Federal Judicial District of Eastern Texas: History

I love studying this shit.  And making graphics, too.  This one shows the history of the Federal District Court of Eastern Texas beginning with 1980 and continuing through the present administration.  On the left we start with a hard break between the last year of the Carter Presidency and the first year of the Reagan White House.  I chose this on purposed given the generally agreed upon fact that President Reagan was the first President since FDR who has been accused of Judicial activism and partisanship.  Unlike Roosevelt whom history most remembers for his attempt to alter the make-up of the Supreme Court, Reagan's intentions seem aimed at every level of the Federal Judiciary.

When he took the oath of office in January 1981, there were just 4 seats in Eastern Texas.  They were held by White men:

• Seat 1, William Wayne Justice, appointed by President Johnson
• Seat 2, Joseph Jefferson Fisher, appointed by President Eisenhower
• Seat 3, William Steger, appointed by President Nixon
• Seat 4, Robert Manley Parker, appointed by President Carter

Nothing moved during President Reagan's first term, until at the very end, Justice Fisher died.  Once re-elected for a second term, Reagan had the gift of Fisher's death and two new seats authorized by Congress.  By the of 1985, the District of Eastern Texas went from political party parity to Republican majority. To ice the deal, Justice Steger died in 1987 which gave Reagan a fourth seat to fill.

In 1990, a 7th seat was authorized by Congress.  This should have been filled by President George H. W. Bush; however, he was unable to get a nominee through the Senate.  Thus it fell to newly elected President Clinton to make the first appoint.  In 1994, Judge John H. Hannah Jr. became the first of four Justices appointed by President Clinton.  A year later, President Clinton appointed two more judges beginning a 9 year span with Democratic appointments out numbering Republican.  The balance ended in 2004 during the George W. Bush Presidency, and the 5 to 3 Republican advantage has remained for the past 19 years.