---
title: "Irma Carrillo Ramirez | KnowJudges"
canonical: "https://knowjudges.com/kyj/judge/irma-carrillo-ramirez"
page_type: "judge_profile"
updated: "2026-10-07"
---

# Irma Carrillo Ramirez

U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit · U.S. Circuit Judge

## Profile

- Court: U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit
- State: National federal courts
- Role: U.S. Circuit Judge
- Service status: active
- Last verified: 2026-07-25

## Summary

Official statewide and applicable court procedural guidance applies to this judge.

## Biography

### Professional career

- 2002–2023: U.S. Magistrate Judge for the Northern District of Texas, Dallas Division, presiding over civil and criminal cases
- Irma Carrillo Ramirez (née Carrillo; born 1964 in Brownfield, Texas) is an American lawyer and jurist who serves as a United States Circuit Judge of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit, a position she assumed on December 8, 2023
- Adjunct professor, Southern Methodist University Dedman School of Law, 2006-2011, 2014-2015
- Other roles: Adjunct professor at SMU Dedman School of Law (2006–2011, 2014–2015)
- 1995–2002: Assistant U.S. Attorney for the Northern District of Texas, serving in both the Civil and Criminal Divisions
- 1991–1995: Associate at Locke Purnell Rain Harrell, PC (now Locke Lord LLP) in Dallas
- She became the first Latina judge on the Fifth Circuit and the only active Latino judge there
- In summary: Irma Carrillo Ramirez is a distinguished jurist with a career spanning private practice, federal prosecution, and over two decades as a magistrate judge, now serving as a pivotal figure on the Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals

### Education

- Southern Methodist University School of Law (now Dedman School of Law) — J.D. (1991)
- West Texas State University (now West Texas A&M University) — B.A. (1986)

### Additional information

- Magistrate, District Court, N.D. Texas, 2002-present
- President Joe Biden nominated Ramirez on April 17, 2023, to replace Gregg Costa.
- Confirmed by the Senate on December 4, 2023, and sworn in December 8, 2023.
- Private practice, Dallas, Texas, 1991-1995
- handling commercial litigation.
- Ramirez is the daughter of Mexican immigrants who came to the U.S. under the bracero guest worker program.
- Ramirez has received multiple awards, including the State Bar of Texas Hispanic Issues Section Judge of the Year Award and the SMU Dedman School of Law’s Distinguished Alumni Award for Judicial Service.

## 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

### appellate oral argument

Scope: courtwide

In federal courts of appeals, oral argument is allowed unless a three-judge panel unanimously finds one of Rule 34's specified grounds for dispensing with it; the clerk provides the date, time, place, and time allocation.

Evidence excerpt: Oral argument must be allowed in every case unless a panel of three judges who have examined the briefs and record unanimously agrees that oral argument is unnecessary

[Federal Rule of Appellate Procedure 34, Oral Argument](https://www.uscourts.gov/forms-rules/current-rules-practice-procedure/federal-rules-appellate-procedure)
Source checked: 2026-07-26


## Sources

- [Official profile](https://www.fjc.gov/node/13761386)
- [Official roster](https://www.fjc.gov/node/13761386)
- [Federal Judicial Center biography](https://www.fjc.gov/node/13761386)
- [CourtListener judicial biographical directory](https://www.courtlistener.com/person/9570/irma-c-ramirez/)
- [Federal Rule of Appellate Procedure 34, Oral Argument](https://www.uscourts.gov/forms-rules/current-rules-practice-procedure/federal-rules-appellate-procedure)
- [CourtListener judicial biographical directory](https://www.courtlistener.com/person/9570/irma-c-ramirez/)
- [Judge Irma Carrillo Ramirez](https://www.fjc.gov/node/13761386)

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