Louis Guirola Jr.
Louis Guirola Jr. (born 1951) is a senior United States district judge of the United States District Court for the Southern District of Mississippi and a judge on the United States Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Court and the United States Alien Terrorist Removal Court.
Education and career
Born in Baltimore, Guirola received a Bachelor of Arts degree from William Carey College in 1973. He subsequently received a Juris Doctor from the University of Mississippi Law School in 1979.[1] He was in private practice in Mississippi from 1979 to 1980 and again from 1986 to 1990. He was an assistant district attorney of 19th Judicial District, Mississippi from 1980 to 1984, and a county board attorney of Jackson County, Mississippi from 1984 to 1986. He was an Assistant United States Attorney of the Eastern District of Texas from 1990 to 1993.[2]
Federal judicial service
Guirola was a United States magistrate judge of the United States District Court for the Western District of Texas from 1993 to 1996, and of the United States District Court for the Southern District of Mississippi from 1996 to 2004. On September 23, 2003, Guirola was nominated by President George W. Bush to a seat on the Southern District of Mississippi vacated by Judge Walter J. Gex III.[3] Guirola was confirmed by the United States Senate on March 12, 2004, and received his commission on March 22, 2004.[3] He served as chief judge from 2010 to 2017. In 2016, he approved a US$150 million settlement rescuing the Singing River Health System pension fund.[4]
He assumed senior status on March 23, 2018.[5][2] As a senior judge, he issued a nationwide injunction blocking the Department of Health and Human Services’ transgender-care rule on July 3, 2024,[6] and upheld Mississippi’s five-day absentee-ballot counting window in July 2024.[7]
Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Court
On May 15, 2019, Chief Justice John Roberts appointed Guirola to the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Court for a term beginning July 2, 2019.[2]
Alien Terrorist Removal Court
In 2021, he was appointed to a 5-year term on the United States Alien Terrorist Removal Court.[2]
See also
References
- ^ "CABA Newsletter April 2015" (PDF). Capital Area Bar Association. April 2015. Retrieved June 25, 2025.
- ^ a b c d Louis Guirola Jr. at the Biographical Directory of Federal Judges, a publication of the Federal Judicial Center.
- ^ a b "Confirmation of Judge Louis Guirola". Congress.gov. March 12, 2004. Retrieved June 25, 2025.
- ^ Elliott, David (17 May 2016). "Judge ready to decide SRHS pension settlement". WLOX. Retrieved 25 June 2025.
- ^ Harrison, Bobby (16 November 2017). "Trump could get his first federal judge pick in Mississippi". Mississippi Today. Retrieved 25 June 2025.
- ^ Pierson, Brendan (July 4, 2024). "US judge blocks Biden rule adding gender identity protections to healthcare". Reuters. Retrieved June 25, 2025.
- ^ Pettus, Emily Wagster (July 30, 2024). "Judge rejects GOP challenge of Mississippi timeline for counting absentee ballots". Magnolia Tribune. Retrieved June 25, 2025.
External links
- Louis Guirola Jr. at the Biographical Directory of Federal Judges, a publication of the Federal Judicial Center.