Andrew Oldham

Andrew Oldham

Do you have a photo that could go here? Click here to submit it for this profile!

---

Nonpartisan

United States Court of Appeals for the 5th Circuit

Tenure

2018 - Present

Years in position

6

Education

Bachelor's

University of Virginia, 2001

Graduate

Cambridge University, 2002

Law

Harvard Law School, 2005

Personal

Birthplace

Richmond, Va.

float:right;
border:1px solid #FFB81F;
background-color: white;
width: 250px;
font-size: .9em;
margin-bottom:0px;

} .infobox p { margin-bottom: 0; } .widget-row { display: inline-block; width: 100%; margin-top: 1px; margin-bottom: 1px; } .widget-row.heading { font-size: 1.2em; } .widget-row.value-only { text-align: center; background-color: grey; color: white; font-weight: bold; } .widget-row.value-only.white { background-color: #f9f9f9; } .widget-row.value-only.black { background-color: #f9f9f9; color: black; } .widget-row.Democratic { background-color: #003388; color: white; font-weight: bold; } .widget-row.Republican { background-color: red; color: white; font-weight: bold; } .widget-row.Independent, .widget-row.Nonpartisan, .widget-row.Constitution { background-color: grey; color: white; font-weight: bold; } .widget-row.Libertarian { background-color: #f9d334; color: black; font-weight: bold; } .widget-row.Green { background-color: green; color: white; font-weight: bold; } .widget-key { width: 43%; display: inline-block; padding-left: 10px; vertical-align: top; font-weight: bold; } .widget-value { width: 57%; float: right; display: inline-block; padding-left: 10px; word-wrap: break-word; } .widget-img { width: 150px; display: block; margin: auto; } .clearfix { clear: both; }

Andrew Stephen Oldham is a judge on the United States Court of Appeals for the 5th Circuit. He was nominated to the court by President Donald Trump (R) on February 12, 2018, and confirmed by the U.S. Senate on July 18, 2018, by a vote of 50-49. To see a full list of judges appointed by Donald Trump, click here.

The United States Court of Appeals for the 5th Circuit is one of 13 U.S. courts of appeal. They are the intermediate appellate courts of the United States federal courts. To learn more about the 5th Circuit Court, click here.

Oldham previously served as general counsel to Texas Governor Greg Abbott (R). Prior to that, he served as a law clerk to United States Supreme Court Justice Samuel Alito and to United States Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit Judge David Sentelle.

Judicial nominations and appointments

United States Court of Appeals for the 5th Circuit (2018-present)

See also: Federal judges nominated by Donald Trump

Oldham was nominated to the United States Court of Appeals for the 5th Circuit by President Donald Trump (R) on February 12, 2018. The U.S. Senate confirmed Oldham on July 18, 2018, by a vote of 50-49. He received commission on July 19, 2018. To read more about the federal nomination process, click here.

Nomination Tracker
Nominee Information
Name: Andrew Oldham
Court: United States Court of Appeals for the 5th Circuit
Progress
Confirmed 153 days after nomination.
ANominated: February 15, 2018
AABA Rating: Unanimously Well Qualified
Questionnaire: Questionnaire
AHearing: April 25, 2018
QFRs: (Hover over QFRs to read more)
AReported: May 24, 2018
AConfirmed: July 18, 2018
AVote: 50 - 49

Confirmation vote

The U.S. Senate confirmed Oldham on July 18, 2018, on a vote of 50-49. To see a full breakdown of the vote on the official U.S. Senate website, click here.

Andrew Oldham confirmation vote (July 18, 2018)
Party	Yea	Nay	No vote
Democratic	0	47	0
Republican	50	0	1
Independent	0	2	0
Total	50	49	1

Senate Judiciary Committee hearing

Oldham had his hearing before the Senate Judiciary Committee on April 25, 2018. The committee voted to advance Oldham's nomination to the full Senate on May 24, 2018.

