The U.S. Senate last week confirmed
three Texas judges, including Robert Pitman, the state's first openly
gay federal judge and the first openly gay judge in the entire Fifth
Circuit Court, which includes Texas, Louisiana and Mississippi.
All three nominees were confirmed with
a voice vote, according to The
Dallas Morning News.
The other two judges were Texarkana
lawyer Robert Schroeder III and Sherman Magistrate Judge Amos Mazzant
III.
Texas Senators John Cornyn and Ted
Cruz, both Republicans, recommended the Texans to President Barack
Obama, who announced the nominations in June.
Pitman, who has a law degree from the
University of Texas, previously made history as the first openly gay
U.S. attorney in Texas, a post for which he was also
recommended by Cornyn and nominated by Obama in June of 2011. He
will fill a seat vacant since the end of 2008.