Nelva Gonzales Ramos

Early life and education

Ramos was born in 1965 in Port Lavaca, Texas. She attended Texas State University, where she graduated with a Bachelor of Arts summa cum laude in 1987. Ramos then earned her Juris Doctor from the University of Texas School of Law in 1991.

State judicial service

In 2011, Ramos became the 347th District Court judge.

Federal judicial service

During the 111th Congress, Ramos was one of three candidates recommended by Democrats from the Texas House delegation for a Corpus Christi vacancy on the United States District Court for the Southern District of Texas. Ramos was the only candidate also supported by Republican Senators Kay Bailey Hutchison and John Cornyn. On January 26, 2011, President Barack Obama nominated Ramos to replace Judge Hayden Head. The United States Senate confirmed Ramos by unanimous consent on August 2, 2011. She received her commission on August 4, 2011.

Notable rulings

In August 2016 Judge Ramos was involved in a case accusing the state of misleading voters without IDs.The U.S. Department of Justice says officials have used news releases, a website and training documents for election officials to narrow "dramatically the scope of voters protected" in an order entered by Gonzales Ramos.

On April 10, 2017 Judge Ramos ruled that the state's voter ID law was passed in 2011 with the intent to discriminate against minority voters. The Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals previously found that the law had the effect of discriminating against minority voters, and remanded the case to the district court for further action.