Drew Tipton
2020 - Present
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Drew Tipton is a judge on the United States District Court for the Southern District of Texas. He was nominated by President Donald Trump (R) on February 4, 2020, and confirmed by the U.S. Senate on June 3, 2020, by a vote of 52-41.[1] To see a full list of judges appointed by Donald Trump, click here.
The United States District Court for the Southern District of Texas is one of 94 U.S. District Courts. They are the general trial courts of the United States federal courts. To learn more about the court, click here.
Tipton was a partner at BakerHostetler from 2001 to 2020.
Judicial nominations and appointments
United States District Court for the Southern District of Texas (2020-present)
- See also: Federal judges nominated by Donald Trump
On February 4, 2020, President Donald Trump (R) nominated Tipton as an Article III judge on the United States District Court for the Southern District of Texas. He was confirmed by a 52-41 vote of the U.S. Senate on June 3, 2020.[1] Tipton received commission on June 15, 2020.[2] To read more about the federal nominations process, click here.
 |
| Nominee Information |
| Name: Drew Tipton |
| Court: United States District Court for the Southern District of Texas |
| Progress |
| Confirmed 120 days after nomination. |
 Nominated: February 4, 2020
|
| ABA Rating: Majority well qualified / Minority qualified
|
| Questionnaire: Questionnaire |
| Hearing: February 12, 2020
|
| QFRs: QFRs (Hover over QFRs to read more) |
| Reported: May 14, 2020
|
| Confirmed: June 3, 2020
|
| Vote: 52-41
|
Confirmation vote
The U.S. Senate confirmed Tipton on June 3, 2020, on a vote of 52-41.[1] To see a full breakdown of the vote on the official U.S. Senate website, click here.
| Tipton confirmation vote (June 3, 2020) | |||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Party | Yea | Nay | No vote | ||||||
 Democratic |
0 | 40 | 5 | ||||||
 Republican |
52 | 0 | 1 | ||||||
 Independent |
0 | 1 | 1 | ||||||
| Total | 52 | 41 | 7 | ||||||
Change in Senate rules
Tipton was confirmed to a U.S. District Court under a new precedent the Senate established.
On April 3, 2019, the U.S. Senate voted 51-48 in favor of a change to chamber precedent lowering the maximum time allowed for debate on executive nominees to posts below the Cabinet level and on nominees to district court judgeships from 30 hours after invoking cloture to two.[3]
The change was passed under a procedure, often referred to as the nuclear option, that requires 51 votes rather than 60.[4]
It was the third use of the nuclear option in Senate history. In 2013, it was used to eliminate the 60-vote threshold to confirm presidential nominees, except those to the Supreme Court. In 2017, it was used to eliminate the 60-vote threshold required to confirm Supreme Court nominees.[5] For more, see Filibuster and reconciliation in the United States Congress.
Senate Judiciary Committee hearing
Tipton had his hearing before the Senate Judiciary Committee on February 12, 2020.[6] The committee voted 12-10 to advance Tipton's nomination on May 14.[7]
Nomination
On February 4, 2020, President Donald Trump (R) nominated Tipton to a seat on the United States District Court for the Southern District of Texas.[8] He was nominated to replace Judge Sim Lake, who assumed senior status on July 5, 2019.[9]
The American Bar Association rated Tipton well qualified by a majority and qualified by the minority for the position.[10] To read more about ABA ratings, click here.
Early life and education
Tipton was born in 1967 in Angleton, Texas. He earned a bachelor's degree from Texas A&M University in 1990 and a J.D. from South Texas College of Law Houston in 1994.[11]
Military service
Tipton served in the United States Marine Corps Reserve from 1988 to 1994.[11]
Professional career
- 2020-present: Judge, U.S. District Court for the Southern District of Texas
- 1999-2020: Baker Hostetler LLP
- 2001-2002: Partner
- 1999-2001: Associate
- 1997-1999: Associate, Houston, Marek & Griffin LLP
- 1995-1996: Associate, Littler Mendelson P.C.
- 1994-1995: Law clerk to Judge John Rainey, U.S. District Court for the Southern District of Texas[11]
Associations
- American Bar Association
- Bar Association of the Fifth Federal Circuit
- Federal Bar Association
- The Federalist Society
- Houston Bar Association
- Inns of Court, Garland Walker Inn
- Marine Corps Association
- National Employment Lawyers Association
- Republican National Lawyers Association[11]
About the court
| Southern District of Texas |
|---|
| Fifth Circuit |
|
| Judgeships |
| Posts: 19 |
| Judges: 17 |
| Vacancies: 2 |
| Judges |
| Chief: Randy Crane |
| Active judges: Alfred Bennett, Jeff Brown, Randy Crane, Keith Ellison, Charles R. Eskridge III, Marina Garcia Marmolejo, Andrew Hanen, George Hanks, Ricardo Hinojosa, John Kazen, David Morales, Rolando Olvera, Nelva Gonzales Ramos, Fernando Rodriguez Jr., Lee Rosenthal, Diana Saldana, Drew Barnett Tipton Senior judges: |
The United States District Court for the Southern District of Texas is one of 94 United States district courts. The court's headquarters are in Houston and has six additional offices in the district. When decisions of the court are appealed, they are appealed to the United States Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit based in downtown New Orleans at the John Minor Wisdom Federal Courthouse.
The Southern District of Texas has original jurisdiction over cases filed within its jurisdiction. These cases can include civil and criminal matters that fall under federal law.
