Reed O'Connor
Reed Charles O'Connor is thechief judge on theUnited States District Court for the Northern District of Texas. He joined the court in 2007 after being nominated by PresidentGeorge W. Bush. In 2025, O'Connor became the chief judge of the court.[1]
Early life and education
A native ofHouston, Texas, O'Connor graduated from the University of Houston with his bachelor's degree in 1986 and from South Texas College of Law with hisJ.D. in 1989.[1]
Professional career
- 2007 - Present: Judge,United States District Court for the Northern District of Texas
- 2025 - Present: Chief judge
- 2003-2007: Staff,Senate Judiciary Committee
- 1998-2007:Assistant U.S. attorney,Northern District of Texas
- 1994-1998: Assistant district attorney,Tarrant County, Texas
- 1989-1994: Private practice,Texas[1]
Judicial career
Northern District of Texas
 |
| Nominee Information |
| Name: Reed Charles O'Connor |
| Court:United States District Court for the Northern District of Texas |
| Progress |
| Confirmed 142 days after nomination. |
 ANominated: June 27, 2007 |
| AABA Rating:Unanimously Well Qualified |
| Questionnaire: |
| AHearing: October 24, 2007 |
| QFRs:(Hover over QFRs to read more) |
| AReported: November 15, 2007 |
| AConfirmed: November 16, 2007 |
| AVote: Voice vote |
O'Connor was nominated by PresidentGeorge W. Bush on June 27, 2007, to a seat on theUnited States District Court for the Northern District of Texas vacated by JudgeJoe Fish. TheAmerican Bar Association rated O'ConnorUnanimously Well Qualified for the nomination. Hearings on O'Connor's nomination were held before theSenate Judiciary Committee on October 24, 2007, and his nomination was reported by U.S. Sen.Patrick Leahy (D-Vt.) on November 15, 2007. O'Connor was confirmed on a voice vote of theU.S. Senate on November 16, 2007, and he received his commission onNovember 21, 2007.[1][2][3] O'Connor became chief judge of the court in 2025.[1]
Noteworthy cases
Constitutionality of theAffordable Care Act (2018)
- See also:United States District Court for the Northern District of Texas (Texas et al. v. United States of America et al., 4:18-cv-00167-O)
- See also:United States District Court for the Northern District of Texas (Texas et al. v. United States of America et al., 4:18-cv-00167-O)
Reed O'Connor was the judge in the case ofTexas et al. v. United States of America et al.. The case revolved around theAffordable Care Act, or Obamacare. A group of twenty Republican state attorneys general and governors brought the case, arguing that the elimination of the law's tax penalty for not purchasing health insurance meant that its individual mandate was no longer a valid exercise of congressional power.[4][5]
Judge O'Connor ruled that the Affordable Care Act's individual mandate was unconstiutional and, because it was a critical feature of the law, "the remaining provisions of the ACA are inseverable and therefore invalid."[6]
Family and Medical Leave Act denied to same-sex couple in Texas (2015)
- See also:United States District Court for the Northern District of Texas (Texas et al. v. United States Department of Labor, 7:15-cv-00056-O)
- See also:United States District Court for the Northern District of Texas (Texas et al. v. United States Department of Labor, 7:15-cv-00056-O)
Reed O'Connor was the judge in the case ofTexas et al. v. United States Department of Labor. The case revolved around the Family Medical Leave Act (FMLA), which allows a family member to take medical leave to be with a sick family member with out having to worry about job security. FMLA is worded such that it gives the protection based on the jurisdiction where the marriage occurred, in this case a legal same-sex marriage was performed in New York.[7][8]
Judge O'Connor ruled that Texas was not obligated to offer the protections offered by the FMLA due to same-sex marriages not being legal in the state. O'Connor stated in his opinion that the federal law put an undue burden on the state by removing the state's ability to define marriage.[9]
See also
- United States District Court for the Northern District of Texas
- United States Court of Appeals for the 5th Circuit
External links
Officeholder United States District Court for the Northern District of Texas |
Footnotes
- ↑1.01.11.21.31.4Federal Judicial Center, "Ratings of Reed Charles O'Connor," accessed September 12, 2025
- ↑United States Congress, "PN 693 — Reed Charles O'Connor — The Judiciary," accessed May 21, 2017
- ↑American Bar Association, "Ratings of Article III judicial nominees," 110th Congress," accessed May 21, 2017
- ↑ABC News, "Federal judge rules Obamacare unconstitutional, Democrats immediately vow appeal," December 14, 2018
- ↑Law360, "Texas Judge Strikes Down Entire ACA," December 14, 2018
- ↑Scribd, "Texas et al. v. United States of America et al.," December 14, 2018
- ↑Think Progress, "Judge In Texas Hands Down Mean-Spirited, Last-Ditch Attempt To Strip Gay Couples Of Marriage Rights," March 27, 2015
- ↑Breitbart, "Federal Court Grants Stay Against Obama Admin on Family Medical & Leave Act," March 26, 2015
- ↑Scribd, "Texas v. United States Department of Labor," March 26, 2015
| Political offices | ||
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| Preceded by - | United States District Court for the Northern District of Texas 2007-Present | Succeeded by - |
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| 2007 | Anderson •Aycock •Bailey •Bryant •Davis •DeGiusti •Dow •Elrod •Fairbank •Fischer •Frizzell •Gutierrez •Hall •Hardiman •Haynes •Howard •Jarvey •Jones •Jonker •Kapala •Kays •Laplante •Limbaugh •Lioi •Livingston •Maloney •Mauskopf •Mendez •Miller •Neff •O'Connor •O'Grady •O'Neill •Osteen •Ozerden •Reidinger •Sammartino •Schroeder •Settle •Smith •Snow •Southwick •Suddaby •Sullivan •Thapar •Tinder •Van Bokkelen •Wood •Wright •Wu | ||
| 2008 | Agee •Anello •Arguello •Brimmer •Gardephe •Goldberg •Jones •Kethledge •Lawrence •Matsumoto •Melgren •Murphy •Scriven •Seibel •Slomsky •Trenga •Waddoups •White | ||
Federal courts:
Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals • U.S. District Court:Eastern District of Texas,Western District of Texas,Northern District of Texas,Southern District of Texas • U.S. Bankruptcy Court:Eastern District of Texas,Western District of Texas,Northern District of Texas,Southern District of Texas
State courts:
Texas Supreme Court•Texas Court of Appeals•Texas Court of Criminal Appeals•Texas District Courts•Texas County Courts•Texas County Courts at Law•Texas Statutory Probate Courts•Texas Justice of the Peace Courts
State resources:
Courts in Texas •Texas judicial elections •Judicial selection in Texas
- Pages using DynamicPageList3 parser function
- Appointed by George W. Bush
- Chief judge
- Chief judge, United States District Court for the Northern District of Texas
- Confirmed 2007
- Federal Article III judges
- Federal judge, United States District Court for the Northern District of Texas
- Federal judiciary nominee, June 2007
- Texas
- Noteworthy case
- Chief judge, Northern District of Texas
- Federal judge, Northern District of Texas
