AUSTIN – On Jan. 23, Attorney General Ken Paxton praised President Donald Trump’s nomination of Deputy Solicitor General J. Campbell Barker to the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Texas.
Barker joined the attorney general’s office in 2015 and handles a wide range of state and federal cases.
“I proudly support Cam Barker as President Trump’s nominee to fill one of the vacant judgeships in the Eastern District of Texas,” Paxton said.
“During his career with the DOJ, in private practice, and as deputy solicitor general in my office, Barker has established a proven record of excellence and professionalism. His fidelity to the rule of law and the Constitution will make him a first-rate federal judge.”
Barker spent four years as an attorney in the appellate section of the Criminal Division of the U.S. Department of Justice, including a period in the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Eastern District of Virginia as a special assistant U.S. attorney.
“Cam Barker has served his State with exemplary distinction,” Solicitor General Scott Keller said. “He has a wealth of experience in both trial and appellate courts, and in both the private sector and government service. Cam will be an outstanding jurist committed to upholding the rule of law.”
After graduating from Texas A&M, summa cum laude, with a Bachelor of Science degree in computer engineering, Barker earned his law degree from the University of Texas at Austin. He clerked with Judge John Walker on the U.S. Court of Appeals for the 2nd Circuit and Judge William Bryson on the federal circuit. Barker worked his way from an associate to a partner at the Texas civil litigation law firm Yetter Coleman LLP before becoming deputy solicitor general.
During his time with the DOJ and the state of Texas, Barker worked on a number of nationally important legal cases and drafted nearly 100 U.S. Supreme Court briefs. While in private practice, Barker’s pro bono work earned him the distinction of Texas Lawyer’s “Appellate Lawyer of the Week” for a win on a 5th Circuit case.
The Eastern District of Texas is made up of 43 of the 254 counties in Texas. Twenty-nine district judges have been appointed to the Eastern District of Texas bench since the district was created on February 21, 1857. The court currently has five active district judges, three vacant district judgeships, two senior district judges, and eight full-time magistrate judges.