quick appeal," October 10, 2014
• NBC News, "Latina Judge Strikes Down TX Voter ID, Blasts History of 'Discrimination'," October 10, 2014

Emergency "Park It Now" motion denied for recalled General Motors cars (2014)

See also: United States District Court for the Southern District of Texas (Silvas, et al v. General Motors, LLC, 2:14-cv-00089)

On April 17, 2014, Judge Ramos denied an emergency motion for injunctive relief filed by Charles and Grace Silvas—one which colloquially came to be called the "Park It Now" motion—that sought the court to order General Motors (GM) to tell customers to stop driving recalled vehicles until repairs could be made.

Many lawsuits have been filed due to GM's faulty ignition switch technology, including the one by Charles and Grace Silvas in Texas. About 26 million people own GM cars with defective ignition switches that could affect power steering and braking capabilities, as well as the deployment of airbags. To date, the problem has been linked to more than thirty accidents and more than ten deaths. The Silvases originally filed suit to reclaim the lost value of their recalled car, a 2006 Chevrolet Cobalt, but their lawyers filed a motion in March 2014 in an attempt to force the automaker, through a court order, to advise all customers to stop driving their cars in the interest of safety.

Judge Ramos denied the motion, noting that the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration had jurisdiction over the remedy being sought, writing, "[t]he court is of the opinion that N.H.T.S.A. is far better equipped than this court to address the broad and complex issues of automotive safety and the regulation of automotive companies in connection with a nationwide recall."

See also

• United States District Court for the Southern District of Texas

External links

• Federal Judicial Center, "Biography of Nelva Gonzales Ramos"

References

Political offices
Preceded by: Hayden Head	Southern District of Texas 2011–Current Seat #8	Succeeded by: NA