Rochelle Mercedes Garza

Rochelle Mercedes Garza (born 1984/1985)[1] is an American attorney currently serving as one of the five Commissioners on the United States Commission on Civil Rights.[2] 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.[3] In 2017 a federal notice was named after her because of her work in a notable reproductive rights case.

Rochelle Garza
Commissioner of the United States Commission on Civil Rights
Assumed office
March 2023
Appointed byJoe Biden
Personal details
Born1984 or 1985 (age 38–39)
Political partyDemocratic
EducationBrown University (BA)
University of Houston (JD)

Early life and education

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.[4] 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.[5]

Career
Garza testifying at the confirmation hearing of Brett Kavanaugh in 2018

Garza was a staff attorney for the ACLU.[6] Garza became a managing partner of Garza & Garza Law, PLLC.[7] 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.[8] 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.[9]

Attorney General election

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[10] (endorsed Garza in runoff),[11][12] Lee Merritt, a civil rights attorney[13] (endorsed Garza in runoff)[11][12] and S. T-Bone Raynor, attorney[14] 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.[15] Garza won the runoff election, becoming the first Latina nominee for Texas attorney general.[16]

Garza lost in the general election to Republican Ken Paxton.[17] Garza received 43.7%, 3,482,909 votes while Paxton received 53.4%, 4,268,826 votes.[18]

Notable cases

Garza represented a 17-year-old woman who came to the United States without her parents who resided in a government-funded shelter in Texas. The Trump administration would not allow her to leave the shelter to get an abortion.[19][20][21] 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.[22]

Personal life

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.[23]

References
  1. "Rochelle Garza". amarillopioneer.com. October 12, 2022. Archived from the original on February 15, 2023. Retrieved February 14, 2023.
  2. "Rochelle Garza Commissioner". U.S. Commission on Civil Rights Facebook. United States Government. Retrieved June 30, 2023.
  3. "Five democratic candidates running for Attorney General nomination". MSN. Archived from the original on February 15, 2023. Retrieved February 15, 2023.
  4. "Meet Rochelle". Rochelle Garza. Archived from the original on February 15, 2023. Retrieved February 15, 2023.
  5. "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.
  6. "Rochelle Garza". American Civil Liberties Union. Archived from the original on February 15, 2023. Retrieved February 15, 2023.
  7. 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.
  8. Dearman, Eleanor (November 23, 2022). "Meet the candidates for Texas attorney general on Nov. 8 ballot". Fort Worth Star-Telegram. Retrieved February 17, 2023.
  9. 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.
  10. 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.
  11. "Civil rights lawyer Lee Merritt concedes dem AG primary loss, endorses Rochelle Garza". March 10, 2022.
  12. 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.
  13. 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.
  14. "Qualified Candidates". Texas Secretary of State. Archived from the original on November 6, 2022. Retrieved December 14, 2021.
  15. 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.
  16. "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.
  17. 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.
  18. 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.
  19. "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.
  20. 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.
  21. "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.
  22. "Rochelle Garza named president of Texas Civil Rights Project". KVEO-TV. January 26, 2023. Retrieved July 1, 2023.
  23. 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.
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