---
title: "Earl Leroy Yeakel III | KnowJudges"
canonical: "https://knowjudges.com/kyj/judge/earl-leroy-yeakel-iii-3578"
page_type: "judge_profile"
updated: "2026-08-02"
---

# Earl Leroy Yeakel III

U.S. District Court for the Western District of Texas · Judge

## Profile

- Court: U.S. District Court for the Western District of Texas
- State: Texas
- Role: Judge
- Service status: former
- Last verified: 2026-06-30

## Biography

### Professional career

- Judge, District Court, W.D. Texas, 2003-present
- chief justice, 1998-present
- Retired from active service on May 1, 2023, and joined King & Spalding in Austin as senior counsel
- Former United States district judge for the Western District of Texas, serving from July 29, 2003, until his retirement on May 1, 2023
- Justice of the Texas Court of Appeals, Third District (1998–2003)
- Chief Justice of the Third Court of Appeals (1998)

### Education

- He later received an LL.M. from the University of Virginia School of Law in 2001.
- University of Texas School of Law in — J.D. (1969)
- B.A. — The University of Texas at Austin — 1966

### Additional information

- Joined the court in 2003 after being nominated by President George W. Bush (R).
- Appointed by President George W. Bush on May 1, 2003, to replace James Robertson Nowlin, Yeakel was confirmed by the Senate on July 28, 2003, and commissioned the next day.
- Private practice, Austin, TX, 1969-1998
- Private practice in Austin, Texas (1969–1998)
- Military service Yeakel served in the U.S. Marine Corps from 1967 to 1970
- Born April 18, 1945, Oklahoma City, Oklahoma.
- Date of birth: 1945-01-01
- Birth place: Oklahoma City, OK

## Sources

- [Official profile](https://www.courtlistener.com/person/3578/earl-leroy-yeakel-iii/)
- [Official roster](https://www.courtlistener.com/person/3578/earl-leroy-yeakel-iii/)
- [U.S. District Court for the Western District of Texas current judicial profile](https://www.courtlistener.com/person/3578/earl-leroy-yeakel-iii/)
- [CourtListener judicial biographical directory](https://www.courtlistener.com/person/3578/earl-leroy-yeakel-iii/)
- [Earl Yeakel - Ballotpedia](https://ballotpedia.org/Earl_Yeakel)
- [Earl Leroy Yeakel III (W.D. Texas) – CourtListener.com](https://www.courtlistener.com/person/3578/earl-leroy-yeakel-iii)
- [Wikidata: Earl Leroy Yeakel III](https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q5325974)

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