Diana Song Quiroga
Diana Song Quiroga | |
|---|---|
| Magistrate Judge of the United States District Court for the Southern District of Texas | |
| Assumed office January 4, 2012 | |
| Preceded by | Diana Saldaña |
| Personal details | |
| Born | Taipei, Taiwan |
| Education | University of California, Berkeley (BA) Harvard Law School (JD) |
Diana Song Quiroga is an magistrate judge, Laredo Division for the United States District Court for the Southern District of Texas.[1]
Early life and education[edit]
Quiroga was raised in Argentina, the daughter of Taiwanese immigrants, before immigrating to the United States as a teenager.[2][3] As immigrants with modest means, Quiroga and her family slept on the floors of their rental home as Quiroga and her sisters attended high school and learned English.[4] Quiroga is fluent in Spanish[3] and conversant in Mandarin Chinese and Taiwanese. Having lived in Laredo, Texas, for over twenty years with her family, she says that her language skills "let[] me experience all the richness of my [South Texas] community."[3]
Quiroga earned her Bachelor of Arts in Political Economy, with highest honors[5] and highest distinction in general scholarship,[6] at the University of California, Berkeley in 1998 and was elected to membership in Phi Beta Kappa. She received her Juris Doctor at Harvard Law School in 2001.
Career[edit]
Quiroga began her legal career as a law clerk for United States District Judge Keith P. Ellison of the United States District Court for the Southern District of Texas from 2001 to 2002.[7] She then served as Director of Legal Assistance to Micro-enterprises Project, Texas RioGrande Legal Aid, during which she received the 2004 U.S. Small Business Administration, Lower Rio Grande Valley District, Women in Business Champion Award. In 2005, she worked as a Special Assistant U.S. Attorney on gun cases under "Project Safe Neighborhood," detailed to the U.S. Attorney's Office in Laredo, Texas. From October 2005 until 2011, she worked as an Assistant United States Attorney in that same office and as a prosecutor in the Organized Crime and Drug Enforcement Task Force (OCDETF).[8] In 2007, during her tenure, she won the Executive Office for United States Attorneys, Director's Award for Superior Performance as an Assistant U.S. Attorney and the Federal Bar Association, Southern District of Texas Chapter, Michael T. Shelby Award for Outstanding Dedication, Ethics and Professionalism in the Practice of Law. In 2010 she served as President of the Webb County Women's Bar Association.
Notable cases[edit]
In 2017, Jose Francisco Morales Jr. pleaded guilty before Judge Quiroga for his role in a conspiracy to smuggle illegal aliens. Morales Jr. was the last of 13 people to be convicted in the conspiracy in which illegal aliens were smuggled past Border Patrol checkpoints between September 2015 and June 2017.[9][10]
In 2020, a grand jury indicted Juan Alfredo Crisencio Martinez and Jaythan Trevonne Phillips, who appeared before Judge Quiroga. They were charged for their role in forcibly assaulting a federal officer on February 8, 2020 after they applied for admission into the United States at the Juárez–Lincoln International Bridge in Laredo, Texas.[11][12]
In 2022, Quiroga was the judge in the case against Alfonso Gonzalez.[13] Gonzalez was a then, 45-year-old Customs and Border Protection(CBP) supervisor who was charged with stealing thousands of dollars from the U.S. government.[14]
Federal judicial service[edit]
On December 20, 2011, Quiroga was appointed United States Magistrate Judge by the United States District Court for the Southern District of Texas.[8] The seat was vacated when then-United States Magistrate Judge Diana Saldaña was appointed to a district court judgeship.[8] Quiroga's appointment became effective January 4, 2012.[15] She was re-appointed to a second term of eight years on December 13, 2019.[8][16]
While on the bench, Quiroga has served as Immediate Past Chair of the National Conference of Federal Trial Judges of the Judicial Division of the American Bar Association.[17] She is current Chair of the Standing Committee on Diversity in the Judiciary of the Judicial Division of the American Bar Association (2022–2023).[18] She is a Member of Judicial Council of the National Asian Pacific American Bar Association. Quiroga has also helped bring together the Kazen Fellowship for Laredo high school students to learn about legal careers, now selecting its inaugural summer class.[19][20][21]
See also[edit]
References[edit]
- ↑ "United States Magistrate Judge Diana Song Quiroga | Southern District of Texas". www.txs.uscourts.gov. Retrieved February 20, 2023.
- ↑ Remarks made on January 27, 2012, for the Investiture of Diana Song Quiroga as a United States Magistrate Judge, at Texas A&M International University.
- ↑ 3.0 3.1 3.2 Pan, Pamela (February 29, 2016). "Alumni Watch: Judge Quiroga aces as Magistrate" (PDF). Rampage. p. 6.
- ↑ Remarks made at "What Does National Honor Society (NHS) Mean to You," Alexander High School, National Honor Society Class of 2022 recipients.
- ↑ "Honors Program | UC Berkeley Political Science". polisci.berkeley.edu. Retrieved 2023-04-12.
- ↑ "Dean's List/Honors | L&S Advising". lsadvising.berkeley.edu. Retrieved 2023-04-12.
- ↑ "Ms. Diana Song Quiroga Profile | Laredo, TX Lawyer | Martindale.com". www.martindale.com. Retrieved February 20, 2023.
- ↑ 8.0 8.1 8.2 8.3 "Biography - Judge Diana Song Quiroga appointed United States Magistrate Judge, Laredo Division | Southern District of Texas". www.txs.uscourts.gov. Retrieved 2023-04-12.
- ↑ "Last of 13 pleads guilty in South Texas to alien smuggling | PressReleasePoint". www.pressreleasepoint.com. Retrieved February 20, 2023.
- ↑ "Last of 13 pleads guilty in South Texas to alien smuggling". www.ice.gov. Retrieved February 20, 2023.
- ↑ Betz, Bradford (March 5, 2020). "2 Texas men charged with violently attacking federal officer at US-Mexico border". Fox News. Retrieved February 20, 2023.
- ↑ "2 Texas men facing federal charges after violently attacking a federal officer". www.ice.gov. Retrieved February 20, 2023.
- ↑ Times, César Rodriguez, LMTonline com / Laredo Morning (June 3, 2022). "CBP supervisor allegedly falsified timesheet to steal money". Laredo Morning Times. Retrieved February 20, 2023.
- ↑ "Southern District of Texas | Forged hours lands federal agent in custody | United States Department of Justice". www.justice.gov. June 3, 2022. Retrieved February 20, 2023.
- ↑ "Biography - Judge Diana Song Quiroga appointed United States Magistrate Judge, Laredo Division". Southern District of Texas. Retrieved February 20, 2023.
- ↑ General Order No. 2019-14, U.S. District Court, Southern District of Texas, "In the Matter of the Reappointment of United States Magistrate Judge Diana Song Quiroga"
- ↑ "About Us". www.americanbar.org. Retrieved 2023-04-12.
- ↑ "Standing Committee on Diversity in the Judiciary". www.americanbar.org. Retrieved 2023-04-12.
- ↑ KGNS Staff (2023-03-21). "Laredo-Webb County Bar Association announces internships for high school students". www.kgns.tv. Retrieved 2023-04-12.
- ↑ Charur, Malena (2023-03-19). "Laredo Webb County Bar announces the Kazen Fellowship Program". Laredo Morning Times. Retrieved 2023-04-12.
- ↑ "Killam Development Sponsors Kazen Fellowship Program to Support Aspiring Legal Professionals". 2023-03-29. Retrieved 2023-04-12.
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