Candidates would fill vacancies in the western, southern and northern districts of Texas
DALLAS – United States Senator John Cornyn (R-TX) released the following statement on the nominations of Jaime Esparza for the United States Attorney for the Western District of Texas, Alamdar Hamdani for the United States Attorney for the Southern District of Texas. Texas and Leigha Simonton for the United States Attorney for the Northern District of Texas:
“Playing the role of the main litigator and the highest-ranking law enforcement officer in these districts is no small role, but Jaime, Alamdar and Leigha have the experience needed to succeed in US prosecutors,” he said. said Senator Cornyn. “I was proud to recommend each of them for these positions with Senator Cruz and look forward to seeing them ensure that the government is well represented in the courtrooms of Texas.”
Senator Cornyn, along with Senator Cruz, recommended these candidates to President Biden following an extensive process of reviewing and interviewing the candidate pool by the Federal Judicial Evaluation Committee (FJEC). Sens. Cornyn and Cruz established the FJEC, a bipartisan group of prominent Texas attorneys, to help identify the most qualified candidates to fill US attorney vacancies. The jury reviewed the questions, interviewed the candidates, and made recommendations to the senators, who interviewed the people before making their recommendations to the president.
Jaime E. Esparza served as the District Attorney for the 34th Judicial District of Texas from 1993 to 2020. Mr. Esparza previously served as an Assistant County Attorney at the El Paso County Attorney’s Office in 1992 and was the first assistant public defender for the El Paso County Public Defender’s Office from 1988 to 1991. Mr. Esparza was assistant district attorney for the 34th Texas Judicial District in 1987 and as an assistant district attorney at the office of the Harris County District Attorney in Houston, Texas from 1983 to 1987. Mr. Esparza received his law degree from the University of Houston Law Center in 1983 and a BBA. at the University of Texas at Austin in 1979.
Alamdar S. Hamdani has served as an assistant to the United States Attorney in the United States Attorney’s Office for the Southern District of Texas since 2014. He previously served as the Deputy Head of the Counterterrorism Section of the National Security Division in the Department of justice from 2012 to 2014 and as a trial attorney in the counterterrorism section from 2010 to 2012. From 2008 to 2012, Hamdani was US Assistant Attorney in the Eastern District of Kentucky. Mr. Hamdani was one of the founding partners of Hamdani & amp; Simon LLP from 2005 to 2008; an associate at Winstead Sechrest & AMP; Minick PC from 2001 to 2005; and an associate at Dow, Cogburn & amp; Friedman PC from 1999 to 2001. Hamdani received his law degree from the University of Houston Law Center in 1999 and his B.B.A. at the University of Texas at Austin in 1993.
Leigha Simonton served as the US Attorney’s Assistant in the US Attorney’s Office for the Northern District of Texas from 2005. From 2003 to 2005, Ms. Simonton was an associate at Haynes & amp; Boone, LLP. He served as a legal assistant to Judge Patrick E. Higginbotham at the United States Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit from 2002 to 2003 and Judge Barbara M.G. Lynn in the United States District Court for the North District of Texas from 2001 to 2002. Ms. Simonton received her law degree from Yale Law School in 2001 and her law degree. at the University of Texas at Austin in 1997.
