--- title: "Marina Garcia Marmolejo | KnowJudges" canonical: "https://knowjudges.com/kyj/judge/marina-garcia-marmolejo" page_type: "judge_profile" updated: "2026-10-09" --- # Marina Garcia Marmolejo U.S. District Court for the Southern District of Texas · Judge ## Profile - Court: U.S. District Court for the Southern District of Texas - State: Texas - Role: Judge - Service status: active - Last verified: 2026-07-25 ## Summary Official statewide and applicable court procedural guidance applies to this judge. ## Biography ### Professional career - Judge, District Court, S.D. Texas, 2011-present - U.S. District Judge for the Southern District of Texas, appointed in 2011 by President Barack Obama, with a career spanning federal public defense, prosecution, and private practice before the bench. - Assistant U.S. attorney, Southern District of Texas, 1999-2007 - Assistant federal public defender, Southern District of Texas, 1998-1999 - Assistant Federal Public Defender, Western & Southern Districts of Texas (1996–1999) - Assistant federal public defender, Western District of Texas, 1996-1998 ### Education - B.A., University of the Incarnate Word (1992) M.A. & J.D., St. Mary’s University School of Law, Texas (1996) LLM in Judicial Studies, Duke University School of Law (2020) ### Additional information - Private practice, Laredo, TX, 1999-present - Recognized for Outstanding Service in the Judiciary (Mexican American Bar Association, 2016), Latina Judge of the Year (Hispanic National Bar Association, 2014), and multiple awards from the DEA, FBI, DHS, and other agencies. - Appointed: January 5, 2011, by President Obama; confirmed by Senate voice vote, October 3, 2011 - Private practice, Austin, TX, 2009-2011 - Private practice, San Antonio, TX, 2007-2009 - Date of birth: 1971-01-01 - Private practice in Laredo, San Antonio, and Austin - Chambers: 1300 Victoria Street, Suite 3229, Courtroom 3B, Laredo, TX 78040 Phone: 956‐726‐2209 - United States District Court for the Southern District of Texas, Laredo Division, and has presided over over 12,000 criminal and civil cases, nearly 100 trials, with a reversal rate under 1%. - She has also sat by designation on the Fifth Circuit and authored an opinion on a matter of first impression. - Notable Work: Tried over 30 cases to verdict as a federal defender and prosecutor, including domestic corruption, transnational drug trafficking, and human trafficking cases. - Leadership: Active in the Federal Judges Association, District Judges Association of the Fifth Circuit, and as a member of the Judicial Conference of the U.S. IT Committee. - Birth place: Nuevo Laredo, Mexico ## 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.fjc.gov/node/1393781) - [Official roster](https://www.fjc.gov/node/1393781) - [Federal Judicial Center biography](https://www.fjc.gov/node/1393781) - [CourtListener judicial biographical directory](https://www.courtlistener.com/person/1150/marina-garcia-marmolejo/) - [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/1150/marina-garcia-marmolejo/) - [Wikidata: Marina Marmolejo](https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q6763867) ## JSON-LD ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "WebPage", "@id": "https://knowjudges.com/kyj/judge/marina-garcia-marmolejo", "url": "https://knowjudges.com/kyj/judge/marina-garcia-marmolejo", "name": "Marina Garcia Marmolejo | KnowJudges", "description": "Marina Garcia Marmolejo, 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.