Diana S. Saldaña | |
---|---|
Judge of the United States District Court for the Southern District of Texas | |
Assumed office February 9, 2011 | |
Appointed by | Barack Obama |
Preceded by | George P. Kazen |
Magistrate Judge of the United States District Court for the Southern District of Texas | |
In office 2006–2011 | |
Personal details | |
Born | Carrizo Springs, Texas, U.S. | April 30, 1971
Education | University of Texas at Austin ( BA, JD) |
Diana S. Saldaña (born April 30, 1971) is a United States district judge of the United States District Court for the Southern District of Texas and a former United States magistrate judge of the same court.
Saldaña was born in Carrizo Springs, Texas to Blanca Hernandez Rodriguez, a single mother. [1] Beginning at the age of 10 and continuing through law school, Saldaña spent summers with her family as a seasonal farmworker in Minnesota and North Dakota. [1] Saldaña received two Bachelor of Arts degrees from the University of Texas at Austin, the first in history in 1993 and the second in government in 1994. [2] She then attended the University of Texas School of Law, where she was president of the Chicano/Hispanic Law Students Association. [1] Saldaña earned her Juris Doctor from the University of Texas School of Law in 1997. [1] [2] After graduating law school, Saldaña served as law clerk for Judge George P. Kazen of the United States District Court for the Southern District of Texas. [2] [3]
In 2006, Saldaña was selected to serve as a United States magistrate judge for the United States District Court for the Southern District of Texas. [2] She was sworn in on March 27, 2006. [1] [3]
During the 111th United States Congress, Democrats from the Texas House delegation and Republican Senators John Cornyn and Kay Bailey Hutchison agreed to recommend Saldaña for a Laredo vacancy on the Southern District of Texas. [4] On July 14, 2010, President Barack Obama nominated Saldaña to replace George P. Kazen, [5] for whom she previously clerked. On February 7, 2011, her nomination was confirmed by the Senate by a 94–0 vote. [6] [7] She received her commission on February 9, 2011. [3]