AG Pax­ton Applauds Pres­i­dent Trump’s Nom­i­na­tion of For­mer Texas Deputy First Assis­tant AG David Morales to the U.S. Dis­trict Court in Cor­pus Christi

Attorney General Ken Paxton today praised President Trump’s nomination of former Texas Deputy First Assistant Attorney General David Morales to the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of Texas in Corpus Christi. He is currently a partner in the litigation, administrative law and public law practice groups of Kelly Hart & Hallman in Austin.

“David Morales is an accomplished attorney with a proven record of excellence and an unwavering fidelity to the rule of law and the U.S. Constitution,” Attorney General Paxton said. “David will respect the proper role of a judge in our constitutional system and will not engage in legislating from the bench. I am confident he will excel as a federal judge, and I urge the U.S. Senate to quickly confirm him to the bench.”

From 2007-2011, Morales served as then-Attorney General Greg Abbott’s deputy first assistant attorney general and deputy attorney general for civil litigation. He led all trial and appellate matters for the state of Texas, managing more than 300 civil litigation attorneys and over 15,000 litigation matters.

Morales spent three years as general counsel to the governor of Texas, acting as chief counsel on more than 1,600 legislative bills passed during the 83rd legislative session. He also advised then-Governor Rick Perry on all criminal justice issues. Prior to entering private practice, Morales was deputy general counsel to the University of Texas System Board of Regents.

A graduate of St. Edwards University, Morales earned his J.D. from St. Mary’s University School of Law in 1994.

Morales represents President Trump’s sixth pending or confirmed nomination to a court involving a former staffer of the Texas attorney general’s office. Last December, former Texas Supreme Court justice Don Willett and James Ho were confirmed to the 5th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals. Former staffers Kyle Duncan and Andrew Oldham both await confirmation to the same appeals court. And earlier this year, Texas Deputy Solicitor General Cam Barker was nominated by the president to the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Texas.