--- title: "Ignacio Torteya, Iii | KnowJudges" canonical: "https://knowjudges.com/kyj/judge/ignacio-torteya-iii-texas-us-magistrate" page_type: "judge_profile" updated: "2026-10-08" --- # Ignacio Torteya, Iii U.S. District Court for the Southern District of Texas · U.S. Magistrate Judge ## Profile - Court: U.S. District Court for the Southern District of Texas - State: Texas - Role: U.S. Magistrate Judge - Service status: active - Last verified: 2026-07-29 ## Summary Official statewide and applicable court procedural guidance applies to this judge. ## Biography ### Professional career - In June 2025, Baylor Law School named him 2025 Baylor Lawyer of the Year for his professional achievements, civic engagement, and commitment to integrity and legal excellence - United States Magistrate Judge for the Southern District of Texas, Brownsville Division, appointed on January 24, 2014 - Associate Municipal Judge, Brownsville Municipal Court, 2005–2013 - Law Clerk, U.S. District Court - Southern District of Texas, 1996–1997 (to Filemon B. Vela) - Also Special Counsel to the Mexican Consulate General in Brownsville and Adjunct Professor of International Business Law at the former University of Texas at Brownsville - Led legal training sessions for prosecutors and judges in Mexico, Central, and South America, in collaboration with the U.S. Department of Justice, State Department, Homeland Security, and other agencies ### Education - B.A. in Political Science from Baylor University (1992) and a J.D. from Baylor University School of Law (1995). ### Additional information - Magistrate, District Court, S.D. Texas, 2014-present - Practitioner, The Torteya Law Firm, 1997–2014 - Adjunct Professor, Univ. of Texas at Brownsville, 2005–2006 - J.D. — Baylor Univ. — 1995 - B.A. — Baylor Univ. — 1992 — Political Science - Before his federal appointment, Torteya held the role of City of Brownsville’s Associate Municipal Court Judge for nearly a decade. - He serves in Chambers 600 E. Harrison St., Suite 203, Courtroom 1, Brownsville, TX 78520. - He also completed a diploma in U.S.-Mexico Comparative Law from the Universidad Autónoma de Guadalajara as part of Baylor Law’s International Law Summer Program. - After law school, he held a position as an associate attorney at an international law firm in San Antonio, clerked for the late U.S. District Judge Filemon B. Vela, and later became managing member of Torteya Law Firm, P.L.L.C.. ## Before you appear - Read the judge-specific standing order first when one is listed. - Check the docket and case orders for requirements that supersede broader guidance. - Confirm current remote-access and courtroom technology arrangements before the proceeding. ## Courtroom Rules ### civil remote testimony Scope: courtwide In federal district-court civil proceedings, testimony is ordinarily taken in open court; remote contemporaneous testimony requires good cause in compelling circumstances and appropriate safeguards. Evidence excerpt: For good cause in compelling circumstances and with appropriate safeguards, the court may permit testimony in open court by contemporaneous transmission from a different location. [Federal Rule of Civil Procedure 43(a), Testimony in Open Court](https://www.uscourts.gov/forms-rules/current-rules-practice-procedure/federal-rules-civil-procedure) Source checked: 2026-07-26 ### criminal recording and broadcasting Scope: courtwide Federal district courts may not permit courtroom photography or broadcasting during criminal judicial proceedings unless a statute or another federal rule provides an exception. Evidence excerpt: Except as otherwise provided by a statute or these rules, the court must not permit the taking of photographs in the courtroom during judicial proceedings or the broadcasting of judicial proceedings from the courtroom. [Federal Rule of Criminal Procedure 53, Courtroom Photographing and Broadcasting Prohibited](https://www.uscourts.gov/court-records/access-court-proceedings/remote-public-access-proceedings/history-cameras-broadcasting-and-remote-public-access-courts) Source checked: 2026-07-26 ## Sources - [Official profile](https://www.uscourts.gov/sites/default/files/document/cjra_na_0331.2026.pdf#page=49) - [Official roster](https://www.uscourts.gov/sites/default/files/document/cjra_na_0331.2026.pdf#page=49) - [U.S. Courts judicial profile or roster](https://www.uscourts.gov/sites/default/files/document/cjra_na_0331.2026.pdf#page=49) - [CourtListener judicial biographical directory](https://www.courtlistener.com/person/9591/ignacio-torteya-iii/) - [Federal Rule of Civil Procedure 43(a), Testimony in Open Court](https://www.uscourts.gov/forms-rules/current-rules-practice-procedure/federal-rules-civil-procedure) - [Federal Rule of Criminal Procedure 53, Courtroom Photographing and Broadcasting Prohibited](https://www.uscourts.gov/court-records/access-court-proceedings/remote-public-access-proceedings/history-cameras-broadcasting-and-remote-public-access-courts) - [CourtListener judicial biographical directory](https://www.courtlistener.com/person/9591/ignacio-torteya-iii/) - [BR/MAG Judge Database: Ignacio Torteya III](https://legaldatalab.law.virginia.edu/brmag-judges/brmag-judges.json) - [CourtListener judicial biographical directory](https://www.courtlistener.com/person/9591/ignacio-torteya-iii/) - [BR/MAG Judge Database: Ignacio Torteya III](https://legaldatalab.law.virginia.edu/brmag-judges/brmag-judges.json) ## JSON-LD ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "WebPage", "@id": "https://knowjudges.com/kyj/judge/ignacio-torteya-iii-texas-us-magistrate", "url": "https://knowjudges.com/kyj/judge/ignacio-torteya-iii-texas-us-magistrate", "name": "Ignacio Torteya, Iii | KnowJudges", "description": "Ignacio Torteya, Iii, U.S. District Court for the Southern District of Texas. 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Section-specific exceptions, waivers, later amendments and case orders remain applicable. This is a source excerpt, not an exhaustive statement of the rule. [Official source](https://www.uscourts.gov/sites/default/files/document/federal-rules-of-civil-procedure.pdf). Collected 2026-10-27. - [Federal Rules of Criminal Procedure, December 1, 2025](https://knowjudges.com/courtroom-rules/national-shared-set-8721a344fececced2257fe1d) — Criminal proceedings in United States District Courts; this conservative mapping does not distribute appellate-specific provisions to appellate judges. Section-specific exceptions, waivers, later amendments and case orders remain applicable. This is a source excerpt, not an exhaustive statement of the rule. [Official source](https://www.uscourts.gov/sites/default/files/document/federal-rules-of-criminal-procedure.pdf). Collected 2026-10-27.