1. Patrick Errol Higginbotham was born on December 16,1938 and is an American judge and lawyer who serves as a senior United States circuit judge of the United States Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit.
17 Facts About Patrick Higginbotham
1. 2.
The youngest of three, Patrick Higginbotham showed academic promise early in life.
3.
Patrick Higginbotham received a Bachelor of Arts degree from the University of Alabama in 1960, attending on a tennis scholarship offered to him by then-Athletic-Director Paul "Bear" Bryant and serving as the team captain.
4.
Patrick Higginbotham finished college and law school in just five years and received in 1961 a Bachelor of Laws from the University of Alabama School of Law at Tuscaloosa, where he met Elizabeth, his eventual wife of 52 years.
5.
Patrick Higginbotham was in the United States Air Force, JAG Corps from 1961 to 1964.
6.
Patrick Higginbotham was an adjunct professor of constitutional law at the Southern Methodist University School of Law in 1976.
7.
Patrick Higginbotham was confirmed by the United States Senate on December 12,1975, and received commission the same day.
8.
Patrick Higginbotham's service was terminated on August 3,1982, due to elevation to the Fifth Circuit.
9.
Patrick Higginbotham was nominated by President Ronald Reagan on July 1,1982, to a seat on the United States Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit vacated by Judge Reynaldo Guerra Garza.
10.
Patrick Higginbotham was unanimously confirmed by the Senate on July 27,1982, and received commission on July 30,1982.
11.
In 1986, when the nomination of Robert Bork to the Supreme Court of the United States was flailing, Patrick Higginbotham was widely considered the leading replacement candidate.
12.
For many years, Patrick Higginbotham was a faculty member at the Federal Judicial Center and, as an appointee of Chief Justice William Rehnquist, the chairman of the Advisory Committee on Civil Rules.
13.
Patrick Higginbotham served as president of the American Inns of Court Foundation, and in 1996 the Dallas chapter of that organization renamed itself after him.
14.
Patrick Higginbotham has been a leading proponent and former chairman of The Center for American and International Law, a Dallas-based organization which aims to train foreign and domestic lawyers and police officers, a Fellow of the American Bar Association, chairman of its Appellate Judges Conference, member of the Board of Editors of the ABA Journal, and advisor to the National Center for State Courts on its study of habeas corpus.
15.
Patrick Higginbotham is a lifetime member of the American Law Institute and a member of the Board of Overseers, Institute of Civil Justice, RAND Corporation.
16.
Patrick Higginbotham has published a number of articles in law reviews and newspapers.
17.
Patrick Higginbotham is a frequent speaker on various legal topics, particularly the death penalty and the decline of jury trials, having lectured at places including the Universities of Alabama, Chicago, St Mary's, Texas, Texas Tech, Columbia, Duke, and Penn, as well as Case Western, Northwestern, Utah, Loyola, Hofstra, the National Science Foundation, The American College of Trial Lawyers and the National Institute of Trial Advocacy.