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Filemon Vela Sr.

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American judge For his son, the former United States representative from Texas, see Filemon Vela Jr.
Filemon Vela Sr.
Senior Judge of the United States District Court for the Southern District of Texas
In office
May 1, 2000 – April 13, 2004
Judge of the United States District Court for the Southern District of Texas
In office
June 18, 1980 – May 1, 2000
Appointed byJimmy Carter
Preceded byReynaldo Guerra Garza
Succeeded byAndrew Hanen
Personal details
BornFilemón Bartolomé Vela
(1935-05-01)May 1, 1935
Harlingen, Texas, U.S.
DiedApril 13, 2004(2004-04-13) (aged 68)
Harlingen, Texas, U.S.
SpouseBlanca Vela (1962–2004)
ChildrenFilemon
EducationSt. Mary's University, Texas (JD)

Filemón Bartolomé Vela (May 1, 1935 – April 13, 2004) was a United States district judge of the United States District Court for the Southern District of Texas.

Education and career

Born in Harlingen, Texas, Vela was a private in the United States Army from 1957 to 1959, and received a Juris Doctor from St. Mary's University School of Law in 1962. He was in private practice in Harlingen from 1962 to 1963, and then in Brownsville, Texas from 1963 to 1974. He was a city commissioner in Brownsville from 1971 to 1973. He was a judge of the 107th Judicial District in Cameron and Willacy Counties, Texas from 1975 to 1980.

Federal judicial service

On January 22, 1980, Vela was nominated by President Jimmy Carter to a seat on the United States District Court for the Southern District of Texas vacated by Judge Reynaldo Guerra Garza. Vela was confirmed by the United States Senate on June 18, 1980, and received his commission the same day. He assumed senior status on May 1, 2000, serving in that capacity until his death on April 13, 2004, in Harlingen.

Vela presided over the capital murder trial of drug lord Juan Raul Garza. Garza was executed by the federal government in 2001, eight days after Timothy McVeigh.

Personal

Vela was married to Blanca Vela, who served as the first female Mayor of Brownsville, Texas, from 1999 to 2003. Their three children include Filemon Vela Jr., who was elected to the United States Congress in 2012.

See also

References

  1. ^ Filemon Bartolome Vela at the Biographical Directory of Federal Judges, a publication of the Federal Judicial Center.
  2. "The Case of Juan Garza - Trial | Capital Punishment in Context". capitalpunishmentincontext.org. Retrieved 2022-04-03.
  3. Johnson, Ty (February 18, 2014). "Former Brownsville mayor, feminist 'trailblazer' Blanca Vela dies at 78". The Monitor. Retrieved 2014-03-13.
  4. Martinez, Laura B. (February 19, 2014). "Former Brownsville Mayor Blanca Vela dies". The Brownsville Herald. Retrieved 2014-03-13.
  5. Perez-Trevino, Emma (April 25, 2012; updated February 11, 2013). "Candidates raise significant war chests". The Brownsville Herald.

Sources

Legal offices
Preceded byReynaldo Guerra Garza Judge of the United States District Court for the Southern District of Texas
1980–2000 		Succeeded byAndrew Hanen
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