Marina Marmolejo

Marina Garcia Marmolejo (born 1971) is a United States District Judge of the United States District Court for the Southern District of Texas.

Born Marina Garciain Nuevo Laredo, Tamaulipas, Mexico. She is a naturalized United States citizen. She received a Bachelor of Arts degree from the University of the Incarnate Word in 1992. She then attended St. Mary's University in San Antonio, Texas, where she earned a Master of Arts degree and her Juris Doctor, both in 1996. In 1993, Marmolejo served as a substitute teacher in the United Independent School District in Laredo, Texas. From 1993 - 1996, she worked as a research assistant to Professor Raul M. Sanchez at St. Mary's University School of Law where she also worked as a Property tutor and a student attorney at the Criminal Justice Clinic.

Before becoming a federal judge, Marmolejo had been a partner with the law firm of Reid Collins Tsai LLP. She previously helped open the San Antonio legal office of Thompson & Knight, where she served as Of Counsel from 2007 to 2009. She is also a former Assistant United States Attorney and began her legal career as an Assistant Federal Public Defender.

During the 111th Congress, Democrats from the Texas House delegation and Republican Senators John Cornyn and Kay Bailey Hutchison agreed to recommend Marmolejo for a Laredo vacancy on the Southern District of Texas. On July 28, 2010, President Barack Obama nominated Marmolejo to replace Samuel B. Kent. The Senate confirmed Marmolejo by unanimous consent on October 3, 2011, and she received her judicial commission on October 4, 2011.

Marmolejo has been considered a candidate for a vacancy on the United States Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit, along with District Judge Xavier Rodriguez.