Brantley Starr

Starr was born in 1979 in San Antonio, Texas. Ken Starr, who served as Solicitor General of the United States and as a judge of the United States Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit, is his uncle.{{Cite web |last=Jordan |first=Jason |date=2021-02-04 |title=NDTX Judge Starr: A Famous Uncle, a Ragtop Beetle and a Career of Public Service |url=https://texaslawbook.net/ndtx-judge-starr-a-famous-uncle-a-ragtop-beetle-and-a-career-of-public-service/ |access-date=2023-08-08 |website=The Texas Lawbook |language=en-US}}

Starr received a Bachelor of Arts, summa cum laude, from Abilene Christian University in 2001 and a Juris Doctor from the University of Texas School of Law in 2004, where he was editor-in-chief of the Texas Review of Law and Politics.

After graduating from law school, he was a law clerk to then-Justice Don Willett of the Supreme Court of Texas. Starr then served as a staff attorney to Justice Eva Guzman of the Supreme Court of Texas, and then worked as an Assistant Attorney General, Assistant Solicitor General, and Deputy Attorney General for Legal Counsel, all in the office of the Attorney General of Texas. From 2016 to 2019 he served as the Deputy First Assistant Attorney General of Texas, under Ken Paxton.{{cite web |url=https://trumpwhitehouse.archives.gov/presidential-actions/president-donald-j-trump-announces-judicial-nominees/ |title=President Donald J. Trump Announces Judicial Nominees |date=March 8, 2019 |via=National Archives |work=whitehouse.gov |access-date=March 8, 2019 }} {{PD-notice}}

File:Brantley Starr (cropped).jpg

On March 8, 2019, President Donald Trump announced his intent to nominate Starr to serve as a United States District Judge of the United States District Court for the Northern District of Texas. On March 11, 2019, President Trump nominated Starr to the seat vacated by Judge Sidney A. Fitzwater, who assumed senior status on September 22, 2018.[https://trumpwhitehouse.archives.gov/presidential-actions/ten-nominations-sent-senate-2/ "Ten Nominations Sent to the Senate", White House, March 11, 2019] On April 10, 2019, a hearing on his nomination was held before the Senate Judiciary Committee.[https://www.judiciary.senate.gov/meetings/04/10/2019/nominations United States Senate Committee on the Judiciary: Nominations for April 10, 2019] On May 9, 2019, his nomination was reported out of committee by a 12–10 vote.{{Cite web|url=https://www.judiciary.senate.gov/imo/media/doc/050919%20Results%20of%20Executive%20Business%20Meeting.pdf|title=Results of Executive Business Meeting – May 9, 2019|publisher=Senate Judiciary Committee}} On July 30, 2019, the United States Senate invoked cloture on his nomination by a 51–37 vote.{{Cite web|url=https://www.senate.gov/legislative/LIS/roll_call_lists/roll_call_vote_cfm.cfm?congress=116&session=1&vote=00244|title=On the Cloture Motion (Motion to Invoke Cloture: Brantley Starr, of Texas, to be United States District Judge for the Northern District of Texas)|website=United States Senate|date=July 30, 2019}} On July 31, 2019, his nomination was confirmed by a 51–39 vote.{{Cite web|url=https://www.senate.gov/legislative/LIS/roll_call_lists/roll_call_vote_cfm.cfm?congress=116&session=1&vote=00255|title=On the Nomination (Confirmation: Brantley Starr, of Texas, to be U.S. District Judge for the Northern District of Texas)|website=United States Senate|date=July 31, 2019}} He received his judicial commission on August 6, 2019.{{FJC Bio|nid=6840706|inline=yes}}

In May 2023, Starr banned lawyers from submitting AI-generated case filings that have not been reviewed by a human, noting that:{{cite news |last1=Brodkin |first1=Jon |title=Federal judge: No AI in my courtroom unless a human verifies its accuracy |url=https://arstechnica.com/tech-policy/2023/05/federal-judge-no-ai-in-my-courtroom-unless-a-human-verifies-its-accuracy/?itm_source=parsely-api |work=Ars Technica |date=31 May 2023 |language=en-us}}{{cite web |title=Judge Brantley Starr {{!}} Northern District of Texas {{!}} United States District Court |url=https://www.txnd.uscourts.gov/judge/judge-brantley-starr |website=www.txnd.uscourts.gov |access-date=26 June 2023}}

{{blockquote|[Generative artificial intelligence] platforms in their current states are prone to hallucinations and bias. On hallucinations, they make stuff up—even quotes and citations. Another issue is reliability or bias. While attorneys swear an oath to set aside their personal prejudices, biases, and beliefs to faithfully uphold the law and represent their clients, generative artificial intelligence is the product of programming devised by humans who did not have to swear such an oath. As such, these systems hold no allegiance to any client, the rule of law, or the laws and Constitution of the United States (or, as addressed above, the truth). Unbound by any sense of duty, honor, or justice, such programs act according to computer code rather than conviction, based on programming rather than principle.}}

In August 2023, Starr ordered three Southwest Airlines lawyers to attend religious-liberty training by the Alliance Defending Freedom (ADF), a conservative Christian legal advocacy group.{{cite web |last1=Cole |first1=Devan |title=Federal judge orders Southwest Airlines attorneys to attend 'religious-liberty training' from conservative group |url=https://www.cnn.com/2023/08/08/politics/southwest-airlines-sanctions-alliance-defending-freedom/index.html |website=CNN |access-date=10 August 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230810193614/https://www.cnn.com/2023/08/08/politics/southwest-airlines-sanctions-alliance-defending-freedom/index.html |archive-date=10 August 2023 |date=August 8, 2023}} This was blocked by the 5th circuit Court of Appeals, ruling “The Southwest attorneys … would likely suffer a violation of their constitutional rights.”{{cite web | url=https://www.lawdork.com/p/fifth-circuit-blocks-religious-liberty-training | title=Fifth Circuit blocks religious-liberty training order in Southwest Airlines case | date=7 Jun 2024}}

He has been a member of the Federalist Society since 2005.

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Category:1979 births

Category:Living people

Category:21st-century American lawyers

Category:Abilene Christian University alumni

Category:Judges of the United States District Court for the Northern District of Texas

Category:Lawyers from San Antonio

Category:Texas Republicans

Category:United States district court judges appointed by Donald Trump

Category:University of Texas School of Law alumni