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Judge Frank Montalvo

United States District Judge, Western District of Texas - El Paso Division

Judge Frank Montalvo

The Honorable Frank Montalvo’s judicial career began in 1995 as a State District Judge in Bexar County, Texas where he served until 2003. He joined the federal bench in August 2003 following a unanimous confirmation by the United States Senate. The American Bar Association (ABA) Standing Committee on the Federal Judiciary awarded him a unanimously well-qualified rating, their highest endorsement.

An active participant in the legal community, Judge Montalvo has authored various legal articles and spoken at legal education seminars in the United States, Laos, Malaysia, Ecuador, Colombia, Peru, Chile, Thailand, Qatar, and the United Arab Emirates. In August 2009, Chief Justice John G. Roberts, Jr., of the Supreme Court of the United States, appointed Judge Montalvo to the International Judicial Relations Committee of the Judicial Conference of the United States where he served until September of 2015. Describing Judge Montalvo’s work on the Committee, Chief Justice Roberts wrote “your long-term efforts with the Colombian judiciary were instrumental in helping it establish court procedures to address the claims of approximately one million victims of forceful land seizures.”

In 2014, Judge Montalvo created the first pre-trial diversion program in the Texas federal judiciary. The program, known as Adelante, promotes a law-abiding and drug-free lifestyle. Upon a defendant’s successful completion of the program, the pending charges are dismissed. Prior to initiating this program, Judge Montalvo implemented the only post- incarceration program in the Texas federal judiciary, known as Sendero, to assist individuals in the reentry process. Although small programs, their success is undisputed—there is a zero- percent recidivism rate amongst their graduates. The success of the programs was recognized by the Andrew W. Mellon Foundation when, in 2021, it awarded a two-year grant to the El Paso nonprofit that works with Judge Montalvo in these programs.

Judge Montalvo earned a bachelor’s degree with honors in physics and mathematics from the University of Puerto Rico. Thereafter, he earned a Master of Science in bioengineering, from the University of Michigan, and a Doctor of Jurisprudence from Wayne State University Law School.

Panel Information

Tuesday, July 26

8:30 AM EST

FTI Opening Ceremony & Plenary Session

Leadership Panel: Leaders, Leaders, Leaders

Register for the Convention