Gregg Jeffrey Costa

Gregg Jeffrey Costa is an American attorney and former federal appellate judge who served on the United States Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit from 2014 to 2022. Born in 1972, Costa was appointed to the Fifth Circuit by President Barack Obama, a Democrat, and confirmed by the Senate in May 2014. Prior to his appellate service, he served briefly as a United States district judge for the Southern District of Texas from 2012 to 2014. His legal career included clerking for a Supreme Court Chief Justice, working as a federal prosecutor, and practicing at major law firms. He resigned from the federal bench in August 2022 to return to private practice.

Early life and legal career

Costa was born on June 19, 1972, in Baltimore, Maryland, though he was raised in Richardson, Texas, where he attended Richardson High School. He pursued his undergraduate education at Dartmouth College, earning a Bachelor of Arts degree in 1994. During his time at Dartmouth, he gained early exposure to the political process through an internship with the Democratic National Committee.

Following graduation from Dartmouth, Costa dedicated two years to public service education, teaching elementary school in Sunflower, Mississippi, from 1994 to 1996 as a participant in the Teach for America program. This experience in educational service preceded his entry into legal studies. He enrolled at the University of Texas School of Law, where he distinguished himself academically and was selected to serve as Editor-in-Chief of the Texas Law Review, a prestigious position typically reserved for top-performing students. He earned his Juris Doctor in 1999.

Costa's early legal career was marked by highly competitive clerkships at the federal appellate and Supreme Court levels. From 1999 to 2000, he clerked for Judge A. Raymond Randolph on the United States Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit, often considered one of the most influential federal appellate courts. He then secured one of the most sought-after positions in the legal profession, serving as a law clerk to Chief Justice William Rehnquist at the Supreme Court of the United States from 2001 to 2002.

After completing his Supreme Court clerkship, Costa entered private practice, working as an associate at the international law firm Weil, Gotshal & Manges in Houston from 2002 to 2005. In 2005, he transitioned to public service as an assistant United States attorney in the Southern District of Texas, a position he held until 2012. During his nearly seven years as a federal prosecutor, Costa handled various criminal matters and gained significant trial experience.

Among Costa's most prominent cases as a prosecutor was his work on the prosecution of Allen Stanford, a financier who operated a massive Ponzi scheme. Stanford was indicted in 2009, and Costa served as one of the lead prosecutors in the case. The prosecution faced various challenges, including defense requests for delays. In January 2011, when Stanford's legal team sought a two-year continuance after taking over his defense in October 2010, Costa informed the court that while some delay might be reasonable, the requested two-year postponement was excessive. In February 2011, Stanford filed a lawsuit seeking billions in damages against Costa and his fellow prosecutor, along with other government officials, alleging abusive law enforcement practices. When defense attorneys argued in March 2011 that Stanford's right to a speedy trial had been violated, Costa responded to media inquiries by noting that delays had largely resulted from the defendant's own requests for continuances. The trial ultimately proceeded, and in March 2012, Stanford was convicted on thirteen of fourteen counts, including fraud, obstruction of investigators, and conspiracy to commit money laundering.

Federal appellate service

Costa's path to the federal bench began with bipartisan support from Texas's congressional delegation. In July 2011, both of Texas's Republican senators, John Cornyn and Kay Bailey Hutchison, sent a letter to President Obama recommending Costa for a vacant seat on the United States District Court for the Southern District of Texas. The vacancy had been created when Judge John David Rainey assumed senior status in June 2010, and the seat was to be based in the Galveston Division. The anticipated nomination received support across party lines, with Democratic Representative Lloyd Doggett, who served as the spokesman for Texas Democrats on federal judicial matters, also urging the president to nominate Costa.

President Obama formally nominated Costa to the district court position on September 8, 2011. The Senate Judiciary Committee held a hearing on his nomination on November 2, 2011, and reported the nomination to the full Senate on December 1, 2011. The Senate confirmed Costa on April 26, 2012, by a vote of 97 to 2, and he received his commission the same day. His tenure as a district court judge was relatively brief, lasting just over two years.

Costa's elevation to the appellate bench came when President Obama nominated him on December 19, 2013, to fill a seat on the United States Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit. The vacancy had been created when Judge Fortunato Benavides assumed senior status on February 3, 2012. The Senate Judiciary Committee held a hearing on Costa's appellate nomination on February 25, 2014, and reported the nomination out of committee by voice vote on March 27, 2014. Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid filed for cloture on the nomination on May 13, 2014, and the Senate invoked cloture on May 15, 2014, by a vote of 58 to 36. On May 20, 2014, the full Senate confirmed Costa by a unanimous vote of 97 to 0. He received his commission on June 2, 2014, the same day his service as a district court judge was terminated.

Costa served on the Fifth Circuit for approximately eight years. In January 2022, he announced his intention to resign from the court, with his resignation taking effect on August 31, 2022. His departure from the bench while still in his early fifties was relatively uncommon for a federal appellate judge with lifetime tenure.

Jurisprudence and legacy

During his time on the Fifth Circuit, Costa participated in numerous cases addressing a wide range of federal legal issues. One notable case in which he authored a dissenting opinion was Collins v. Mnuchin, decided by the Fifth Circuit in 2019. The majority opinion in that case struck down the structure of the Federal Housing Finance Agency, finding it violated the separation of powers doctrine. The Supreme Court later affirmed aspects of this ruling in Collins v. Yellen. In his dissent, Costa advanced the argument that the court itself was violating separation of powers principles by invalidating Congress's decision to create an independent agency. His position reflected a different interpretation of the constitutional boundaries between the branches of government and the judiciary's role in reviewing the structure of administrative agencies.

Following his resignation from the federal bench in August 2022, Costa returned to private practice. In September 2022, he joined the international law firm Gibson, Dunn & Crutcher LLP as a partner, bringing his extensive experience in federal litigation, appellate practice, and judicial decision-making to the firm's practice.

Costa's career trajectory—from public service teaching to Supreme Court clerkship, from federal prosecutor to federal appellate judge, and ultimately to senior positions in private practice—reflects a diverse engagement with multiple aspects of the American legal system. His relatively brief tenure on the Fifth Circuit, combined with his unanimous Senate confirmation and bipartisan support for his initial district court nomination, marked his service during a period when some federal judicial appointments faced significant partisan division. His decision to leave the bench after eight years to return to private practice represented a departure from the traditional pattern of lifetime service that characterizes most federal judicial careers.