Enrique Moreno
Encyclopedia
Enrique Moreno is a personal-injury and product liability lawyer in El Paso, Texas
and a former federal judicial nominee to the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit.
, Mexico and the son of a carpenter and a seamstress, Moreno earned a bachelor's degree from Harvard University
in 1978 and a law degree from Harvard Law School
in 1981.
Moreno has won several large judgments in his legal career. In August 2001, Moreno was one of five lawyers to win a $55,515,000 judgment for an El Paso man against Kelly-Moore Paints
for placing asbestos
-containing fibers
in a joint compound product that caused pleural mesothelioma in a patient.
On April 12, 2006, Moreno won a $27.5 million judgment for an Iran-born American citizen against Southwest Airlines
in a landmark racial profiling case after Southwest's flight attendants had her arrested after she had complained about poor service on the airline.
Since 2007, Moreno has headed a group of prominent El Pasoans known as the Citizens' Commission on Best Practices in Government, which is designed to prevent corruption from happening in El Paso.
taking senior status. Clinton in 1997 had nominated Jorge Rangel
to the seat, but Rangel withdrew his nomination in 1998 after objections from Senate Republicans.
Citing what they called Moreno's lack of experience, both of Texas Republican senators at the time, Phil Gramm
and Kay Bailey Hutchison
, opposed Moreno's nomination. In May 2000, Clinton publicly denounced the senators, saying that Moreno had "unbelievable academic credentials; he was endorsed by every conceivable professional association." Clinton also suggested that the senators wanted a judicial nominee who was "more politically malleable." For his part, Moreno said in a statement that he had "been blessed with the support and encouragement of many people. I am especially grateful and proud of my community's support for my nomination."
Moreno's nomination became an issue in the 2000 presidential election. At a campaign stop on July 1, 2000, then-Vice President Gore criticized Senate Republicans for holding up Moreno's nomination. "I believe that it is time to call upon Congress to stop playing politics with judicial nominations and confirm Enrique Moreno," Gore said.
Given that the Republicans controlled the U.S. Senate for Clinton's entire second term and given that 2000 was a presidential election year, Moreno's nomination languished. He never received a hearing before the U.S. Senate Judiciary Committee, and the Senate as a result never took a full vote on his nomination. Clinton renominated him on January 3, 2001, but his nomination was returned by President Bush on March 20, 2001, along with 61 other executive and judicial nominations that Clinton had made.
President George W. Bush nominated Priscilla Owen
to the seat on the Fifth Circuit in 2001. She won Senate confirmation in 2005.
In 2002, after Democrats recaptured the Senate, Moreno was one of several of Clinton's scuttled judicial nominees to be invited to appear before the Senate Judiciary Committee to discuss the process. Moreno told the committee that "I am often asked if I am personally disappointed or bitter about my experience. Let me say that I am not. You see, I have received so much encouragement, support, good will, and kindness from so many sources. It would be an act of selfishness for anyone who has experienced what I have experienced to say that they have a right to be personally disappointed. I am not personally disappointed. I am disappointed for my community, for the many people that supported my nomination, and for the many people that identified with my nomination. With all due respect, I believe that they deserved better."
El Paso, Texas
El Paso, is a city in and the county seat of El Paso County, Texas, United States, and lies in far West Texas. In the 2010 census, the city had a population of 649,121. It is the sixth largest city in Texas and the 19th largest city in the United States...
and a former federal judicial nominee to the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit.
Early life and education
Born in ChihuahuaChihuahua, Chihuahua
The city of Chihuahua is the state capital of the Mexican state of Chihuahua. It has a population of about 825,327. The predominant activity is industry, including domestic heavy, light industries, consumer goods production, and to a smaller extent maquiladoras.-History:It has been said that the...
, Mexico and the son of a carpenter and a seamstress, Moreno earned a bachelor's degree from Harvard University
Harvard University
Harvard University is a private Ivy League university located in Cambridge, Massachusetts, United States, established in 1636 by the Massachusetts legislature. Harvard is the oldest institution of higher learning in the United States and the first corporation chartered in the country...
in 1978 and a law degree from Harvard Law School
Harvard Law School
Harvard Law School is one of the professional graduate schools of Harvard University. Located in Cambridge, Massachusetts, it is the oldest continually-operating law school in the United States and is home to the largest academic law library in the world. The school is routinely ranked by the U.S...
in 1981.
