American legal scholar
Rochelle Mercedes Garza (born 1984/1985)[1] is an American attorney from Brownsville, Texas currently serving as one of the five Commissioners on the United States Commission on Civil Rights .[2] [3] She is a civil rights attorney who practices family law , criminal defense , Immigration law , constitutional law and is the president of the Texas Civil Rights Project .[4] In 2017 a federal notice was named after her because of her work in a notable reproductive rights case.
She was the Democratic nominee in the 2022 Texas Attorney General election losing to incumbent Ken Paxton .
Early life and education [ edit ] Garza was raised in Brownsville, Texas . Both of her parents were public school teachers. Her father became a teacher, a lawyer and then served South Texas as an elected State District Judge for 21 years.[5] Garza earned her Bachelor of Arts degree with honors from Brown University in 2007 and her Juris Doctor from University of Houston Law Center in 2013.[6]
Garza testifying at the confirmation hearing of Brett Kavanaugh in 2018 Garza was a staff attorney for the ACLU .[7] Garza became a managing partner of Garza & Garza Law, PLLC.[8] Garza was a board member at Moody Clinic (January 2018 – January 2020), Director of the Cameron County Bar Association (May 2018 – December 2021), Chair at the Ethics Advisory Committee, City of Brownsville, Texas (January 2021 – July 2021) and a board member at Jane's Due Process since February 2019.[9] On January 26, 2023, Garza was announced as president of the Texas Civil Rights Project, a civil rights litigation and advocacy organization for voting rights , immigration and criminal justice work.[10]
Attorney General election [ edit ] In 2022, Garza was the Texas Democratic Party nominee for Attorney General . In the primary election, Mike Fields, an attorney and former judge of the Harris County Criminal Court at Law No. 14[11] (endorsed Garza in runoff) ,[12] [13] Lee Merritt , a civil rights attorney[14] (endorsed Garza in runoff) [12] [13] and S. T-Bone Raynor, attorney[15] were all eliminated in the primary. Garza and Joe Jaworski, an attorney, mediator, former mayor of Galveston , and grandson of former U.S. Department of Justice special counsel Leon Jaworski advanced to a runoff election.[16] Garza won the runoff election, becoming the first Latina nominee for Texas attorney general.[17]
Garza lost in the general election to Republican Ken Paxton .[18] Garza received 43.7%, 3,482,909 votes while Paxton received 53.4%, 4,268,826 votes.[19]
Garza represented a 17-year-old girl who came to the United States without her parents, and who resided in a government-funded shelter in Texas . The Trump administration would not allow her to leave the shelter to get an abortion.[20] [21] [22] In 2017 the "Garza Notice", requiring that access to reproductive care be provided to teenagers housed in federal immigration detention facilities, was named after her.[23]
Garza grew up in a Catholic household. According to her mother, she was crowd-surfed to Pope John Paul II at eight months old and blessed by the Pope. Her brother, Robby, experienced a brain injury during childbirth that resulted in disabilities and he died before she went to college.[24]
^ "Rochelle Garza" . amarillopioneer.com . October 12, 2022. Archived from the original on February 15, 2023. Retrieved February 14, 2023 .
^ "Rochelle Garza Commissioner" . U.S. Commission on Civil Rights Facebook . United States Government. Retrieved June 30, 2023 .
^ "Rochelle Garza, Commission Chair" .
^ "Five democratic candidates running for Attorney General nomination" . MSN . Archived from the original on February 15, 2023. Retrieved February 15, 2023 .
^ "Meet Rochelle" . Rochelle Garza . Archived from the original on February 15, 2023. Retrieved February 15, 2023 .
^ "Rochelle Mercedes Garza – Democratic Candidate for Attorney General" . The Amarillo Pioneer . January 19, 2022. Archived from the original on February 15, 2023. Retrieved February 15, 2023 .
^ "Rochelle Garza" . American Civil Liberties Union . Archived from the original on February 15, 2023. Retrieved February 15, 2023 .
^ Svitek, Patrick (November 1, 2021). "Former ACLU lawyer Rochelle Garza decides to run for attorney general after redistricting upends congressional campaign" . The Texas Tribune . Archived from the original on September 27, 2022. Retrieved February 15, 2023 .
^ Dearman, Eleanor (November 23, 2022). "Meet the candidates for Texas attorney general on Nov. 8 ballot" . Fort Worth Star-Telegram . Retrieved February 17, 2023 .
^ Yañez, Alejandra (January 26, 2023). "Rochelle Garza named president of Texas Civil Rights Project" . ValleyCentral.com . Archived from the original on July 1, 2023. Retrieved July 1, 2023 .
^ Bureau, Austin; Goldenstein, Taylor (January 6, 2022). "Once a Republican, ex-Harris County judge Mike Fields running for Texas AG as a Democrat" . Houston Chronicle . Archived from the original on February 15, 2023. Retrieved January 23, 2022 .
^ a b "Civil rights lawyer Lee Merritt concedes dem AG primary loss, endorses Rochelle Garza" . March 10, 2022.
^ a b Barragan, James; Zhang, Andrew (March 10, 2022). "Democrat Lee Merritt suspends campaign for attorney general nine days after election day, clearing path for runoff" . Texas Tribune . Archived from the original on November 27, 2022.
^ Svitek, Patrick (July 13, 2021). "Civil rights attorney Lee Merritt, a Democrat, launches campaign against Republican Attorney General Ken Paxton" . Texas Tribune . Archived from the original on February 15, 2023. Retrieved July 13, 2021 .
^ "Qualified Candidates" . Texas Secretary of State . Archived from the original on November 6, 2022. Retrieved December 14, 2021 .
^ Grieder, Erica (September 16, 2020). "Grieder: Texas AG Paxton draws 2022 challenger who vows to work across the aisle" . Houston Chronicle . Archived from the original on February 15, 2023. Retrieved October 6, 2020 .
^ "Republican Ken Paxton wins Texas AG race, defeating Democrat Rochelle Garza" . NBC News . November 9, 2022. Archived from the original on February 16, 2023. Retrieved February 15, 2023 .
^ Barragán, James (November 9, 2022). "Ken Paxton wins third term as attorney general, beating Democrat Rochelle Garza" . The Texas Tribune . Archived from the original on February 13, 2023. Retrieved February 15, 2023 .
^ Barragan, James (November 8, 2022). "Ken Paxton wins third term as attorney general, beating Democrat Rochelle Garza" . The Texas Tribune . Archived from the original on February 13, 2023. Retrieved February 17, 2023 .
^ "Texas must not be a 'sanctuary state for abortions,' AG Ken Paxton says in court brief" . Dallas News . October 11, 2017. Archived from the original on February 15, 2023. Retrieved February 15, 2023 .
^ Barragán, James (March 3, 2022). "Rochelle Garza is headed into Democratic AG runoff, but her opponent is still undetermined" . The Texas Tribune . Archived from the original on February 15, 2023. Retrieved February 15, 2023 .
^ "Garza v. Hargan – Challenge to Trump Administration's Attempts to Block Abortions for Young Immigrant Women" . American Civil Liberties Union . Archived from the original on February 15, 2023. Retrieved February 15, 2023 .
^ "Rochelle Garza named president of Texas Civil Rights Project" . KVEO-TV . January 26, 2023. Retrieved July 1, 2023 .
^ Liebelson, Dana (October 24, 2022). "Rochelle Garza Thinks She Can Flip Texas — Largely Thanks to Dobbs" . POLITICO . Archived from the original on February 15, 2023. Retrieved February 15, 2023 .