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Michael Truncale

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Michael Truncale
Image of Michael Truncale

Nonpartisan

United States District Court for the Eastern District of Texas
Tenure

2019 - Present

Years in position

6

Education

Bachelor's

Lamar University, 1978

Graduate

University of North Texas, 1980

Law

Southern Methodist University, 1985

Michael Truncale is a judge on the United States District Court for the Eastern District of Texas.[1] He was nominated by President Donald Trump (R) on January 23, 2018, and confirmed by the United States Senate on May 14, 2019, by a vote of 49-46. He received commission on May 16, 2019. To see a full list of judges appointed by Donald Trump, click here.

The United States District Court for the Eastern 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.

At the time of his nomination, Truncale was a partner at Orgain Bell & Tucker, LLP. Truncale was also a 2012 Republican candidate who sought election to the U.S. House representing the 14th Congressional District of Texas.[2]

Judicial nominations and appointments

United States District Court for the Eastern District of Texas

See also: Federal judges nominated by Donald Trump

President Trump nominated Truncale to the United States District Court for the Eastern District of Texas on January 23, 2018, to serve as an Article III federal judge.[1] The U.S. Senate voted 49-46 to confirm Truncale on May 14, 2019. To read more about the federal nominations process, click here.

Nomination Tracker
Fedbadgesmall.png
Nominee Information
Name: Michael Truncale
Court: United States District Court for the Eastern District of Texas
Progress
Confirmed 476 days after nomination.
ApprovedANominated: January 23, 2018
ApprovedAABA Rating: Unanimously Well Qualified
Questionnaire: Questionnaire
ApprovedAHearing: April 25, 2018
QFRs: QFRs (Hover over QFRs to read more)
ApprovedAReported: May 24, 2018 (first)/February 7, 2019 (second) 
ApprovedAConfirmed: May 14, 2019
ApprovedAVote: 49-46

Confirmation vote

The U.S. Senate confirmed Truncale on May 14, 2019, on a vote of 49-46.[3] To see a full breakdown of the vote on the official U.S. Senate website, click here.

Truncale confirmation vote (May 14, 2019)
Party Yea Nay No vote
Electiondot.png Democratic 0 43 2
Ends.png Republican 49 1 3
Grey.png Independent 0 2 0
Total 49 46 5
Change in Senate rules
See also:
Filibuster and reconciliation in the United States Congress
Federal judges nominated by Donald Trump
United States federal courts

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.[4]

The change was passed under a procedure, often referred to as the nuclear option, that requires 51 votes rather than 60.[5]

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.[6] For more, see Filibuster and reconciliation in the United States Congress.


Senate Judiciary Committee hearing

Truncale had his hearing before the Senate Judiciary Committee on February 7, 2019. Truncale was reported to the full Senate on February 7, 2019, after a 12-10 vote by the Senate Judiciary Committee.[7]

Nomination

Truncale was nominated a second time to succeed Judge Ron Clark on January 23, 2019. Clark assumed senior status on February 28, 2018.

At the sine die adjournment of the 115th Congress on January 3, 2019, the Senate returned Truncale's nomination to President Trump.[8] Truncale was one of 51 individuals the president re-nominated on January 23, 2019.[9]

The American Bar Association unanimously rated Truncale well qualified for the position.[10] To read more about ABA ratings, click here.

Education

Truncale earned his B.B.A. in economics from Lamar University. He received his M.B.A. from the University of North Texas. He also earned a J.D. from Southern Methodist University.[11]

Professional career

Campaign themes

2012

Truncale's campaign website listed the following things which he is in favor of or opposed to:[12]

  • Michael FAVORS:
"A Federal Balanced Budget Amendment, Strong Pro-Life and Pro-Family Values, Less Government; Lower Taxes, Economic Reform for Private Sector Job Creation, Border Security and Immigration Reform, Defending our Constitution, Protecting Individual Freedoms, Protecting State’s Rights, Defending 2nd Amendment Rights, Strong National Defense & Military, Clean Environment Standards Based on Energy Independence, Fewer Governmental Regulations."
  • Michael OPPOSES:
"Tax Increases, Liberalism and Socialism, Obamacare, Amnesty, Runaway National Debt, Unfunded Federal Mandates, Federal Government Intrusion Into Our Daily Lives and Federal Government Expansion."

