El Paso federal magistrate Judge Leon Schydlower moves closer to US Senate confirmation

Prominent El Paso federal magistrate judge Leon Schydlower is one step closer to confirmation as a U.S. District Court Judge for the Western District of Texas after fielding questions about border issues before the Senate judiciary committee.

Schydlower and U.S. Department of Justice Senior Attorney Advisor Ernesto Gonzalez, who also was nominated to fill vacant federal district court judicial seats in the U.S. District Court for the Western District of Texas, appeared Wednesday, Jan. 24, before the U.S. Senate Committee on the Judiciary to answer questions about their legal experience and issues impacting the U.S.-Mexico border.

President Joe Biden nominated both to fill vacant positions on Dec. 19.

Schydlower, who is currently a federal magistrate judge for the U.S. District Court for the Western District of Texas, was nominated to fill the judicial seat left vacant from the passing of longtime El Paso federal Judge Philip Ray Martinez in 2021. Gonzalez is filling a vacancy in the Del Rio area.

"I'm honored to be nominated to fill the seat of United States District Judge Philip R. Martinez, who we lost tragically and prematurely at the young age of 63 in 2021," Schydlower said. "I thank President Biden for nominating me to fill Judge Martinez's shoes and I know at the outset I will never truly fill them."

The two nominees were introduced at the hearing by U.S. Sen. John Cornyn, R-Texas, who touted the legal experience of both men.

"El Paso and Del Rio have some heavy dockets because of their proximity to the U.S.-Mexico border, so these are very important positions that are being nominated today," Cornyn said.

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Schydlower has "a unique and extremely impressive resume that illustrates his long-standing commitment to the rule of law and the people of this great country," Cornyn said.

He added, "as a magistrate judge, he (Schydlower) has helped resolve complex discovery matters, held hundreds of hearings, and earned the respect of the El Paso Bar for his work. As though being a magistrate judge isn't enough responsibility, especially one located on the U.S.-Mexico border, Judge Schydlower has also served in the U.S. Air Force Reserve Judge Advocate [General’s] Corps since 2010.”

Cornyn emphasized Gonzalez's decades of prosecutorial experience trying high-profile drug and criminals cases.

“He (Gonzalez) served for two decades as an assistant U.S. attorney in the Eastern District of Texas, where he managed one of the largest dockets of any federal prosecutor in the Department of Justice," Cornyn said. "With over 230 jury trials, Mr. Gonzalez investigated and prosecuted some of the most dangerous cartel members around the world. He became one of the nation's most prolific cartel prosecutors in the process.”

Gonzalez has shown a commitment to helping train young prosecutors and law enforcement personnel, Texas's senior senator said.

"His temperament, knowledge of the law, and ability to handle a large docket will serve the Del Rio division, the Western District well,” Cornyn added.

The  U.S. District Court for the Western District of Texas includes El Paso, Austin, San Antonio and Del Rio.

Other candidates — Susan M. Bazis, Ann Marie McIff Allen, Kelly Harrison Rankin and Robin Michelle Meriweather — for other U.S. federal judicial district seats also appeared before the committee.

Legal experts expect both nominees to receive full U.S. Senate confirmation. U.S. District Court judges earn about $243,300 annually, according to the Administrative Office of the U.S. Courts. Federal judges are appointed for life.

Criminal cases make up majority of federal docket on U.S.-Mexico border

The biggest question faced by the two nominees focused on the difficulties facing federal courts along the U.S.-Mexico border compared to other areas.

Border-related crime is the majority of cases seen by judges in the U.S. District Court for the Western District of Texas, Schydlower and Gonzalez testified.

"We are on the Texas-Mexico border, and El Paso is the epicenter of a lot of what goes on there," Schydlower said. "Our docket is overwhelmingly criminal, as you might imagine, and it's always been since dating back to the 70s. It's probably 75 to 80% criminal, so what we as judges have to do is bear that in mind. We've got to take the cases as they come to us.

"We process them and we close them bearing in mind though that there is a civil docket on the other side that we need to get to and we have to get those cases accomplished. So it's twofold — handling an enormous criminal docket, which is nonstop, but at the same time, taking care to ensure that our responsibility to handle the civil docket is done."

Gonzalez said judges and federal prosecutors must make great sacrifices including possibly putting themselves and their families in danger to ensure justice is served when dealing with some of the most dangerous drug cartel criminals.

