WACO, Texas (KWTX) – A state district judge from Fort Worth is in line to succeed U.S. District Judge Alan Albright as Waco’s new federal judge.
Chris Wolfe, the current judge in 213th State District Court in Tarrant County and a former federal prosecutor, has been recommended for nomination to the Waco federal court bench, according to Albright.
Wolfe, a graduate of Baylor University and Baylor Law School, was recommended for the job by Texas U.S. Senators John Cornyn and Ted Cruz and is expected to be nominated by President Donald J. Trump.
If nominated, he must be confirmed by the Senate Judiciary Committee, which Albright said should be a mere formality for Wolfe.
“I’m very confident he will be confirmed and become the next judge here in Waco,” Albright said. “He is a double-degree Baylor guy and will be very good for Waco. I’m very happy for Waco.”
Wolfe has been a state district judge in Fort Worth since 2018. Before that he served as deputy branch manager of the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Northern District of Texas in Fort Worth and was an assistant U.S. attorney for 15 years.
Wolfe didn’t immediately return a request for an interview Friday.
Waco is in the sprawling Western District of Texas, which covers a large portion of the state, including El Paso, Midland-Odessa, Austin, San Antonio, Alpine, Pecos and Del Rio.
Albright, Waco’s lone federal district judge since 2018, moved back to Austin, where he took over a federal court vacancy in the Austin division.
“I loved being a Waco judge. It’s been the greatest honor of my life,” Albright said.
Albright garnered national attention by inviting lawyers to file their patent law cases in his court. Soon, a fourth of the nation’s intellectual property cases were filed in the Waco division.
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