SAN ANTONIO – Jaime Esparza was sworn in late Friday afternoon as the United States Attorney for the Western District of Texas. Chief U.S. District Judge Alia Moses administered the oath of office to Esparza at the federal courthouse in San Antonio.
“It is with great honor that I accept this appointment to serve as the U.S. Attorney for the Western District of Texas,” said Esparza. “I’ve been proud to dedicate the past four decades of my life to justice within the state of Texas and will continue to ensure we hold accountable those who seek to harm vulnerable victims and obstruct the American way of life.”
As U.S. Attorney, Esparza is the chief federal law enforcement officer in the Western District of Texas. He is responsible for prosecuting violations of federal law and representing the federal government in civil litigation where the United States is a party. The Western District of Texas includes 68 counties, spans about 93,000 square miles and serves more than six million residents. The U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Western District of Texas employs more than 300 people and has staffed offices in Austin, Alpine, Del Rio, El Paso, Midland, Waco and San Antonio.
U.S. Attorney Esparza served as the District Attorney for the 34th Judicial District of Texas from 1993 to 2020. He is credited with creating the award-winning Domestic Violence 24-hour Project, bringing more focus and support to victims of domestic abuse. He also introduced the District Attorney Information Management System, reducing arrests by 20 percent and saving millions of dollars for El Paso Country. In 2005, U.S. Attorney Esparza was named Prosecutor of the Year by the State Bar of Texas and in 2015 he received the National Mothers Against Drunk Driving President’s Award for Outstanding Criminal Justice Prosecutor.
U.S. Attorney Esparza was Assistant County Attorney in the El Paso County Attorney’s Office in 1992, First Assistant Public Defender in the El Paso County Public Defender’s Office from 1988 to 1991 and Assistant District Attorney for the 34th Judicial District of Texas in 1987. U.S. Attorney Esparza began his legal career as Assistant District Attorney in the Harris County District Attorney’s Office, where he served from 1983 to 1987. U.S. Attorney Esparza received his Juris Doctor from the University of Houston Law Center in 1983 and a Bachelor of Business Administration from the University of Texas at Austin in 1979.
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