1. David Hittner was born on July 10,1939 and is a senior United States district judge of the United States District Court for the Southern District of Texas.
30 Facts About David Hittner
1. 2.
David Hittner has served by temporary assignment on the United States Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit, as well as the US District Courts for the Southern District of New York and the District of Arizona.
3.
David Hittner was born in Schenectady, New York, but moved with his family to Brooklyn, New York when he was a year old.
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David Hittner's father, J George Hittner, was an electrician and a member of the Masons fraternal service organization.
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David Hittner's mother, Sophie Moskowitz Hittner, was a bookkeeper and homemaker.
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David Hittner was a Boy Scout, earning 81 merit badges and attaining Eagle Scout rank.
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David Hittner followed his hometown team, the Brooklyn Dodgers, and met his childhood hero, Jackie Robinson, the first African-American to play major league baseball.
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David Hittner received his undergraduate degree from New York University, serving as the president of his graduating class.
9.
David Hittner received his Juris Doctor degree from New York University School of Law.
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David Hittner passed the New York bar exam, and served two years in the Army as an infantry captain and paratrooper.
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David Hittner then moved to Houston to pursue his legal career.
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David Hittner developed an interest in family law and in 1975 was among the first class of Texas lawyers certified as family law specialists.
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David Hittner twice campaigned for election to judgeships in Harris County's Courts of Domestic Relations.
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David Hittner was confirmed by the US Senate on June 6,1986, and he received his commission on June 9,1986.
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David Hittner assumed senior status on November 11,2004, and initially maintained a full-time caseload.
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David Hittner has been an adjunct professor at South Texas College of Law Houston.
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Racial Gerrymandering: David Hittner was a member of a three-judge panel that held three of Texas' 30 Congressional districts, as drawn by the state legislature in 1990, were unconstitutional.
18.
In 1995, David Hittner blocked the execution of death row inmate Calvin Burdine and ordered a new trial.
19.
David Hittner's decision was affirmed by the US Court of Appeals for the 5th Circuit, and the US Supreme Court declined to review the decision further.
20.
In 2001, David Hittner sentenced Matthew Marshall to 10 years in federal prison for leading a group that burned a cross in the front yard of an African-American family in the Houston suburb of Katy.
21.
In 2004, David Hittner presided over criminal proceedings against former Enron assistant treasurer Lea Weingarten Fastow, the wife of Enron executive Andrew Fastow.
22.
David Hittner eventually pleaded guilty to filing a false federal tax return and served one year in federal prison.
23.
In 2023, David Hittner ruled that Texas Senate Bill 12, legislation that criminalized drag performances in the presence of minors, was unconstitutional on five counts.
24.
David Hittner is a Master Mason, a member of the Scottish Rite of Freemasonry and the Shriners - embracing a family tradition that included his father and later his son.
25.
David Hittner became a Cub Scout in 1947 and has maintained his membership in the Boy Scouts of America throughout adulthood.
26.
David Hittner has been a scoutmaster and for more than 40 years he has served as a member of both the Sam Houston Area Council Board of Directors and the National Jewish Committee on Scouting.
27.
David Hittner has been a voting delegate on the National Council of the Boy Scouts of America.
28.
David Hittner is a member of the American Legion, the Association of the United States Army and the 82nd Airborne Division Association.
29.
David Hittner is the founder and former president of the Brooklyn Dodgers Fan Club of Houston.
30.
David Hittner has played the acoustic 12-string and electric bass guitars in the Texas Barflies, a country-western band.