Kent. The Senate confirmed Marmolejo by unanimous consent on October 3, 2011, and she received her judicial commission on October 4, 2011. Since taking the bench, Garcia Marmolejo has heard over 12,000 cases, presided over nearly 100 trials, and maintained a reversal rate of less than 1%. Notably, Garcia Marmolejo is credited with being the first jurist to conclude that after the First Step Act of 2018, a judge has the discretion to look beyond the U.S. Sentencing Commission's policy statements to determine what constitutes an "extraordinary and compelling" circumstance to justify compassionate release. According to the legal database Westlaw, more than 450 cases have cited her opinion on this issue. In 2022, she became a Jurist in Residence at her alma mater, St. Mary's University School of Law. She also founded St. Mary's clerkship mentorship program. Consideration for Fifth Circuit Marmolejo has been considered a candidate for a vacancy on the United States Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit, along with District Judge Xavier Rodriguez. See also List of Hispanic/Latino American jurists References External links 1971 births Living people 21st-century American judges 21st-century American women judges American judges of Mexican descent American lawyers of Mexican descent Assistant United States Attorneys Hispanic and Latino American judges Judges of the United States District Court for the Southern District of Texas People from Nuevo Laredo Public defenders St. Mary's University School of Law alumni United States district court judges appointed by Barack Obama University of the Incarnate Word alumni