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"I've been personally threatened on five occasions," Gonzalez told the committee. "On two occasions, I had to move out of my home with my wife and child, and live outside of my home for several months at a time. My wife and my daughter have always been supportive and never questioned my dedication to public service, my dedication to doing this job. But it is a dangerous job."

Gonzalez explained that twice he has had to be "deputized as a U.S. Marshal to carry a gun, to wear a bulletproof vest at all times, being escorted to court and home, and changing my way of life, taking a different route home, turning on my alarm when we're at home, not just at night. Yes, it is a dangerous role to be a drug prosecutor on the border."

U.S. Senate confirmation expected to be quick

The confirmation process for Schydlower and Gonzalez should be relatively smooth as both presented well at Jan. 24 hearing, have years of experience, are not controversial nominees and have support from Cornyn and Sen. Ted Cruz, R-Texas, said Carl Tobias, Williams Chair in Law at the University of Richmond's School of Law.

"I thought it (hearing) went very well," Tobias said. "I noticed Sen. Cornyn was very supportive of both Western District nominees. They both did exceedingly well. They were well received. Cornyn was supportive and I think the other senators were supportive. They answered the questions in a straightforward, clear way. No controversy. It's all very positive. I think they will easily be confirmed."

Tobias, a prominent national law scholar with an emphasis on federal judicial selection, said Schydlower and Gonzalez could be confirmed by the U.S. Senate within the next few months. The next steps include the U.S. Senate Committee on the Judiciary voting to approve the nominees and then sending them to the U.S. Senate for debate and voting. The committee could vote as early as February, Tobias said.

"They could be confirmed this spring, which would be great, of course, for Western District of Texas, because it's always under water and has such huge dockets, which both nominees talked about it," Tobias said. "It'll be great to have those emergency vacancies filled because the caseloads are just so big. I think the judges are really drowning in cases."

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The 2024 elections should not impact the nominations, Tobias said.

"For these nominees, I don't think so," Tobias said. "I don't think the elections changes it. Traditionally in the old days, it used to slow down as we came up to an election, but given the home state senators' support and what I saw today, I think they really want to get these two nominees through and have them seated in deciding cases.

"It didn't strike me that they were in any way controversial, but that they would be hardworking, diligent, intelligent and great judges. They both have a lot of relevant experience. It's a bird in hand and both senators from Texas are happy to get those seats filled."

Who are Schydlower and Gonzalez?

Schydlower, a Hank High School graduate, has served as a federal magistrate judge for the U.S. District Court for the Western District of Texas since 2015.

He worked as a private practice lawyer from 2002 to 2015. He was a partner and associate attorney at El Paso's Kemp Smith law firm between 2000 and 2002. Schydlower worked as a special assistant U.S. attorney in the U.S. Attorney's Office for the District of Hawaii from 1998 to 2000.

Schydlower also has decades of legal experience in the military as a member of both the U.S. Navy and U.S. Air Force. He served as an attorney and judge in the military for more than a decade.

He served as a trial attorney on active duty in the U.S. Navy Judge Advocate General's Corps from 1996 to 1998. He was in the U.S. Navy Reserve from 2000 to 2004 and has served in the U.S. Air Force Reserve Judge Advocate General's Corps since 2010, where he currently holds the rank of Lieutenant Colonel.

Schydlower received his law degree from the University of Texas School of Law in 1995. He received his bachelor's degree from the University of Texas at Austin in 1993.

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Gonzalez is currently a senior attorney advisor for the U.S. Department of Justice's Criminal Division, Narcotics and Dangerous Drugs Section.

He previously served as an assistant U.S. attorney in the U.S. Attorney's Office for the Western District of Texas from 2000 to 2003. He then worked as an assistant U.S. attorney in the U.S. Attorney's Office for the Eastern District of Texas from 2003 to 2023.

Gonzalez worked as an assistant district attorney in Bexar County in San Antonio from 1994 to 2000. He received his law degree from the Thurgood Marshall School of Law at Texas Southern University in Houston in 1993 and a bachelor's degree from the University of Texas at San Antonio in 1987.

Aaron Martinez may be reached at amartinez1@elpasotimes.com or on Twitter @AMartinezEPT.

This article originally appeared on El Paso Times: El Paso magistrate Judge Schydlower appears before Senate committee