Legal Career
Ozerden began his legal career as a law clerk to Judge Eldon E. Fallon of the Eastern District of Louisiana from 1998 to 1999 and also served as a private practice attorney licensed in Mississippi from 1999 to 2007.
Federal judicial service
On the recommendation of United States Senators Thad Cochran and Trent Lott,President George W. Bush nominated Ozerden to be a United States district judge of the Southern District of Mississippi on January 8,2007. He was confirmed by the United States Senate on April 24,2007 by a 95–0 vote. [4] He received his commission on May 1,2007. [5] He became chief judge on November 4,2024. [6]
In 2023,Ozerden sided with a lawsuit filed by an anti-vaccine group to overturn Mississippi's long-standing and strict vaccination requirements. Ozerden forced Mississippi to allow parents to decline vaccinations for their children on religious grounds. At the time,Mississippi law had since 1979 not allowed parents to exempt their children from vaccinations,except for medical reasons. This had resulted in Mississippi having one of the highest vaccination rates in the United States,with 99% of kindergarteners being immunized. [7]
Failed nomination to appellate court
On June 11,2019,President Donald Trump announced his intent to nominate Ozerden to serve as a United States circuit judge for the United States Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit. [8] On June 24,2019,his nomination was sent to the Senate. He was nominated to the seat vacated by E. Grady Jolly,who assumed senior status on October 3,2017. [9] On July 17,2019,a hearing on his nomination was held before the Senate Judiciary Committee. [10] On September 12,2019,Senator Ted Cruz announced his opposition to the nomination. [11] The Judiciary Committee was scheduled to vote on recommending Ozerden on September 26,2019,but the vote was postponed after Senator Josh Hawley joined Ted Cruz in his opposition to Ozerden's elevation to the court of appeals. [12] On January 3,2020,his nomination was returned to the President under Rule XXXI,Paragraph 6 of the United States Senate. [13]
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