Southwick was in private practice as an attorney in Jackson,Mississippi with the firm Brunini,Grantham,Grower &Hewes from 1977 to 1989,serving as a partner from 1983 to 1989. In 1989,Southwick entered government service as a Deputy Assistant Attorney General for the United States Department of Justice Civil Division. There he supervised the one hundred and twenty-five lawyers of the Federal Programs Branch,which defends suits brought against the United States. He also supervised the Office of Consumer Litigation,a twenty-five lawyer division charged with civil and criminal enforcement of federal consumer laws.
Southwick was elected one of the first ten judges of the Mississippi Court of Appeals in 1994. He was a candidate for a seat on the Supreme Court of Mississippi in 1996,coming in third out of five candidates in the general election.[3] He thereafter remained on the court of appeals until the end of 2006 when,with a nomination to a lifetime position in the federal judiciary pending,he did not run for re-election. He attended The JAG School at the University of Virginia and entered U.S. Army JAG Corps from 1992 to 1997. Southwick was on a leave of absence from the court from August 2004 to January 2006. In 2005,he served in Iraq as a Judge Advocate General with the 155th Brigade Combat Team of Mississippi Army National Guard.
On January 9,2007,President George W. Bush nominated Southwick to fill a seat on the United States Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit vacated by Judge Charles W. Pickering,who retired in 2004.[4] Bush had previously elevated Pickering to the Fifth Circuit with a recess appointment in January of 2004,after Senate Democrats blocked two previous attempts to appoint Pickering in 2001 and 2003.[5][6] In December of 2004,Pickering announced that he would retire from the federal bench and would not seek a nomination for a permanent seat on the Fifth Circuit.[6] Originally,Bush nominated Mississippi attorney Michael B. Wallace in the 109th Congress to replace Pickering,[7] but his nomination also became stalled due to fierce opposition from Senate Democrats.[8] Upon the Democratic takeover of Congress in the November 2006 elections,Wallace asked President Bush not to re-nominate him in the 110th Congress.[8]
Finding itself without a nominee to a judgeship that had already sat vacant for two years,the White House turned to Southwick,then a nominee to a vacancy on the United States District Court for the Southern District of Mississippi. Bush had nominated him on June 9,2006 to fill a vacancy on that court left by Judge William H. Barbour Jr.,who retired on February 4,2006.[9] Southwick had a hearing before the Senate Judiciary Committee on September 19,2006 and was reported favorably to the floor of the Senate by the Committee on September 29,2006. However,Southwick,like many other judicial nominees,failed to receive a vote by the full Senate before the 109th Congress adjourned for good on December 9,2006. Pursuant to Senate rules of procedure,his nomination,along with many others,was returned to the President.
The Senate Judiciary Committee of the 110th Congress held a hearing on Southwick's nomination to the Fifth Circuit on May 10,2007. The hearing was chaired by Rhode Island Democrat Sheldon Whitehouse. Just prior to the hearing,controversy arose over the nomination.
In the first case,Richmond v. Mississippi Department of Human Services,Southwick joined the majority opinion upholding the decision of the Mississippi Employee Appeals Board to reinstate a white state employee (Richmond) who was fired for a single incident of referring to a black co-worker as a "good ole nigger" outside of the co-worker's presence. When the black co-worker was informed of Richmond's comment,Richmond immediately apologized,and her apology apparently was accepted. The Appeals Board's decision to reinstate Richmond was based,in part,on a hearing officer's opinion that the slur was only "somewhat derogatory" and "was in effect calling the individual a 'teacher's pet.'".[15] Bound by law to affirm a decision of the Appeals Board supported by substantial factual evidence,the court held it had no authority to set aside the findings in this case,even though Richmond's remark was "undoubtedly ill-advised and indicative of a rather remarkable insensitivity.".[16]
On writ of certiorari,the Mississippi Supreme Court agreed that "the unique circumstances of this case do not warrant imposition of the ultimate penalty of dismissal." However,the court found the record was insufficient to uphold the Employee Appeals Board's decision that Richmond effectively receive no penalty whatsoever. It decided to remand the case "in order for the board to impose an appropriate penalty less than dismissal,or to make detailed findings as to why no penalty should be imposed."[17]
The second case often cited by Southwick's critics is S.B. v. L.W.,an 8-2 decision upholding a chancellor's decision to grant sole custody of an eight-year-old girl to her father,in part because the mother was a lesbian who had lived with several different partners during the child's life. Southwick joined the majority opinion as well as a concurrence written by Judge Payne which states,in part:
¶33. I do recognize that any adult may choose any activity in which to engage;however,I also am aware that such person is not thereby relieved of the consequences of his or her choice. It is a basic tenet that an individual's exercise of freedom will not also provide an escape of the consequences flowing from the free exercise of such a choice. As with the present situation,the mother may view her decision to participate in a homosexual relationship as an exertion of her perceived right to do so. However,her choice is of significant consequence,as described before in the discussion of our State's policies,in that her rights to custody of her child may be significantly impacted.[18]
After intense Democratic opposition,Southwick was reported out of Committee by a 10-9 vote on August 2,2007 when Democratic California Senator Dianne Feinstein voted with the Committee's nine Republicans to send Southwick to the full Senate with a favorable report. Southwick was confirmed by a 59–38 vote on October 24,2007.[19] Southwick's confirmation came almost ten months after his nomination to the Fifth Circuit and over a year after he was first nominated to a federal judgeship. He received his commission on October 29,2007.[20] Southwick was sworn in as judge of the Fifth Circuit on October 30,2007.[citation needed]
His first published opinion for the Fifth Circuit was Anthony v. United States,which was released on March 4,2008. Southwick wrote for a unanimous three judge panel on an issue involving the valuation of private annuities for estate tax purposes. His first published dissent was in Louisiana ex rel. Caldwell v. Allstate Insurance Co.,536 F.3d 418 (5th Cir. 2008) in which Southwick dissented from the assumption of federal jurisdiction under the Class Action Fairness Act.