Professional career
Moreno began his career as a personal injury and product liability attorney in 1981. He has worked for four different law firms in his career. He has been the practitioner of the Law Offices of Enrique Moreno since 1999.Moreno has won several large judgments in his legal career. In August 2001, Moreno was one of five lawyers to win a $55,515,000 judgment for an El Paso man against Kelly-Moore Paints
Kelly-Moore Paints
Kelly-Moore Paints is a paint manufacturing company founded in San Carlos, California in 1946. It has stores located in California, Washington, Oregon, Arkansas, Texas, Oklahoma, and Nevada. San Carlos, and Hurst, Texas are home to manufacturing plants....
for placing asbestos
Asbestos
Asbestos is a set of six naturally occurring silicate minerals used commercially for their desirable physical properties. They all have in common their eponymous, asbestiform habit: long, thin fibrous crystals...
-containing fibers
Asbestos fibers
Asbestos fibers are released from asbestos containing materials . Friable asbestos containing materials release fibers more readily than encapsulated asbestos containing materials.- Determining airborne asbestos fiber levels :...
in a joint compound product that caused pleural mesothelioma in a patient.
On April 12, 2006, Moreno won a $27.5 million judgment for an Iran-born American citizen against Southwest Airlines
Southwest Airlines
Southwest Airlines Co. is an American low-cost airline based in Dallas, Texas. Southwest is the largest airline in the United States, based upon domestic passengers carried,...
in a landmark racial profiling case after Southwest's flight attendants had her arrested after she had complained about poor service on the airline.
Since 2007, Moreno has headed a group of prominent El Pasoans known as the Citizens' Commission on Best Practices in Government, which is designed to prevent corruption from happening in El Paso.
Nomination to the Fifth Circuit
On September 16, 1999, President Clinton nominated Moreno to be a judge on the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit. Moreno was nominated to the vacancy that had been created by Judge William Lockhart GarwoodWilliam Lockhart Garwood
William Lockhart Garwood was a United States federal judge of the United States Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit.Born in Houston, Texas to Wilmer St...
taking senior status. Clinton in 1997 had nominated Jorge Rangel
Jorge Rangel
Jorge C. Rangel is a Texas lawyer and a former federal judicial nominee to the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit.-Early life and education:...
to the seat, but Rangel withdrew his nomination in 1998 after objections from Senate Republicans.
Citing what they called Moreno's lack of experience, both of Texas Republican senators at the time, Phil Gramm
Phil Gramm
William Philip "Phil" Gramm is an American economist and politician, who has served as a Democratic Congressman , a Republican Congressman and a Republican Senator from Texas...
and Kay Bailey Hutchison
Kay Bailey Hutchison
Kathryn Ann Bailey Hutchison, known as Kay Bailey Hutchison , is the senior United States Senator from Texas.She is a member of the Republican Party. In 2001, she was named one of the thirty most powerful women in America by Ladies Home Journal. The first woman to represent Texas in the U.S....
, opposed Moreno's nomination. In May 2000, Clinton publicly denounced the senators, saying that Moreno had "unbelievable academic credentials; he was endorsed by every conceivable professional association." Clinton also suggested that the senators wanted a judicial nominee who was "more politically malleable." For his part, Moreno said in a statement that he had "been blessed with the support and encouragement of many people. I am especially grateful and proud of my community's support for my nomination."
Moreno's nomination became an issue in the 2000 presidential election. At a campaign stop on July 1, 2000, then-Vice President Gore criticized Senate Republicans for holding up Moreno's nomination. "I believe that it is time to call upon Congress to stop playing politics with judicial nominations and confirm Enrique Moreno," Gore said.
Given that the Republicans controlled the U.S. Senate for Clinton's entire second term and given that 2000 was a presidential election year, Moreno's nomination languished. He never received a hearing before the U.S. Senate Judiciary Committee, and the Senate as a result never took a full vote on his nomination. Clinton renominated him on January 3, 2001, but his nomination was returned by President Bush on March 20, 2001, along with 61 other executive and judicial nominations that Clinton had made.
President George W. Bush nominated Priscilla Owen
Priscilla Owen
Priscilla Richman Owen is a federal judge on the United States Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit. She was previously a Justice on the Texas Supreme Court.-Early life:...
to the seat on the Fifth Circuit in 2001. She won Senate confirmation in 2005.
In 2002, after Democrats recaptured the Senate, Moreno was one of several of Clinton's scuttled judicial nominees to be invited to appear before the Senate Judiciary Committee to discuss the process. Moreno told the committee that "I am often asked if I am personally disappointed or bitter about my experience. Let me say that I am not. You see, I have received so much encouragement, support, good will, and kindness from so many sources. It would be an act of selfishness for anyone who has experienced what I have experienced to say that they have a right to be personally disappointed. I am not personally disappointed. I am disappointed for my community, for the many people that supported my nomination, and for the many people that identified with my nomination. With all due respect, I believe that they deserved better."