Jennifer Walker Elrod

Source: Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia.

Jennifer Walker Elrod
Elrod in 2007
Judge of the United States Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit
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 57)
Port Arthur, Texas, U.S.
Political partyRepublican[1]
SpouseHal C. Elrod
EducationBaylor University (BA)
Harvard University (JD)

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

Background

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

After high school, Elrod studied

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 U.S. 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

State judicial service

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

President

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.[2] She received her commission on October 19, 2007.[3] She maintains chambers in Houston
, Texas.

In 2014, she upheld a Texan abortion law that required abortion doctors to get admitting privileges at a nearby hospital, thus forcing abortion facilities to comply with the expensive standards of hospital-style surgical centers.[4] The law also banned abortions after 20 weeks of pregnancy and heavily restricted the use of abortion pills.[4]

On August 16, 2023, Elrod wrote the Fifth Circuit ruling that would limit access to mifepristone (which is used for the abortion pill) in all 50 states if the Supreme Court lifts its stay.[5]

References

  1. ^ "2002 General Election - District Judge, 190th Judicial District". Texas Secretary of State.
  2. ^ "PN402 — Jennifer Walker Elrod — The Judiciary". Washington, D.C.: United States Senate. March 29, 2007.
  3. ^ Jennifer Walker Elrod at the Biographical Directory of Federal Judges, a publication of the Federal Judicial Center.
  4. ^ a b Rosenthal, Brian M. (2014-12-30). "Judge selections bad news for abortion law opponents, mixed for gay marriage supporters". Houston Chronicle. Retrieved 2022-02-17.
  5. ^ "Appeals court backs limits on access to abortion pill mifepristone, ruling against Biden's FDA". USA Today. August 16, 2023. Retrieved August 16, 2023.

Sources

External links

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