This district typically prosecutes more cases against more defendants than most other USAOs nationwide, representing 43 counties and more than nine million people and covering 44,000 square miles. Show In 1845, Texas was admitted to the Union and the judicial district was formed in Galveston, covering the state. By 1902, the Southern Judicial District of Texas was created with courts in Galveston, Laredo, Brownsville and Houston. To learn more about the history of the District, go to History. The Southern District of Texas (SDTX) currently comprises seven divisions with federal district courts in Houston, Galveston, Victoria, Corpus Christi, Brownsville, McAllen and Laredo. The SDTX, headquartered in Houston, has branch offices in Galveston, Corpus Christi, Brownsville, McAllen, Laredo and Victoria to staff all seven divisions. Houston | Galveston | Corpus Christi | Victoria | Laredo | McAllen | Brownsville Houston Division The Houston Division of the U.S. Attorney’s Office has been gradually formed as the other offices were split off, now covering the counties of Austin, Brazos, Colorado, Fayette, Fort Bend, Grimes, Harris, Madison, Montgomery, San Jacinto, Walker, Waller and Wharton with a total population of 5,530,000. Currently, the office is located in downtown Houston, three blocks from the Bob Casey federal courthouse. The offices contain the headquarters of the Southern District as well as nearly 200 attorneys and support staff personnel. For more information about the Houston Division and the respective concentrations, go to Divisions. Galveston Division The Galveston Division covers the four counties of Brazoria, Chambers, Galveston and Matagorda. Due to its proximity to Houston, there had not been an Assistant U.S. Attorney (AUSA) in residence in the Galveston Division since the Southern District was formed. However, that was changed in 2018 when a full-time AUSA was assigned to cover the Galveston docket. Corpus Christi Division The division’s caseload is driven largely by the alien and narcotics smuggling trades which manifest themselves by the frequent arrest of alien transporters with their cargo of illegal aliens or the drivers of loads of all types of narcotics at or near the Falfurrias and Sarita Customs and Border Protection Checkpoints. The narcotics smugglers also utilize the coastline of the Gulf of Mexico and the Intracoastal Waterway Channel between the barrier islands and the mainland to transport drug shipments. For more information about the Corpus Christi/Victoria Divisions, go to Corpus Christi. Victoria Division The majority of cases prosecuted in this division include alien and drug transportation, firearms violations and violent crimes. The area also has a large prison gang membership, which includes present and former members who are out of prison and contribute significantly to the area’s criminal activity. Criminal violations committed by federal inmates at the Federal Correctional Institution located at Three Rivers, Texas, are also prosecuted here. For more information about the Corpus Christi/Victoria Divisions, go to Corpus Christi. Laredo Division The division covers the five counties of Webb, Zapata, La Salle, McMullen and Jim Hogg. It covers as much of the international border as McAllen and Brownsville combined and contains two normal Bridge crossings, one Railway Bridge crossing, the World Trade Bridge Crossing which deals exclusively with commercial traffic and the Columbia Bridge Crossing that deals with both commercial and passenger traffic. Leading north from the Laredo division are the major smuggling routes of I-35 and Texas State Highway 16, both leading to San Antonio, and U.S. Highway 59, Texas State Highway 83, Texas State Highway 359 and U.S. Highway 59 which leads to Houston. The Laredo Sector of the U.S. Border Patrol has nine stations and six permanent traffic checkpoints in the division and together they make nearly 1,000 narcotics seizures annually. For more information about the Laredo Division, go to Laredo. McAllen Division This vast population, combined with dozens of smuggling routes, leads to a huge volume of cases involving drugs and illegal aliens. These two areas alone comprise more than 90% of the volume in the McAllen Division. To learn more about the McAllen Division, go to McAllen. Brownsville Division By 1978, the surge in drug trafficking swelled the docket to nearly 1000 felony cases per year in Brownsville and an additional 450 in Laredo. Located literally at the tip of Texas on the northeast border with Mexico and along the Gulf coast, the Brownsville Division today primarily covers the two counties of Willacy and Cameron including the City of Brownsville which now has more than 150,000 people. To learn more about the Brownsville Division, go to Brownsville. USAO Mission Statement The United States Attorneys serve as the nation’s principal litigators under the direction of the Attorney General. There are 93 United States Attorneys stationed throughout the United States, Puerto Rico, the Virgin Islands, Guam and the Northern Mariana Islands. United States Attorneys are appointed by, and serve at the discretion of, the President of the United States, with advice and consent of the United States Senate. One United States Attorney is assigned to each of the judicial districts, with the exception of Guam and the Northern Mariana Islands where a single United States Attorney serves in both districts. Each United States Attorney is the chief federal law enforcement officer of the United States within his or her particular jurisdiction. United States Attorneys conduct most of the trial work in which the United States is a party and have three statutory responsibilities under Title 28, Section 547 of the United States Code: •the prosecution of criminal cases brought by the federal government; Although the distribution of caseload varies between districts, each has every category of cases and handles a mixture of simple and complex litigation. Each United States Attorney exercises wide discretion in the use of his/her resources to further the priorities of the local jurisdictions and needs of their communities. United States Attorneys have been delegated full authority and control in the areas of personnel management, financial management and procurement. What district court is Houston Texas in?Houston Division | Southern District of Texas.
Is the Southern District of Texas a federal court?The Southern District of Texas (SDTX) currently comprises seven divisions with federal district courts in Houston, Galveston, Victoria, Corpus Christi, Brownsville, McAllen and Laredo.
What district is the Southern District of Texas?The jurisdiction of the Southern District of Texas is divided as follows: The Brownsville Division covers Cameron and Willacy Counties. The Corpus Christi Division covers Aransas, Bee, Brooks, Duval, Jim Wells, Kenedy, Kleberg, Live Oak, Nueces, and San Patricio Counties.
What counties are in the Southern District of Texas?Southern District of Texas Chapter Boundaries. Brownsville Division: Cameron, Willacy,. Corpus Christi Division: Aransas, Bee, Brooks, Duval, Jim Wells, Kenedy, Kleberg, Live Oak, Nueces, San Patricio.. Galveston Division: Brazoria, Chambers, Galveston, Matagorda,. |