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Jennifer Walker Elrod

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Jennifer Walker Elrod
Elrod in 2007
Chief Judge of the United States Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit
Incumbent
Assumed office
October 4, 2024
Preceded byPriscilla Richman
Judge of the United States Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit
Incumbent
Assumed office
October 19, 2007
Appointed byGeorge W. Bush
Preceded byPatrick Higginbotham
Judge of the 190th District Court of Texas
In office
April 23, 2002 – October 4, 2007
Appointed byRick Perry
Preceded byJohn P. Devine
Succeeded byPatricia J. Kerrigan
Personal details
Born
Jennifer Leigh Walker

(1966-09-06) September 6, 1966 (age 58)
Port Arthur, Texas, U.S.
Political partyRepublican[1]
EducationBaylor University (BA)
Harvard University (JD)

Jennifer Walker Elrod (born Jennifer Leigh Walker; September 6, 1966) is an American lawyer and jurist serving as the chief United States circuit judge of the United States Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit. She previously served as a state court judge on the 190th District Court of Texas from 2002 to 2007.

Background

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Elrod was born Jennifer Leigh Walker in 1966 in Port Arthur, Texas, and grew up in Baytown, Texas.

After high school, Elrod studied economics at Baylor University, graduating in 1988 with a Bachelor of Arts, magna cum laude. At Baylor, she was the Outstanding Graduating Senior of the Honors Program and was eventually named Outstanding Young Alumna. She went to Harvard Law School in 1989 and received her Juris Doctor in 1992, graduating cum laude. At Harvard Law School, she was a member of the Board of Student Advisers, an active member of the Harvard Federalist Society, and a finalist in the Ames Moot Court competition. She became a member of the State Bar of Texas in 1992.

After law school, Elrod was a law clerk for Judge Sim Lake of the United States District Court for the Southern District of Texas from 1992 to 1994. She then entered private practice at the law firm Baker Botts.

Judicial career

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State judicial service

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In 2002, Governor Rick Perry appointed Elrod to be a judge on the 190th District Court in Harris County. She was elected to the judgeship in the 2002 general election, and again in 2006 when she ran unopposed. As a state district court judge, she presided over jury and bench trials involving civil litigation. Elrod remained on the Harris County bench until her confirmation to the Fifth Circuit.

Federal judicial service

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President George W. Bush nominated Elrod to a vacancy on the New Orleans-based Fifth Circuit, the primary court of appeal for all federal trial court cases in Texas, Mississippi and Louisiana,[2] on March 29, 2007, She succeeded Judge Patrick Higginbotham, who assumed senior status on August 26, 2006. Elrod received a hearing before the Senate Judiciary Committee on July 19, 2007, and was voted out of committee on September 20, 2007. She was confirmed by the United States Senate by voice vote on October 4, 2007.[3] She received her commission on October 19, 2007.[4] She maintains chambers in Houston, Texas.

She has authored significant rulings against abortion rights, gun control and Obamacare.[2] In 2022, Elrod ruled that the SEC's in-house adjudication of securities fraud charges was unconstitutional under the Seventh Amendment, Article I, and Article II of the Constitution.[5] The Supreme Court affirmed her ruling on Seventh Amendment grounds in a 6-3 decision in 2024.[6]

On October 4, 2024, Elrod was named chief judge of the Fifth Circuit .[2][7]

References

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  1. ^ "2002 General Election - District Judge, 190th Judicial District". Texas Secretary of State.
  2. ^ a b c Scarcella, Mike "Conservative 5th Circuit judge takes helm at key US appeals court" Reuters, October 4, 2024. Retrieved October 6, 2024.
  3. ^ "PN402 — Jennifer Walker Elrod — The Judiciary". Washington, D.C.: United States Senate. March 29, 2007.
  4. ^ Jennifer Walker Elrod at the Biographical Directory of Federal Judges, a publication of the Federal Judicial Center.
  5. ^ Jarkesy v. Sec. & Exch. Comm'n, 34 F.4th 446 (5th Cir. 2022), cert. granted, 143 S. Ct. 2688, 216 L. Ed. 2d 1255 (2023), and cert. denied, 143 S. Ct. 2690, 216 L. Ed. 2d 1256 (2023), and aff'd and remanded, No. 22-859, 2024 WL 3187811 (U.S. June 27, 2024).
  6. ^ Sec. & Exch. Comm'n v. Jarkesy, 603 U.S. ___ (2024).
  7. ^ "Press Release - New Chief Judge". ca5.uscourts.gov (Press release). Retrieved October 3, 2024.

Sources

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Legal offices
Preceded by Judge of the United States Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit
2007–present 		Incumbent
Preceded by Chief Judge of the United States Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit
2024–present
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