Northern District of Texas Judge Reed O’Connor became the district’s chief judge on Monday, succeeding Judge David Godbey.
Godbey, who served as chief judge since Sept. 6, 2022, will take senior status next month. Typically, a chief judge’s term is seven years or until the judge turns 70.
Godbey, who was appointed to the federal bench in 2002 after being nominated by President George W. Bush, did not return requests for comment on why he has taken senior status.
O’Connor, who was also nominated to the federal bench in 2007 by President Bush, did not respond to requests for comment. O’Connor has chambers in Fort Worth and Wichita Falls.
Due to some of his previous rulings, O’Connor has become the judge conservatives turn to when they want a federal law or policy overturned. For example, in 2018, O’Connor ruled the Affordable Care Act was unconstitutional.
In June, the federal government filed a lawsuit seeking a declaration that the Texas Dream Act was unconstitutional. The 24-year-old law that allowed non-citizens to qualify for in-state tuition was deemed unconstitutional by Judge O’Connor.
Recently, O’Connor presided over two cases of a husband and wife involved in pandemic small business loan scams.
Last month, the Boeing Company and the Department of Justice told O’Connor to reject concerns raised by the families of victims of 737 Max crashes in opposition to a settlement agreement that would end the criminal prosecution of the company. A hearing on the motion to dismiss the case is scheduled for Sept. 3.
Prior to taking the bench, Judge O’Connor started his career in 1989 as an associate with Vinson & Elkins in Houston. From 1994 to 1998, he served as an assistant attorney for the Tarrant County District Attorney’s Office, and he served as assistant U.S. attorney for the Northern District in Fort Worth from 1998 to 2003.
Judge O’Connor served as counsel to the U.S. Senate Judiciary Committee in 2003, where he advised then-Chairman Orrin Hatch. In 2005, he served as chief counsel to the subcommittee on Immigration, Border Security and Citizenship.
The Houston native earned his law degree from South Texas College of Law in 1989.