President Obama has picked federal district court judge Gregg Costa to fill one of the emergency vacancies on the 5th Circuit Court of Appeals. From the Dallas Morning News:

Ending a long drought for Texas judicial picks, President Obama has decided to elevate federal judge Gregg Costa of Galveston to the 5th Circuit Court of Appeals, a White House aide said Thursday. The court hears cases from Texas, Louisiana and Mississippi.

Costa has only been a judge for 18 months.  A native of Richardson, he graduated from Dartmouth College. At the University of Texas law school, he served as editor in chief of the Texas Law Review. He clerked for Chief Justice William Rehnquist in 2001 and 2002. Later, at the U.S. attorney’s office in the Houston-based Southern District of Texas, he was a lead prosecutor in the case of R. Allen Stanford, who was convicted in the second-largest Ponzi scheme in U.S. history.

Progress Texas and the Texans for a Fair Judiciary coalition worked hard to get Costa on the bench in 2012. Our statement on Costa's nomination is below.

"We are thrilled with President Obama's nomination of Gregg Costa to the 5th Circuit Court of Appeals. Judge Costa is a fair, principled judge who will be a tremendous public servant to the people of Texas. Senators Cornyn and Cruz should ensure Judge Costa has a swift and speedy confirmation process, and we urge them to start working to fill the rest of Texas' many judicial nominations in the coming months.”