Sean Jordan
2019 - Present
6
Sean D. Jordan is a judge on the United States District Court for the Eastern District of Texas. On January 17, 2019, President Donald Trump (R) nominated Jordan to a seat on this court. The U.S. Senate confirmed Jordan on July 30, 2019, on a vote of 54-34.[1] He received commission on August 20, 2019.[2] 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.
Jordan was a partner in the Austin, Texas, office of Jackson Walker L.L.P from 2015 to 2019. He served as the co-chair of the appellate practice group.[3]
Judicial nominations and appointments
United States District Court for the Eastern District of Texas (2019-present)
- See also: Federal judges nominated by Donald Trump
On January 17, 2019, President Donald Trump (R) nominated Jordan to a seat on the United States District Court for the Eastern District of Texas. The U.S. Senate confirmed Jordan on July 30, 2019, on a vote of 54-34.[1] To read more about the federal nominations process, click here.
 |
| Nominee Information |
| Name: Sean Jordan |
| Court: United States District Court for the Eastern District of Texas |
| Progress |
| Confirmed 194 days after nomination. |
 Nominated: January 17, 2019
|
| ABA Rating: Well Qualified
|
| Questionnaire: Questionnaire |
| Hearing: March 5, 2019
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| QFRs: QFRs (Hover over QFRs to read more) |
| Reported: April 4, 2019
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| Confirmed: July 30, 2019
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| Vote: 54-34
|
Confirmation vote
The U.S. Senate confirmed Jordan on July 30, 2019, on a vote of 54-34.[1] Democratic Senators Doug Jones (Ala.), Joe Manchin (W.Va.), and Kyrsten Sinema (Ariz.) voted with 51 Republican senators to confirm Jordan. To see a full breakdown of the vote on the official U.S. Senate website, click here.
| Jordan confirmation vote (July 30, 2019) | |||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Party | Yea | Nay | No vote | ||||||
 Democratic |
3 | 33 | 9 | ||||||
 Republican |
51 | 0 | 2 | ||||||
 Independent |
0 | 1 | 1 | ||||||
| Total | 54 | 34 | 12 | ||||||
Change in Senate rules
Jordan 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.[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
The Senate Judiciary Committee held hearings on Jordan's nomination on March 5, 2019.[7] Click here to access Jordan's committee questionnaire.
On April 4, 2019, the committee voted 12-10 to advance Jordan's nomination to the full Senate.[8]
Nomination
On January 16, 2019, President Donald Trump (R) announced his intent to nominate Jordan to a seat on the United States District Court for the Eastern District of Texas.[9] The U.S. Senate officially received the nomination on January 17. Jordan was nominated to succeed Judge Richard Schell, who assumed senior status on March 10, 2015.[1]
The American Bar Association rated Jordan well qualified for the position.[10] To read more about ABA ratings, click here.
Education
Jordan received his B.A., summa cum laude, from the University of Texas at Austin in 1991 and his J.D., with honors, from the University of Texas School of Law in 1994.[3][9]
Military service
Jordan served in the United States Army from 1983 to 1986.[3]
Professional career
- 2019-present: Judge, U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Texas
- 2015-2019: Partner Jackson Walker LLP
- 2012-2015: Partner, Sutherland Asbill & Brennan LLP
- 2004-2012: Office of the Attorney General of Texas
- 2008-2012: Principal deputy solicitor general
- 2006-2008: Deputy solicitor general
- 2004-2006: Assistant solicitor general
- 2000-2004: Jackson Walker LLP
- 2002-2004: Partner
- 2000-2002: Associate
- 1998-2000: Associate, Solar & Fernandes, LLP
- 1997-1998: Associate, Beirne, Maynard & Parsons LLP
- 1994-1997: Associate, Bell & Murphy, PC[3]
Awards and associations
Awards
- 2018, 2017, 2016: Super lawyer, Texas Super Lawyers/Texas Monthly
- 2015: Recognized for commercial litigation, The Legal 500 United States
- 2007, 2004: Supreme Court Best Brief Award, National Association of Attorneys General[3]
Associations
- Member, Austin Bar Association
- Member, Bar Association of the Fifth Federal Circuit
- Member, Federal Bar Association
- Member, The Federalist Society
- Member, Houston Bar Association
- Member, Texas Bar Association[3]
About the court
| Eastern District of Texas |
|---|
| Fifth Circuit |
|
| 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: |
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.
