Sen. Cruz Introduces Texas District Judge Nominees Before Senate Judiciary Committee
WASHINGTON, D.C. – U.S. Sen. Ted Cruz (R-Texas), member of the Senate Committee on the Judiciary, today participated in a nomination hearing to consider nominees for crucial judicial vacancies in Texas and across the country. There, he delivered remarks before the full committee on the nominations of Jeffrey Vincent Brown, to be United States District Judge for the Southern District of Texas and Brantley Starr, to be United States District Judge for the Northern District of Texas.
“Both of these nominees, I am proud the President made the nominations,” Sen. Cruz said. “I’m proud to support, to stand with Senator Cornyn in supporting these nominations. And I am confident that they will do honor to the role of federal district judge.”
Watch Sen. Cruz’s remarks here. A complete transcript of Sen. Cruz’s introductory remarks are below.
“Thank you, Mr. Chairman Graham. I thank Senator Cornyn for that terrific introduction and I want to likewise add my words of introduction both for Jeff Brown and Brantley Starr.
“I think there is little if anything that is more important that the president is doing—that this committee is doing—than nominating and confirming strong, principled constitutionalists to serve on the federal bench to protect the constitutional rights of Texans and all Americans and to follow the rule of law. I’m confident that both these nominees will honor their oath and carry through on that task with extraordinary distinction. Let me start with Justice Brown.
“Justice Brown and I have known each other for three decades. We met when we were at Baker Botts in Houston; we were both summer associates together. It happened to be a blessed summer because both in ’94 and ’95 the Houston Rockets won the NBA championship. Baker Botts represented the Rockets, and so we were blessed to go to an awful lot of those games having the happy coincidence of being summer associates the two years the Rockets were world champions.
“Jeff graduated from the University of Houston Law Center with high honors, serving as an editor of the law review. He then clerked for the Texas Supreme Court, first for Justice Jack Hightower, and then for then-Justice Greg Abbott.
“Jeff returned to Baker Botts, where he became a skilled trial lawyer, trying a dozen jury trials in the years there. Jeff likely would have continued becoming quite the trial lawyer if not for Governor Rick Perry selecting him for the Texas bench in 2001.
“Jeff began his judicial service at just 31 years old, taking the trial bench in Harris County for six years. In his time there, he presided over 100 jury trials--over 100--won two judge-of-the-year awards, and was widely admired by both the Houston and the Texas bars.
“Governor Perry elevated Jeff to the Texas Fourteenth Court of Appeals in Houston in 2007, where again, Jeff was named judge of the year. Governor Perry took notice again and elevated Jeff to the Texas Supreme Court in 2013. He is only the fourth person in history to clerk on the Texas Supreme Court and to serve as a justice there.
“As Senator Cornyn observed we have--if I’m counting right--two of his colleagues on the Texas Supreme Court: Chief Justice Hecht and Justice Guzman, and a former colleague of his Judge Willett who--you--used to be Justice Willett and is now Judge Willett. I do hope you have not left justice behind although the title has changed.
“So that is a testament to the respect his colleagues hold for him that they have come up to be here for his confirmation hearing.
“Likewise, Brantley Starr is someone I have known for over two decades who has an extraordinary legal background, and I think will make an extraordinary district judge.
“Brantley, a native of Abilene, Texas, graduated from Abilene Christian University summa cum laude in 2001. He then attended the University of Texas School of Law.
“Brantley and I first met when he was a law student. He was the editor-in-chief of the Texas Review of Law and Politics, a law review at UT that I’ve served on the board of advisors for more than a decade. In fact, Brantley was Editor-in-Chief of “TROLP,” as it is called, the year that the journal chose as their jurist of the year another extraordinary lawyer: Senator John Cornyn.
“Indeed, Senator Cornyn gave a speech that earned a standing ovation from the law students. And immediately after Senator Cornyn, Brantley gave a speech as the Editor-in-Chief. He had big shoes to fill but remarkably, Brantley, as a law student, gave a speech that likewise earned a standing ovation, including from then-Senator Cornyn. So, when Brantley returned I said, ‘That’s pretty remarkable that you’ve got a U.S. Senator to give you a standing ovation.’ That doesn’t happen too often.
“Brantley then came to work at the Texas Solicitor General’s Office. At the time, I was SG, and so I was proud to hire Brantley. We worked together; he did a tremendous job. He continued working for my successor as SG, Jim Ho, who was also a judge on the Fifth Circuit. So Brantley has known his way around the judicial circuits.
“He spent several years in private practice at King & Spalding, and then he returned to work for Justice Eva Guzman who is here today, as I mentioned earlier. Then, when Ken Paxton became Texas’s Attorney General, he recruited Brantley, ironically enough, to fill Don Willett’s old spot in the AG’s office. Brantley had been Don’s very first law clerk on the Texas Supreme Court. I would note that Don did text me when Brantley was nominated, lamenting how ‘damn old’ he felt to see his law clerks being nominated to the federal bench. And I had to concur, ‘You are pretty damn old.’
“Both of these nominees--I am proud the president made these nominations. I’m proud to stand with Senator Cornyn in supporting these nominations, and I am confident they will do honor to the role of federal district judge.”
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