I was delighted to learn that Elliot Gaiser has been nominated to serve on the Federal District Court for the Northern District of Texas. Some have suggested that Elliot lacks sufficient ties to Texas to justify the nomination. Federal district judges are required to reside within their district at the time of confirmation. Indeed, there have been recent appointees who did not reside in the districts to which they were nominated, and may not have done so since childhood.
Nevertheless, it seems useful to outline several of Elliot’s connections to my chosen home state of Texas. After all, not all of us were fortunate enough to be born here, but many of us arrived as quickly as we could.
To begin with, I have known both Elliot and his wife Alexandra since before they began dating. He was affiliated with the University of Chicago, while she was at the University of Texas. (I spoke at both of their FedSoc chapters when they were students.) Indeed, Elliot and Alexandra began their relationship long-distance with the understanding that both would clerk in Houston—Elliot for Judge Edith Jones and Alexandra for Chief Judge Jennifer Walker Elrod. I came to know them even more during their year of clerkship.
Elliot’s grandmother has lived in Houston since his childhood. Alexandra’s immediate family remains in Dallas, including her parents, brother, and sister. Alexandra’s father, Allen Harrison, serves as president of Medical City Dallas and is the incoming chair of the Texas Hospital Association. Elliot and Alexandra were married in Texas, and their children were dedicated in that same chapel.
Following his clerkship for Judge Jones, Elliot joined Gibson Dunn’s Washington, D.C. office and worked closely with the Dallas office. He contributed to the briefing with James Ho and the First Liberty Institute for Sause v. Bauer before the Supreme Court. Elliot also participated in Indian Child Welfare Act litigation in the Northern District of Texas, representing Texas families seeking to adopt children of Indian descent. He argued that case in Judge Reed O’Connor’s courtroom in the Northern District of Texas and before the Fifth Circuit, with proceedings also taking place in Texas State Court. In the Interest of Y.J. (also known as Y.R.J.), a Child, Trial Court Cause No. 323-107644-18, 323rd District Court, Tarrant County, Texas (Hon. Alexander Han Kim / Judge Alex Kim). Elliot also collaborated with the Dallas-based trial team at Gibson Dunn on the AT&T/TimeWarner antitrust suit.
Elliot and Alexandra have remained deeply engaged with the Texas conservative legal movement. Alexandra interned for Senator Cornyn’s judiciary committee staff under Chief Counsel Matt Johnson and later Chief Counsel Noah Phillips. She sits on the Steering Committee of the Texas Review of Law & Politics, where she served as Editor in Chief. The couple are regular attendees at the TROLP banquet dinners. (Both Texas Senators have earned the distinguished “Jurist of the Year” bobblehead, though mine remains the most glamorous.) Elliot has spoken at the Texas Chapter Conference and routinely attends Texas FedSoc happy hours and other gatherings.
Elliot is held in high esteem within the Texas conservative legal community. This evening, he joined the Texas FedSoc gathering at the Mayflower, and we are all rooting for him. He would be an outstanding judge and would fill a seat that cannot be left vacant.
