Jennifer Walker Elrod

Jennifer Walker Elrod (born Jennifer Leigh Walker; September 6, 1966) is a United States circuit judge of the United States Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit.

Jennifer Walker Elrod
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
Port Arthur, Texas
SpouseHal C. Elrod
EducationBaylor University (BA)
Harvard University (JD)

Background

Elrod was born in Port Arthur, Texas in 1966 and grew up in Baytown, Texas. She attended Baylor University and graduated magna cum laude with a Bachelor of Arts degree in economics in 1988. At Baylor, she was the Outstanding Graduating Senior of the Honors Program and was eventually named Outstanding Young Alumna. She went to Harvard Law School in 1989 and received her Juris Doctor in 1992, graduating cum laude. At Harvard Law School, she was a member of the 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.

Elrod began her professional career by serving a two-year clerkship for federal district judge Sim Lake of the United States District Court for the Southern District of Texas. After completing her clerkship, she became an associate at the national law firm Baker Botts in 1994.

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.

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.[1] The law also banned abortions after 20 weeks of pregnancy and heavily restricted the use of abortion pills.[1]

Federal judicial service

President George W. Bush nominated Elrod to a vacancy on the Fifth Circuit on March 29, 2007, to replace Judge Patrick Higginbotham, who assumed senior status on August 26, 2006. Elrod received a hearing before the 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] Elrod was the fourth judge nominated to the Fifth Circuit by Bush and confirmed by the Senate. She received her commission on October 19, 2007.[3] She maintains chambers in Houston, Texas.

References
  1. 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.
  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 public domain publication of the Federal Judicial Center.

Sources
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