Chief Judge Crane has been a United States District Judge for the Southern District of Texas since 2002. Judge Crane became the Chief Judge of the Southern District of Texas in November 2022. He presides in the McAllen Division. Chief Judge Crane received both his undergraduate and law degrees from his beloved University of Texas. Upon graduation, Chief Judge Crane became licensed by the State Bar of Texas at the age of 22. He joined the iconic south Texas law firm of Atlas & Hall where he practiced in the area of civil litigation for over fourteen years. During this time, Chief Judge Crane was president of the Hidalgo County Young Lawyers Association and a director of the Hidalgo County Bar Association. He has served on committees of the State Bar of Texas and was a director of the Texas-Mexico Bar Association. He sits on the Judicial Council of the 5th Circuit and was recently elected by the District Judges of the 5th Circuit to represent them on the Judicial Council of the United States. Chief Judge Crane will serve a three year term on the JCUS from October 2025.

Chief Judge Crane presides over one of the largest criminal case loads in the country. Chief Judge Crane has at numerous times been in the top five busiest sentencing judges in the country. Chief Judge Crane’s normal criminal case load is greater than that of over 16 typical judges combined.

Since becoming Chief, Judge Crane has focused his efforts on improving work spaces for the Court’s 700 employees, modernizing and updating courtrooms for lawyers and litigants, working with Senate and Congressional leaders to create new judgeships and to create a College Station place for holding court to serve the 350,000 people that live in that metroplex and restructuring some of the Court’s management to include more judges.

Chief Judge Crane is married with two sons. He is a runner with over 20 marathons completed and an avid fisherman.