Elections

2012

See also: Texas' 14th Congressional District elections, 2012

Truncale ran in the 2012 election for the U.S. House, representing Texas' 14th District. He was defeated by Felicia Harris and Randy Weber in the Republican primary on May 29, 2012.[13][14]

U.S. House, Texas District 14 Republican Primary, 2012
Candidate Vote % Votes
Green check mark transparent.pngRandy Weber 27.6% 12,088
Green check mark transparent.pngFelicia Harris 18.9% 8,287
Michael Truncale 14.2% 6,212
Jay Old 14% 6,143
Robert Gonzalez 9.8% 4,305
Bill Sargent 7.6% 3,328
John Gay 4.7% 2,075
George Harper 1.9% 813
Mark Mansius 1.3% 554
Total Votes 43,805

Campaign finance summary

Ballotpedia currently provides campaign finance data for all federal- and state-level candidates from 2020 and later. We are continuously working to expand our data to include prior elections. That information will be published here as we acquire it. If you would like to help us provide this data, please consider donating to Ballotpedia.

About the court

Eastern District of Texas
Fifth Circuit
TX-ED.jpeg
Judgeships
Posts: 8
Judges: 8
Vacancies: 0
Judges
Chief: Amos Mazzant
Active judges: J. Campbell Barker, Marcia Crone, James Gilstrap, Sean Jordan, Jeremy Kernodle, Amos Mazzant, Robert William Schroeder III, Michael Truncale

Senior judges:
Ron Clark, Richard Schell


The United States District Court for the Eastern District of Texas is one of 94 United States district courts. The court's headquarters are in Tyler, Texas. 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 Eastern 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 six court divisions, each covering the following counties:

The Beaumont Division, covering Hardin, Jasper, Jefferson, Liberty, Newton and Orange counties. The Lufkin Division, covering Angelina, Houston, Nacogdoches, Polk, Sabine, Shelby, San Augustine, Trinity and Tyler counties. The Marshall Division, covering Camp, Cass, Harrison, Marion, Morris and Upshur counties. The Sherman Division, covering Collin, Cooke, Denton, Grayson, Delta, Fannin, Hopkins and Lamar counties. The Texarkana Division, covering Bowie, Franklin, Titus and Red River counties. The Tyler Division, covering Anderson, Cherokee, Gregg, Henderson, Panola, Rains, Rusk, Smith, Van Zandt and Wood counties.

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.


Personal

Note: Please contact us if the personal information below requires an update.
Truncale and his wife, Denise, have two children.[11]

See also

External links

Footnotes

  1. ↑ 1.0 1.1 The White House, "President Donald J. Trump Announces Tenth Wave of Judicial Nominees," January 23, 2018
  2. ↑ Houston Chronicle, "field grows for U.S. Rep. Ron Paul's seat," November 1, 2011
  3. ↑ United States Senate, "Roll Call Vote 116th Congress - 1st Session," accessed May 17, 2019
  4. ↑ The Hill, "GOP triggers 'nuclear option' to speed up Trump picks," April 3, 2019
  5. ↑ Axios, "Senate GOP invokes 'nuclear option' to speed up confirmations of Trump nominees," April 3, 2019
  6. ↑ NBC News, "McConnell to use 'nuclear option' to confirm lower-level nominees," April 2, 2019
  7. ↑ Senate Judiciary Committee, "Results of Executive Business Meeting – February 7, 2019," accessed May 17, 2019
  8. ↑ 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
  9. ↑ WhiteHouse.gov, "Nominations Sent to the Senate," January 23, 2019
  10. ↑ American Bar Association, "Ratings of Article III and Article IV judicial nominees: 116th Congress," accessed May 21, 2019
  11. ↑ 11.0 11.1 Project Vote Smart, "Biography," accessed June 2, 2014
  12. ↑ Campaign website, Issues
  13. ↑ Texas GOP, "Republican candidate list," accessed May 10, 2012
  14. ↑ Texas Secretary of State, "Unofficial Republican primary results," May 29, 2012

Political offices
Preceded by
- 		United States District Court for the Eastern 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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