Southwick is married and has two children. He is Roman Catholic. He is a member of the Mississippi National Guard,where he has attained the rank of lieutenant colonel. He was deployed to Iraq in 2004–2005 in support of Operation Iraqi Freedom.
Bibliography
Presidential Also-Rans &Running Mates,1788-1996. Published by McFarland &Co.,Jefferson,NC,1998 (second edition)
The Nominee:A Political and Spiritual Journey. Published by University Press of Mississippi,Jackson,Miss,2013
Charles Willis Pickering Sr. is an American attorney,politician,and jurist who served as a United States district judge of the United States District Court for the Southern District of Mississippi and,briefly,of the United States Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit,based in New Orleans,Louisiana.
Speculation abounded over potential nominations to the Supreme Court of the United States by President George W. Bush since before his presidency.
Michael Brunson Wallace is an American lawyer and a former nominee to the United States Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit.
Halil Suleyman "Sul" Ozerden is a United States district judge of the United States District Court for the Southern District of Mississippi and a former nominee to be a Circuit Judge for the United States Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit.
Elbert Grady Jolly Jr. is a senior United States circuit judge of the United States Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit. His chambers are in Jackson,Mississippi.
During President George W. Bush's two term tenure in office,a few of his nominations for federal judgeships were blocked by the Senate Democrats either directly in the Senate Judiciary Committee or on the full Senate floor in various procedural moves,including the first use of a filibuster to block a Federal Appeals Court nominee. Republicans labeled it an unwarranted obstruction of professionally qualified judicial nominees.
William Edward Smith is a United States district judge of the United States District Court for the District of Rhode Island and a former federal judicial nominee to the United States Court of Appeals for the First Circuit.
Joseph Frank Bianco is an American lawyer and jurist serving as a United States circuit judge of the United States Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit. He was formerly a United States district judge of the United States District Court for the Eastern District of New York.
Kurt Damian Engelhardt is a United States circuit judge of the United States Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit. Previously,he was the Chief United States district judge of the United States District Court for the Eastern District of Louisiana.
George Howping Wu is an American senior United States district judge of the United States District Court for the Central District of California.
Leonard Philip Stark is an American lawyer who serves as a United States circuit judge of the United States Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit. He is a former United States district judge of the United States District Court for the District of Delaware and was a United States magistrate judge of the same district.
Rossie David Alston Jr. is a United States district judge of the United States District Court for the Eastern District of Virginia. He was appointed by President Donald Trump in 2019.
Donald Trump,President of the United States from 2017 to 2021,entered office with a significant number of judicial vacancies,including a Supreme Court vacancy due to the death of Antonin Scalia in February 2016. During the first eight months of his presidency,he nominated approximately 50 judges,a significantly higher number than any other recent president had made by that point in his presidency. By June 24,2020,200 of his Article III nominees had been confirmed by the United States Senate. According to multiple media outlets,Trump significantly impacted the composition of the Supreme Court and lower courts during his tenure.
Andrew Stephen Oldham is a United States circuit judge of the United States Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit and former General Counsel to Texas Governor Greg Abbott.
Patrick Joseph Bumatay is an American lawyer and jurist who serves as a U.S. circuit judge of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit.
Kenneth Kiyul Lee is a South Korean-born American lawyer who serves as a United States circuit judge of the United States Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit.
Daniel Paul Collins is a United States circuit judge of the United States Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit.
Cory Todd Wilson is an American attorney and jurist serving as a U.S. circuit judge of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit. He was appointed by President Donald Trump in 2020. A member of the Republican Party,Wilson was previously a judge on the Mississippi Court of Appeals and a member of the Mississippi House of Representatives.
Kristi Erin Haskins Johnson is a United States district judge of the United States District Court for the Southern District of Mississippi and former solicitor general of Mississippi.
↑ The Congressional Black Caucus Denounces Appointment of Southwick; Congressional Black Caucus; August 2, 2007
↑ "Archived copy"(PDF). Archived from the original(PDF) on 2007-09-28. Retrieved 2007-08-16.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link)Richmond v. Mississippi Dept of Human Services (Miss. Ct. App. 1998) Retrieved October 31, 2007
↑ Richmond v. Mississippi Dept of Human Services (Miss. 1999) Retrieved August 20, 2007
↑ "Archived copy"(PDF). Archived from the original(PDF) on 2007-09-28. Retrieved 2007-08-20.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link)S.B. v. L.W. (Miss. Ct. App. 1999), Retrieved August 20, 2007
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United States 
Lieutenant Colonel 
