James Robertson Nowlin

James Robertson Nowlin
Nowlin in 2019
Senior Judge of the United States District Court for the Western District of Texas
Incumbent
Assumed office May 31, 2003
Chief Judge of the United States District Court for the Western District of Texas
In office 1999–2003
Preceded by	Harry Lee Hudspeth
Succeeded by	Walter Scott Smith Jr.
Judge of the United States District Court for the Western District of Texas
In office October 26, 1981 – May 31, 2003
Appointed by	Ronald Reagan
Preceded by	Jack Roberts
Succeeded by	Earl Leroy Yeakel III
Texas State Representative for District 57-F (Bexar County)
In office January 1973 – November 6, 1981
Succeeded by	Lamar S. Smith
Texas State Representative for District 57-4 (Bexar County)
In office January 1967 – January 1971
Succeeded by	Lou Kost Jr.
Personal details
Born	(1937-11-21) November 21, 1937 San Antonio, Texas, U.S.
Political party	Democratic (until 1971) Republican (from 1971)
Residence(s)	Bastrop County, Texas
Education	Trinity University (BA, MA) University of Texas at Austin (JD)

James Robertson Nowlin (born November 21, 1937) is a senior United States district judge of the United States District Court for the Western District of Texas and a former state legislator.

Education and career

Nowlin was born in San Antonio in Bexar County, Texas. He received a Bachelor of Arts degree from Trinity University in 1959, a Master of Arts from Trinity University in 1962, and a Juris Doctor from the University of Texas School of Law in 1963. He was in the United States Army as a captain from 1959 to 1960. He was in the Judge Advocate General's Corps of the United States Army Reserve from 1960 to 1968 and in private practice in San Antonio from 1963 to 1965. He was from 1965 to 1966 a legal counsel for the United States Senate Committee on Labor and Public Welfare in Washington, D.C.

Legislative service

Nowlin was a Democratic member of the Texas House of Representatives from 1967 to 1971 and a Republican from 1973 to 1981. In 1973, he and Joe Sage became the first two Republicans to represent Bexar County in the Texas legislature. Rather than seeking a third consecutive term in the House, Nowlin ran unsuccessfully as a Republican in 1970 for the Texas State Senate. Nowlin returned to the private practice of law in San Antonio in 1966 and remained so engaged until 1981.

Federal judicial service

On September 17, 1981, President Ronald Reagan nominated Nowlin to a seat vacated by Judge Jack Roberts. He was confirmed by the United States Senate on October 21, 1981, and received his commission on October 26, 1981. He served as Chief Judge from 1999 to 2003. On May 31, 2003, he assumed senior status.

Personal

Upon his death, Nowlin will be interred at the Texas State Cemetery in Austin.

Sources

• James Robertson Nowlin at the Biographical Directory of Federal Judges, a publication of the Federal Judicial Center.