Judge Godbey was born in Temple, Texas and appointed to the Northern District of Texas in 2002 by President George W. Bush. Judge Godbey received his B.S.E.E. and B.S., magna cum laude, from Southern Methodist Unversity in 1978, and his J.D., magna cum laude, in 1982 from the Harvard Law School.
After law school, Judge Godbey clerked for the Honorable Irving Goldberg, of the United States Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit, from 1982 to 1983. Following his clerkship, Judge Godbey practiced law with Hughes & Luce, LLP from 1983 to 1994 (first as an associate and then as a partner). From 1995 to 2002, Judge Godbey served as a Judge on the State of Texas’ 160th District Court.
Judge Godbey’s chambers are in Dallas, Texas.