The court's headquarters are in Tyler, Texas. The court has six court divisions: Beaumont, Lufkin, Marshall, Sherman, Texarkana, and Tyler. Click here to see a list of the divisions and the counties they cover.
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
- United States District Court for the Eastern District of Texas
- United States Court of Appeals for the 5th Circuit
External links
- Search Google News for this topic
- Biography from the Federal Judicial Center
- Profile from Jackson Walker L.L.P.
- United States District Court for the Eastern District of Texas
- United States Court of Appeals for the 5th Circuit
Footnotes
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 1.2 1.3 Congress.gov, "PN205 — Sean D. Jordan — The Judiciary," accessed April 5, 2019
- ↑ Federal Judicial Center, "Jordan, Sean D.," accessed August 21, 2019
- ↑ 3.0 3.1 3.2 3.3 3.4 3.5 Senate Judiciary Committee, "Questionnaire for judicial nominees: Sean Daniel Godwin Jordan," accessed July 31, 2019
- ↑ The Hill, "GOP triggers 'nuclear option' to speed up Trump picks," April 3, 2019
- ↑ Axios, "Senate GOP invokes 'nuclear option' to speed up confirmations of Trump nominees," April 3, 2019
- ↑ NBC News, "McConnell to use 'nuclear option' to confirm lower-level nominees," April 2, 2019
- ↑ Committee on the Judiciary, "Nominations," March 5, 2019
- ↑ Senate Judiciary Committee, "Results of Executive Business Meeting," April 4, 2019
- ↑ 9.0 9.1 WhiteHouse.gov, "President Donald J. Trump Announces Nineteenth Wave of Judicial Nominees," January 16, 2019
- ↑ American Bar Association, "Ratings of Article III and Article IV Judicial Nominees: 116th Congress," accessed March 5, 2019
| Political offices | ||
|---|---|---|
| Preceded by - |
United States District Court for the Eastern District of Texas 2019-Present |
Succeeded by - |
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|---|---|---|---|
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| 2019 |
Eric Miller • Chad Readler • Eric Murphy • Neomi Rao • Paul Matey • Allison Jones Rushing • Bridget S. Bade • Roy Altman • Patrick Wyrick • Holly Brady • David Morales • Andrew Brasher • J. Campbell Barker • Rodolfo Ruiz • Daniel Domenico • Michael Truncale • Michael Park • Joseph Bianco • Raúl Arias-Marxuach • Daniel Collins • Joshua Wolson • Wendy Vitter • Kenneth Kiyul Lee • Kenneth Bell • Stephen Clark • Howard Nielson • Rodney Smith • Jean-Paul Boulee • Sarah Daggett Morrison • Rossie Alston • Pamela A. Barker • Corey Maze • Greg Guidry • Matthew Kacsmaryk • Allen Winsor • Carl Nichols • James Cain, Jr. • Tom Barber • J. Nicholas Ranjan • Clifton L. Corker • Peter Phipps • Daniel Bress • Damon Leichty • Wendy W. Berger • Peter Welte • Michael Liburdi • William Shaw Stickman • Mark Pittman • Karin J. Immergut • Jason Pulliam • Brantley Starr • Brian Buescher • James Wesley Hendrix • Timothy Reif • Martha Pacold • Sean Jordan • Mary Rowland • John M. Younge • Jeff Brown • Ada Brown • Steven Grimberg • Stephanie A. Gallagher • Steven Seeger • Stephanie Haines • Mary McElroy • David J. Novak • Frank W. Volk • Charles Eskridge • Rachel Kovner • Justin Walker • T. Kent Wetherell • Danielle Hunsaker • Lee Rudofsky • Jennifer Philpott Wilson • William Nardini • Steven Menashi • Robert J. Luck • Eric Komitee • Douglas Cole • John Sinatra • Sarah Pitlyk • Barbara Lagoa • Richard Myers II • Sherri Lydon • Patrick Bumatay • R. Austin Huffaker • Miller Baker • Anuraag Singhal • Karen Marston • Jodi Dishman • Mary Kay Vyskocil • Matthew McFarland • John Gallagher • Bernard Jones • Kea Riggs • Robert J. Colville • Stephanie Dawkins Davis • Gary R. Brown • David Barlow • Lewis Liman | ||
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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
