U.S. Sens. Cornyn, Cruz back Kazen to fill judicial vacancy in Southern District of Texas

U.S. Sens. John Cornyn and Ted Cruz (both R-TX) expressed their support for John A. Kazen, who has been nominated by President Joe Biden to fill a judicial vacancy on the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of Texas in Laredo, an Aug. 30 press release issued by Cornyn’s office said.

“Judge Kazen’s legal acumen, work ethic, and three decades of experience in private practice and public service make him exceptionally qualified to serve as a U.S. District Judge in Laredo,” Cornyn said in the release. “I am proud to recommend Judge Kazen for this position alongside Senator Cruz, and I am confident he will continue to carry on his father’s tremendous legacy in the Southern District of Texas once he is confirmed by the Senate.”

Cruz said in the Cornyn release that the bipartisan Federal Judicial Evaluation Committee recommended Kazen to him and Cornyn. “Based on that assessment, my own review, and Judge Kazen’s experience in private practice and on the bench, I recommended him to the White House for nomination to the federal judicial seat in Laredo,” the junior senator said. “I trust that Judge Kazen will faithfully uphold the Rule of Law and text of the U.S. Constitution, and I congratulate him and his family on this tremendous honor.”

Bloomberg Law reported that the Kazen family is a familiar name in Laredo’s judiciary circles as George Kazen, the nominee’s father, sat on the same bench, and the federal courthouse in the border city bears his name.

Kazen’s law career goes back three decades to when he first clerked the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Texas, Cornyn's release said. Kazen worked as a civil litigator at Kemp, Smith, Duncan, & Hammond, P.C. from 1991 to 1997 and established the law firm of Kazen, Meurer, & Pérez, L.L.P., in which he was a partner, from 1997 to 2018.

A graduate of the University of Houston (UH) Law Center and the University of Texas at Austin (UT), he has served as a U.S. magistrate judge for the Southern District of Texas since 2018, the release said.