Alan Albright

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Alan Albright
Alan D Albright.png
Judge of the United States District Court for the Western District of Texas
Assumed office
September 10, 2018
Appointed byDonald Trump
Preceded byWalter Scott Smith Jr.
Magistrate Judge of the United States District Court for the Western District of Texas
In office
1992–1999
Personal details
Born1959 (age 62–63)
Hershey, Pennsylvania, U.S.
EducationTrinity University (BA)
University of Texas School of Law (JD)

Alan D Albright[1] (born 1959) is a United States District Judge of the United States District Court for the Western District of Texas. He was formerly a United States Magistrate Judge of the same court. Albright oversees a significant portion of patent litigation within the United States. In 2021, the United States Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit repeatedly rebuked him in a string of opinions for failing to transfer cases to more apt jurisdictions. A quarter of all patent lawsuits in the US are heard by Albright, who has been criticized for ignoring binding case law.

Biography[]

Albright earned his Bachelor of Arts with honors from Trinity University and his Juris Doctor from the University of Texas School of Law. He taught trial advocacy at the University of Texas School of Law for several years as an adjunct. Before becoming a district judge, Albright was a partner in the Austin office of Bracewell LLP, where his practice focused on intellectual property law. He was in private practice at other firms in Austin from 1999 to 2015.[2]

Federal judicial service[]

Magistrate judge and nomination[]

Albright served as a United States Magistrate Judge of the United States District Court for the Western District of Texas from 1992 to 1999.[3] On January 23, 2018, President Trump announced his intent to nominate Albright to an undetermined seat on the United States District Court for the Western District of Texas.[2] On January 24, 2018, his nomination was sent to the United States Senate. He was nominated to the seat vacated by Judge Walter Scott Smith Jr., who retired on September 14, 2016.[4] On April 25, 2018, a hearing on his nomination was held before the Senate Judiciary Committee.[5] On May 24, 2018, his nomination was reported out of committee by voice vote.[6] On September 6, 2018, his nomination was confirmed by voice vote.[7] He received his judicial commission on September 10, 2018, and was sworn in by Chief Judge Orlando Luis Garcia on September 18, 2018.

Criticisms[]

After Albright encouraged patent owners to file claims in the Western District of Texas, one fifth of the nation's patent cases were filed in the district.[8] On September 24, 2021, the United States Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit rebuked Albright for refusing to follow the law limiting federal judges from retaining cases that should be transferred to another jurisdiction.[9] On October 21, 2021, the Federal Circuit issued a writ of mandamus transferring another patent case that Judge Albright oversaw despite his prior denial of transfer. The Federal Circuit's opinion rebuked Albright's continuous denial of transfers from the Western District.[10]

Due to Albright's actions, on November 2, 2021, Senators Thom Tillis and Patrick Leahy wrote a bipartisan letter asking Chief Justice John G. Roberts to direct the Judicial Conference of the United States to "conduct a study of actual and potential abuses" that result from an "absence of adequate rules regulating judicial assignment and venue for patent cases within a [single judicial] district.".[11][12] The letter criticized Albright for having "openly solicited cases at lawyers' meetings" and for having "repeatedly ignored binding case law and abused his discretion," noting that Albright's decisions "resulted in a flood of mandamus petitions" being filed and granted "no fewer than 15 times in just the past two years.".[12]

References[]

  1. ^ "D" is Albright's middle name, it is not an initial.
  2. ^ a b "President Donald J. Trump Announces Tenth Wave of Judicial Candidates" White House, January 23, 2018 Public Domain This article incorporates text from this source, which is in the public domain.
  3. ^ "Trump names Austin lawyer Alan Albright to federal bench".
  4. ^ "Eight Nominations Sent to the Senate Today". whitehouse.gov – via National Archives.
  5. ^ United States Senate Committee on the Judiciary: Nominations for April 25, 2018
  6. ^ Results of Executive Business Meeting – May 24, 2018, Senate Judiciary Committee
  7. ^ "PN1523 — Alan D. Albright — The Judiciary". United States Senate. January 24, 2018. Retrieved September 6, 2018.
  8. ^ Davis, Ryan (July 2, 2021). "WDTX Now Has 25% Of All US Patent Cases - Law360". www.law360.com. Retrieved September 29, 2021.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: url-status (link)
  9. ^ Kass, David (September 24, 2021). "Fed. Circ. Rebukes Judge Albright For Still Avoiding Transfers - Law360". www.law360.com. Retrieved September 29, 2021.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: url-status (link)
  10. ^ Kass, Daniel (October 22, 2021). "Fed. Circ. Overrides Albright After He Ignored Implied Order - Law360". www.law360.com. Retrieved October 22, 2021.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: url-status (link)
  11. ^ Letter to the Chief Justice of the United States of America from Senators Thom Tillis and Patrick Leahy, retrieved from https://patentlyo.com/media/2021/11/Letter-to-the-Chief-Justice-about-Judge-Albright.pdf (Nov. 2, 2021).
  12. ^ a b Witherspoon, Tommy (November 5, 2021). "Senators slam Waco federal judge over 'extreme concentration' of patent cases". WacoTrib.com. Retrieved November 15, 2021.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: url-status (link)

External links[]

Legal offices
Preceded by Judge of the United States District Court for the Western District of Texas
2018–present 		Incumbent
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