--- title: "Michael Joseph Truncale | KnowJudges" canonical: "https://knowjudges.com/kyj/judge/michael-j-truncale" page_type: "judge_profile" updated: "2026-10-09" --- # Michael Joseph Truncale U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Texas · Judge ## Profile - Court: U.S. District Court for the Eastern 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, E.D. Texas, 2019-present - In summary: Michael Joseph Truncale is a Republican-appointed federal judge in Texas, with a background in law, business, and public service, confirmed by the Senate in 2019 to serve on the Eastern District of Texas bench - From 1985 to 2019, Truncale worked in private practice in Beaumont, Texas, rising from associate to partner at Orgain Bell & Tucker, LLP - American federal judge serving on the United States District Court for the Eastern District of Texas ### Education - Diploma in International Arbitration — Chartered Institute of Arbitrators — 2014 - Southern Methodist University — J.D. (1985) - M.B.A. — University of North Texas — 1980 - B.B.A. — Lamar University — 1978 ### Additional information - Truncale has handled over 2,900 district court cases since 2006, with a median case resolution time of about 203 days. - Renomination: January 23, 2019, after Senate Rule XXXI, Paragraph 6 process. - Commissioned: May 16, 2019. - Confirmation: May 14, 2019, by a 49–46 vote in the Senate. - Private practice, Beaumont, TX, 1985-2019 - Nominated: January 23, 2018, by President Donald Trump to replace Judge Ron Clark. - Senate hearings: April 25, 2018; reported out of committee May 24, 2018 (11–10). - In 2012, he ran as a Republican for Texas’s 14th Congressional District but finished third in the primary. - Born August 30, 1957, in Beaumont, Texas. - Date of birth: 1957-01-01 - Of 44 appellate decisions reviewed, 32 were affirmed, 7 reversed or vacated, and 5 affirmed in part and reversed in part. - Truncale presides over a broad range of federal cases in the Eastern District of Texas, including civil rights, contract, personal injury, and other federal matters. - He also held the role of Regent of the Texas State University System (appointed by Rick Perry) and on the Texas Prepaid Higher Education Tuition Board (appointed by Greg Abbott). - His chambers are located at The Jack Brooks Federal Building and United States Courthouse, 300 Willow Street, Beaumont, TX 77701. - Birth place: Beaumont, TX ## 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 ### courtroom technology Scope: courtwide Courtwide presentation-related guidance applies to this judge. Evidence excerpt: District Court, Eastern District of Texas has installed electronic courtrooms designed to streamline the litigation process through the use of electronic evidence presentation systems while preserving the fairness and dignity of the proceedings. The evidence presentation system allows counsel to present evidence electronically and allows jurors to view evidence up close. HDMI compatible devices such… [Courtroom Technology | Eastern District of Texas | United States District Court](https://www.txed.uscourts.gov/courtroom-technology) Source checked: 2026-07-24 ### courtroom technology Scope: courtwide Courtwide presentation-related guidance applies to this judge. Evidence excerpt: District Court, Eastern District of Texas has installed electronic courtrooms designed to streamline the litigation process through the use of electronic evidence presentation systems while preserving the fairness and dignity of the proceedings. The evidence presentation system allows counsel to present evidence electronically and allows jurors to view evidence up close. HDMI compatible devices such… [Courtroom Technology | Eastern District of Texas | United States District Court](https://www.txed.uscourts.gov/?q=courtroom-technology) Source checked: 2026-07-24 ### courtroom technology Scope: courtwide Courtwide presentation-related guidance applies to this judge. Evidence excerpt: . Before appearing in court, please review our courtroom technology page for information about available presentation systems and required connection adapters. Attorneys should ensure they have compatible equipment to connect with our courtroom display system. [Magistrate Judge Boone Baxter | Eastern District of Texas | United States District Court](https://www.txed.uscourts.gov/?q=judge/magistrate-judge-boone-baxter) Source checked: 2026-07-24 ### 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/6445071) - [Official roster](https://www.fjc.gov/node/6445071) - [Federal Judicial Center biography](https://www.fjc.gov/node/6445071) - [CourtListener judicial biographical directory](https://www.courtlistener.com/person/8643/michael-joseph-truncale/) - [Courtroom Technology | Eastern District of Texas | United States District Court](https://www.txed.uscourts.gov/courtroom-technology) - [Courtroom Technology | Eastern District of Texas | United States District Court](https://www.txed.uscourts.gov/?q=courtroom-technology) - [Magistrate Judge Boone Baxter | Eastern District of Texas | United States District Court](https://www.txed.uscourts.gov/?q=judge/magistrate-judge-boone-baxter) - [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/8643/michael-joseph-truncale/) - [Wikidata: Michael J. Truncale](https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q47488449) ## JSON-LD ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "WebPage", "@id": "https://knowjudges.com/kyj/judge/michael-j-truncale", "url": "https://knowjudges.com/kyj/judge/michael-j-truncale", "name": "Michael Joseph Truncale | KnowJudges", "description": "Michael Joseph Truncale, U.S. District Court for the Eastern 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.