The administrative state

Administrative State
Read more about the administrative state on Ballotpedia.

On April 25, 2018, Oldham and four other nominees participated in a confirmation hearing in front of the Senate Judiciary Committee. Several Democratic members of the committee questioned Oldham about positions he took and statements he made while working in the Texas attorney general's and governor's offices. Sen. Sheldon Whitehouse (D-R.I.) asked about a 2016 speech in which Oldham criticized agencies such as the Environmental Protection Agency and the Internal Revenue Service, referring to them as part of an illegitimate administrative state. According to the Austin American-Statesman, Sen. Dick Durbin (D-Ill.) asked about "a 2016 radio interview in which the nominee criticized the Supreme Court as dangerous, saying it had created rights that are not in the Constitution while failing to protect sacred rights that are contained in the founding document."

In both cases, Oldham responded that he made those statements while advocating on behalf of a client, Gov. Abbott. He argued that his past work would not influence his ability to serve as a judge: "I would leave behind all of those litigating positions, all of those advocacy positions, and swear an oath to simply apply the law as an impartial jurist." In response to Durbin's question specifically, Oldham said: "I would not sit before you as a nominee to an inferior court that would be subject to the rulings and precedent of the Supreme Court of the United States if I did not believe that I could be bound by them."

Sen. Kamala Harris (D-Calif.) asked Oldham if he had played a role in formulating legislation and policy while working in Texas. According to The Texas Tribune, "Oldham said he recalled working on two particularly high-profile issues: a measure that would have restricted transgender Texans' access to certain public facilities and an anti-'sanctuary cities' law." The Tribune also noted that Oldham declined answer some senators' questions, "citing judicial ethics rules that he said prevent him from weighing in on pending legal matters or established U.S. Supreme Court decisions." Oldham declined to answer questions from Sens. Harris and Cory Booker (D-N.J.) on voting discrimination and implicit racial bias in the justice system.

Nomination

Oldham was nominated to replace Judge Edward Prado, who retired on April 2, 2018.

Texas Sens. John Cornyn and Ted Cruz, both Republicans on the Senate Judiciary Committee, recommended Oldham to Trump. Texas Gov. Greg Abbott (R) endorsed the nomination when it was announced. Abbott said in a statement that Oldham "is an excellent choice of a strict construction constitutionalist. I think he’s even better than Supreme Court Justice Gorsuch."

The American Bar Association unanimously rated Oldham well qualified for the position. To read more about ABA ratings, click here.

Early life and education

Oldham was born in Richmond, Virginia, in 1978. He earned his B.A., with highest honors, from the University of Virginia in 2001; his master of philosophy (M.Phil.), first class, with distinction, from Cambridge University in 2002; and his J.D., magna cum laude, from Harvard Law School in 2005. During his legal studies, Oldham was an editor of the Harvard Journal of Law and Public Policy.

Professional career

• 2018-present: Judge, United States Court of Appeals for the 5th Circuit
• 2015-2018: Office of the governor of Texas
  • 2018: General counsel
  • 2017: Acting general counsel
  • 2015-2017: Deputy general counsel
• 2012-2015: Deputy solicitor general, Office of the attorny general of Texas
• 2009-2012: Associate, Kellogg Hansen Todd Figel & Frederick in Washington, D.C.
• 2008-2009: Law clerk to United States Supreme Court Justice Samuel Alito
• 2006-2008: Attorney-adviser, Office of Legal Counsel, U.S. Department of Justice
• 2005-2006: Law clerk to United States Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit Judge David Sentelle

Awards and associations

Awards

• 2014: Best brief award, National Association of Attorneys General
• 2009: Temple Bar Scholar, American Inns of Court
• 2004-2005: Harvey Fellow, Mustard Seed Foundation
• 2000: Truman Scholar, Truman Scholars Foundation

Associations

• Member, Compassion International
• Member, The Federalist Society
• Member, Lady Bird Johnson Wildflower Center
• Member, National Rifle Association
• Former member, American Bar Association
• Former member, Central Union Mission
• Former member, Cru

Note: Memberships were accurate as of 2018.

