The U.S. Senate Tuesday confirmed the first U.S. district court judge in Texas in nearly four years when it voted to approve U.S. Magistrate Judge John Kazen for an open seat on the federal bench in the Southern District of Texas.
President Joe Biden nominated Judge Kazen for the position last year after Houston federal judge Vanessa Gilmore retired.
While Judge Gilmore’s chambers were in Houston, Judge Kazen will sit in Laredo because the judges of the Southern District agreed two years ago that the Laredo Division’s caseload is so heavy that it needs an additional judge.
Judge Kazen’s chambers, once he is sworn in, will be in the federal building named after his father, former U.S. District Judge George P. Kazen.
The senate approved Judge Kazen’s nomination 83 to 14 after both of Texas’s senators publicly supported his confirmation.
“Judge Kazen’s legal acumen, work ethic, and three decades of experience in private practice and public service make him exceptionally qualified to serve as a U.S. district judge in Laredo,” U.S. Sen. John Cornyn said in a written statement. “I am confident he will continue to carry on his father’s tremendous legacy in the Southern District of Texas once he is confirmed by the Senate.”
“For those people who think Washington is completely broken and we can’t work together — we somehow hate each other, I just want to reassure that it’s just some of the time that’s the case, but not in this case,” Cornyn said.
Judge Kazen, 59, was born in Nebraska but grew up in Laredo. He went to college at the University of Texas and law school at the University of Houston Law Center. He has practiced civil litigation in El Paso and Laredo. In 2018, he was appointed to be a U.S. magistrate serving in Laredo.
Judge Kazen is the first federal judge confirmed by the U.S. senate in 2024. President Biden has nominated two more candidates who are awaiting senate hearings.