Trivia

Member, U.S. House Judiciary Committee and U.S. House National Resources Committee.

U.S. Representative (R-Texas) (January 3, 2005 - present).

Father of three daughters: Katy, Caroline and Sarah.

Served in the U.S. Army from 1978-1982, in the Judge Advocate General's Corps at Fort Benning, Georgia.

State district judge in Texas' 7th Judicial District in Smith County (1992-2002). Chief Justice on Texas' 12th Court of Appeals (2002-2003).

He received a B.A. from Texas A&M University in 1975. At A&M, he was a Brigade Commander of the Corps of Cadets and class president. He received a Juris Doctor from Baylor University in Waco, Texas in 1977 where he also served as class president.

Attends Green Acres Baptist Church in Tyler, Texas, where he has served as a deacon and teaches Sunday school.