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.
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.”