Christopher A. dos Santos
United States Magistrate Judge
Southern District of Texas, Laredo Division

Judge Christopher A. dos Santos serves as a United States Magistrate Judge in the Laredo Division of the Southern District of Texas.

Judge dos Santos is the son of immigrants from Portugal and South Korea. He earned a B.S. in Management from the Georgia Institute of Technology and his J.D. from Atlanta’s John Marshall Law School. He then served for four years as an active-duty Judge Advocate in the United States Marine Corps, where he deployed as the legal advisor within an infantry battalion to Helmand Province, Afghanistan in 2012 in support of Operation Enduring Freedom. Judge dos Santos also prosecuted cases under the UCMJ at Camp Lejeune and served as a Special Assistant United States Attorney in the Eastern District of North Carolina. Judge dos Santos is a Major in the Marine Corps Reserves.

Beginning in 2014, Judge dos Santos served for six years as an Assistant United States Attorney within the Criminal Division in Laredo, with the last two years spent in the Organized Crime Drug Enforcement Task Forces section. In 2019, Judge dos Santos received the Federal Bar Association’s Younger Federal Lawyer Award.

On July 24, 2020, Judge dos Santos was appointed as a Magistrate Judge in Laredo.