About the court

Fifth Circuit
Court of Appeals
Judgeships
Posts: 17
Judges: 17
Vacancies: 0
Judges
Chief: Jennifer Elrod
Active judges: Dana Douglas, Stuart Kyle Duncan, Jennifer Elrod, Kurt Engelhardt, James Graves, Catharina Haynes, Stephen Higginson, James C. Ho, Edith Jones, Andrew Oldham, Irma Ramirez, Priscilla Richman, Jerry Smith, Leslie Southwick, Carl Stewart, Don Willett, Cory Wilson Senior judges: Rhesa Barksdale, Fortunato Benavides, Edith Clement, W. Eugene Davis, James Dennis, John Duhe, Patrick Higginbotham, E. Grady Jolly, Carolyn King, Jacques Wiener

The United States Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit is a federal appellate court with appellate jurisdiction. It hears appeals from all of the circuit courts within its jurisdiction and its rulings may be appealed to the Supreme Court of the United States. Appeals are heard in the John Minor Wisdom U.S. Courthouse in New Orleans, Louisiana.

Map of the Fifth Circuit. Click on a district to find out more about it.

The Fifth Circuit has appellate jurisdiction over cases heard in one of its subsidiary districts. These cases can include civil and criminal matters that fall under federal law. Appeals of rulings by the Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals are petitioned to the Supreme Court of the United States. Justice Samuel Alito is the circuit justice for the Fifth Circuit.

The United States Court of Appeals for the 5th Circuit has appellate jurisdiction over the district courts in the following districts:

• Eastern District of Louisiana
• Middle District of Louisiana
• Western District of Louisiana
• Northern District of Mississippi
• Southern District of Mississippi
• Eastern District of Texas
• Northern District of Texas
• Southern District of Texas
• Western District of Texas

To read opinions published by this court, click here.

The federal nomination process

Federal judges are nominated by the president of the United States and confirmed by the Senate. There are multiple steps to the process:

• The president nominates an individual for a judicial seat.
• The nominee fills out a questionnaire and is reviewed by the Senate Judiciary Committee.
• The Senate Judiciary Committee holds a hearing with the nominee, questioning them about things like their judicial philosophy, past rulings or opinions, etc.

• As part of this process, the committee sends a blue slip to senators from the home state in which the judicial nomination was received, allowing them to express their approval or disapproval of the nominee.

• After the hearing, the Senate Judiciary Committee will vote to approve or return the nominee.

• If approved, the nominee is voted on by the full Senate.
• If the Committee votes to return the nominee to the president, the president has the opportunity to re-nominate the individual.

• The Senate holds a vote on the candidate.

• If the Senate confirms the nomination, the nominee receives a commission to serve a lifelong position as a federal judge.
• If the Senate does not confirm the nomination, that nominee does not become a judge.

See also

• United States Court of Appeals for the 5th Circuit

External links

Suggest a link

• Search Google News for this topic
• Biography from the Federal Judicial Center
• U.S. 5th Circuit Court of Appeals

Footnotes

Political offices
Preceded by -	United States Court of Appeals for the 5th Circuit 2018-Present	Succeeded by -

Texas courts

---

Federal courts:

Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals • U.S. District Court: Eastern District of Texas, Western District of Texas, Northern District of Texas, Southern District of Texas • U.S. Bankruptcy Court: Eastern District of Texas, Western District of Texas, Northern District of Texas, Southern District of Texas

State courts:

Texas Supreme Court • Texas Court of Appeals • Texas Court of Criminal Appeals • Texas District Courts • Texas County Courts • Texas County Courts at Law • Texas Statutory Probate Courts • Texas Justice of the Peace Courts

State resources:

Courts in Texas • Texas judicial elections • Judicial selection in Texas