The court is headquartered in Houston and has six additional offices in the district. When decisions of the court are appealed, they are appealed to the Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals based in downtown New Orleans at the John Minor Wisdom Federal Courthouse.
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.
Noteworthy cases
Judge issued a preliminary injunction on President Biden's deportation moratorium (2021)
On February 23, 2021, Judge Tipton indefinitely banned President Joe Biden's (D) 100-day pause on certain deportations. The memorandum, originally signed on January 20 of the same year by then-Acting Secretary of Homeland Security David Pekoske, directed the Department of Homeland Security to review its practices and set temporary guidelines, including a freeze on deportations for immigrants who arrived in the United States before November 1, 2020, and were not suspects of terrorism, espionage, or another national security risk. Judge Tipton temporarily halted the moratorium on January 26 after Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton (R) argued it broke an agreement the state had with the department prior to Biden's arrival and that it violated federal law. That initial restraining order would have expired on February 23.[12][13][14]
Noteworthy events
Federal judges sign letter regarding hiring Columbia University students (2024)
On May 6, 2024, Tipton and 12 other federal judges signed a letter to Columbia University saying they would not hire undergraduates or law students from the university, beginning with the entering class of 2024.[15]
In the letter, the judges said, "As judges who hire law clerks every year to serve in the federal judiciary, we have lost confidence in Columbia as an institution of higher education."[16]
They signed the letter in the context of student demonstrations at Columbia University over the Israel-Hamas War. The students who participated in the demonstrations demanded that the university divest all of its finances from "companies and institutions that profit from Israeli apartheid, genocide and occupation in Palestine."[17]
The judges said they believed the university should institute consequences for faculty and students who participated in the demonstrations. They also called on the university to practice "neutrality and nondiscrimination in the protection of freedom of speech" and "viewpoint diversity on the faculty and across the administration."[16]
The Washington Post reported that Dean of Columbia Law School Gillian Lester said in a statement that graduates are "consistently sought out by leading employers in the private and public sectors, including the judiciary." Lester did not directly address the letter.[15]
See also
- United States District Court for the Southern District of Texas
- United States Court of Appeals for the 5th Circuit
External links
- Search Google News for this topic
- United States District Court for the Southern District of Texas
- Biography from the Federal Judicial Center
- LinkedIn profile
- Profile from BakerHostetler
Footnotes
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 1.2 Congress.gov, "PN1440 — Drew B. Tipton — The Judiciary," accessed June 4, 2020
- ↑ Federal Judicial Center, "Tipton, Drew Barnett," accessed June 16, 2020
- ↑ The Hill, "GOP triggers 'nuclear option' to speed up Trump picks," April 3, 2019
- ↑ Axios, "Senate GOP invokes 'nuclear option' to speed up confirmations of Trump nominees," April 3, 2019
- ↑ NBC News, "McConnell to use 'nuclear option' to confirm lower-level nominees," April 2, 2019
- ↑ Senate Judiciary Committee, "Nominations," February 12, 2020
- ↑ Senate Judiciary Committee, "Results of the Executive Business Meeting," May 14, 2020
- ↑ WhiteHouse.gov, "Eleven Nominations Sent to the Senate," February 4, 2020
- ↑ WhiteHouse.gov, "President Donald J. Trump Announces Judicial Nominee," January 15, 2020
- ↑ American Bar Association, "Ratings of Article III and Article IV judicial nominees: 116th Congress," accessed February 12, 2020
- ↑ 11.0 11.1 11.2 11.3 Senate Judiciary Committee, "Questionnaire for judicial nominees," accessed February 12, 2020
- ↑ NBC News, "Judge bans enforcement of Biden's 100-day deportation pause," February 24, 2021
- ↑ CBS News, "Federal judge temporarily blocks Biden's 100-day deportation moratorium," January 26, 2021
- ↑ [https://www.dhs.gov/sites/default/files/publications/21_0120_enforcement-memo_signed.pdf U.S. Department of Homeland Security, "Review of and Interim Revision to Civil Immigration Enforcement and Removal Policies and Priorities," January 20, 2021]
- ↑ 15.0 15.1 The Washington Post, "Conservative judges say they will boycott Columbia University students," May 7, 2024
- ↑ 16.0 16.1 The Washington Post, "Letter to Columbia University," May 6, 2024
- ↑ Columbia University Apartheid Divest, "Demands," accessed May 14, 2024
| Political offices | ||
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| Preceded by - |
United States District Court for the Southern District of Texas 2020-Present |
Succeeded by - |
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| 2020 |
Lawrence VanDyke • Daniel Traynor • John Kness • Joshua Kindred • Philip Halpern • Silvia Carreno-Coll • Scott Rash • John Heil • Anna Manasco • John L. Badalamenti • Drew Tipton • Andrew Brasher • Cory Wilson • Scott Hardy • David Joseph • Matthew Schelp • John Cronan • Justin Walker • Brett H. Ludwig • Christy Wiegand • Thomas Cullen • Diane Gujarati • Stanley Blumenfeld • Mark Scarsi • John Holcomb • Stephen P. McGlynn • Todd Robinson • Hala Jarbou • David Dugan • Iain D. Johnston • Franklin U. Valderrama • John Hinderaker • Roderick Young • Michael Newman • Aileen Cannon • James Knepp • Kathryn Kimball Mizelle • Benjamin Beaton • Kristi Johnson • Toby Crouse • Philip Calabrese • Taylor McNeel • Thomas Kirsch • Stephen Vaden • Katherine Crytzer • Fernando Aenlle-Rocha • Charles Atchley • Joseph Dawson | ||
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
