Reynaldo Guerra Garza

Reynaldo Guerra Garza (July 7, 1915-September 14, 2004) was a judge on the United States Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit. He was the first Mexican-American, as well as the first Latin American, appointed to any circuit of the U. S. Court of Appeals.

Garza was also the first Mexican-American appointed to a federal court when he was appointed to the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of Texas in 1961 by President John Kennedy. On that court he served as chief judge from 1974 until his appointed to the Court of Appeals. President Jimmy Carter originally asked Garza to serve as the Attorney General of the United States, which he turned down. Then Carter appointed him to the Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit in 1979.

External links

* [http://www.fjc.gov/public/home.nsf/hisj Federal Judiciary Center]
* [http://www.tsha.utexas.edu/handbook/online/articles/GG/fgaap_print.html The Handbook of Texas Online]
* [http://www.jtbf.org/index.php?src=directory&view=biographies&srctype=display&refno=98&category=Hispanic+Judges Just the Beginning Foundation]