--- title: "Nicholas Jon Ganjei | KnowJudges" canonical: "https://knowjudges.com/kyj/judge/nicholas-jon-ganjei" page_type: "judge_profile" updated: "2026-08-03" --- # Nicholas Jon Ganjei 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 - American federal judge serving on the United States District Court for the Southern District of Texas, appointed in March 2026 - Oath: Administered March 12, 2026, by U.S. Circuit Judge James Ho - U.S. Attorney for the Southern District of Texas: January 2025 – March 2026 - He was reappointed as U.S. Attorney for the Southern District of Texas in May 2025 after unanimous vote by the district’s judges. - Assistant U.S. attorney, Eastern District of Texas, 2020-2022; first assistant U.S. attorney, 2020-2021; acting U.S. attorney, 2021 - Acting U.S. Attorney, Eastern District of Texas: January–November 2021 - Assistant U.S. attorney, District of New Mexico, 2008-2020 - Counsel, Office of Legal Policy, U.S. Department of Justice (on detail), 2018-2019 - Adjunct professor and lecturer, University of New Mexico, 2012-2018 - Law clerk, Hon. Richard Allen Griffin, U.S. Court of Appeals for the Sixth Circuit, 2007-2008 - Adjunct professor, University of North Dakota School of Law, 2007 - Law clerk, Hon. Ralph R. Erickson, U.S. District Court for the District of North Dakota, 2005-2007 ### Education - University of California, Berkeley School of Law — J.D. (2005) - (History & Political Science), American University — B.A. (2000) - Master in Government (in progress), Hillsdale College’s Van Andel School of Government ### Additional information - Commissioned: March 10, 2026 - Senate Confirmation: February 3, 2026, by a 51–45 vote - Nomination: By President Donald Trump on November 18, 2025 - Chief Counsel to U.S. Senator Ted Cruz: 2022–2025 - Ganjei is a 2017 Eagle Scout and has held various legal, legislative, and academic roles, including adjunct professorships and DOJ legal policy work. - Law Clerkships: Hon. Ralph R. Erickson, U.S. District Court, D. North Dakota (2005–2007) Hon. Richard Allen Griffin, U.S. Court of Appeals, 6th Circuit (2007–2008) - Chief counsel, U.S. Sen. - Predecessor: Lynn Hughes ## 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/13762105) - [Official roster](https://www.fjc.gov/node/13762105) - [Federal Judicial Center biography](https://www.fjc.gov/node/13762105) - [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) - [Judge Nicholas Jon Ganjei](https://www.fjc.gov/node/13762105) ## JSON-LD ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "WebPage", "@id": "https://knowjudges.com/kyj/judge/nicholas-jon-ganjei", "url": "https://knowjudges.com/kyj/judge/nicholas-jon-ganjei", "name": "Nicholas Jon Ganjei | KnowJudges", "description": "Nicholas Jon Ganjei, 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.