Trump Gains New Texas Trial Court Vacancy as Judge Steps Back

US District Judge David Godbey of the Northern District of Texas will take senior status next month, handing President Donald Trump another seat to fill on the Dallas-based court.

Godbey had until this week served as the court’s chief judge. An appointee of George W. Bush, he’ll step back from active service on Sept. 17, 2025, according to a federal judiciary website on judicial vacancies.

Trump is already teed up to fill one vacancy in the Northern District’s Dallas division. Applicants for that seat interviewed this year with the Federal Judicial Evaluation Committee, a panel set up by Texas Republican Sens. John Cornyn and Ted Cruz to vet nominees. The senators have met with other potential judicial nominees this summer.

Godbey has sat on the court since 2002. He was earlier a state civil district judge in Dallas County, and clerked for the late Irving Goldberg on the US Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit.

As chief judge, Godbey presided over the court as it faced national scrutiny over “judge shopping” by conservative litigants.

The Northern District of Texas, the largest land area district court excluding those that are an entire state, features several single-judge divisions.

The court’s defenders have said the smaller divisions are needed for parties to be heard where they live, but attorneys outside of the state have sought to file challenges in them, as they’re guaranteed to be heard by the judge assigned to it. Critics say that leads to an appearance of impropriety, as litigants can effectively handpick the judge for their case.

The Judicial Conference, the federal judiciary’s policy-making body, in March 2024 adopting non-binding guidance urging courts to guard against judge shopping. But Godbey said in a letter later that month to then-Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-NY) that the court had decided not to make any changes to its case assignment procedures “at this time.”