A San Antonio kid who went from San Antonio College to a federal appeals court and, in the end, to an embassy. Edward Prado’s career is a Texas story about what fairness earns you.
President Reagan named him United States Attorney for the Western District of Texas in 1981. In 1984 he became a United States District Judge in that same district, and he sat there for nearly twenty years. In 2003 President George W. Bush elevated him to the United States Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit, the court that decides so much of the law I practice under. In 2018 he was appointed United States Ambassador to Argentina. Republican presidents, a career that touched every level of the system, and a reputation that traveled with him: on the bench, both sides trusted him to be square.
That is the rarest thing a judge can have. Not agreement, respect. Lawyers walked into his courtroom knowing the ruling might not go their way and knowing it would be fair. He served years in the Army Reserve as well, and carried that same steadiness in a robe.
Fairness is not softness. It is the discipline of giving every person in front of you a full and honest hearing. Judge Prado made it look like the most natural thing in the world.
Edward C. Prado (born 1947, San Antonio), United States Attorney for the Western District of Texas (1981 to 1984), United States District Judge for the Western District of Texas (1984 to 2003), Judge of the United States Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit (2003 to 2018), and United States Ambassador to Argentina (2018 to 2021).
