--- title: "Samuel Frederick Biery Jr. | KnowJudges" canonical: "https://knowjudges.com/kyj/judge/samuel-frederick-biery-jr" page_type: "judge_profile" updated: "2026-10-09" --- # Samuel Frederick Biery Jr. U.S. District Court for the Western District of Texas · Judge ## Profile - Court: U.S. District Court for the Western 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, W.D. Texas, 1994-present - Justice, Fourth Court of Appeals of Texas, 1989-1994 - Judge, Bexar County [Texas] One Hundred and Fiftieth District Court, 1983-1988 - Judge, Bexar County [Texas] Court at Law Number Two, 1979-1982 - Samuel Frederick “Fred” Biery Jr. is an American lawyer and jurist serving as a United States district judge for the U.S. District Court for the Western District of Texas ### Education - Southern Methodist University School of Law (now Dedman School of Law) — J.D. (1973) - Texas Lutheran College — B.A. (1970) - Texas Lutheran University — B.A. (1970) ### Additional information - Biery held the role of Chief Judge from June 1, 2010, until late 2015. - Confirmed by the Senate on March 10, 1994 and commissioned the next day. - On November 19, 1993, President Bill Clinton nominated Biery to a new seat on the U.S. District Court for the Western District of Texas, created by 104 Stat. - Private practice, San Antonio, TX, 1973-1978 - Private practice, San Antonio, Texas, 1973-1978 - He also practiced law in San Antonio from 1973 to 1978. - He served in the U.S. Army Reserve from 1970 to 1976, reaching the rank of E‐4. - Born 1947 in McAllen, Texas. - Date of birth: 1947-01-01 - handling a broad range of cases in the Western District of Texas. - Biery has been recognized for his legal scholarship and service, including awards from Texas Lutheran University, Southern Methodist University, and the American Bar Association. - He remains active on the federal bench - In summary: Samuel Frederick Biery Jr. is a veteran Texas jurist with a distinguished state and federal judicial career, notable for both his legal work and his distinctive, often humorous, judicial style. - Birth place: McAllen, 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 ### electronic trial exhibits Scope: courtwide The Western District of Texas publishes JERS guidance for electronically capturing trial evidence and provides evidence-presentation equipment to members of the bar practicing in the district. Evidence excerpt: The U.S. District Court for the Western District of Texas uses the Jury Evidence Recording System (JERS) to capture evidence electronically during a trial. The Court provides evidence presentation equipment to any member of the bar practicing within the Western District of Texas. [JERS, Jury Evidence Recording System](https://www.txwd.uscourts.gov/for-attorneys/jers-jury-evidence-recording-system) Source checked: 2026-07-26 ### electronic exhibit submission Scope: courtwide For JERS electronic exhibit submission, the Western District of Texas publishes a single-storage-device requirement and directs parties to submit files by the deadline set by the assigned courtroom deputy. Evidence excerpt: All files must be provided on a single storage device such as a CD, DVD, or USB drive. ... All files must be submitted based on the deadline set by the CRD associated with your case. [JERS, Jury Evidence Recording System](https://www.txwd.uscourts.gov/for-attorneys/jers-jury-evidence-recording-system) Source checked: 2026-07-26 ### 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/1377801) - [Official roster](https://www.fjc.gov/node/1377801) - [Federal Judicial Center biography](https://www.fjc.gov/node/1377801) - [CourtListener judicial biographical directory](https://www.courtlistener.com/person/271/samuel-frederick-biery-jr/) - [JERS, Jury Evidence Recording System](https://www.txwd.uscourts.gov/for-attorneys/jers-jury-evidence-recording-system) - [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/271/samuel-frederick-biery-jr/) - [Judge Samuel Frederick Biery Jr.](https://www.fjc.gov/node/1377801) - [Wikidata: Samuel Frederick Biery Jr.](https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q85251) ## JSON-LD ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "WebPage", "@id": "https://knowjudges.com/kyj/judge/samuel-frederick-biery-jr", "url": "https://knowjudges.com/kyj/judge/samuel-frederick-biery-jr", "name": "Samuel Frederick Biery Jr. | KnowJudges", "description": "Samuel Frederick Biery Jr., U.S. District Court for the Western 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.