Henry Travillion Wingate
Chief Judge of the United States District Court for the Southern District of Mississippi
In office
2003–2010
Preceded byTom Stewart Lee
Succeeded byLouis Guirola Jr.
Judge of the United States District Court for the Southern District of Mississippi
Assumed office
October 17, 1985
Appointed byRonald Reagan
Preceded bySeat established by 98 Stat. 333
Personal details
Born (1947-01-06) January 6, 1947 (age 77)
Jackson, Mississippi, U.S.
EducationGrinnell College (BA)
Yale University (JD)

Henry Travillion Wingate (born January 6, 1947) is a United States district judge of the United States District Court for the Southern District of Mississippi.

Early life and education

Born in Jackson, Mississippi, Wingate received a Bachelor of Arts degree from Grinnell College in 1969 and a Juris Doctor from Yale Law School in 1972. He was a law clerk for Community Legal Aid in Jackson from 1972 to 1973.[1]

Career

Federal judicial service

Wingate was nominated by President Ronald Reagan on September 11, 1985, to the United States District Court for the Southern District of Mississippi, to a new seat created by 98 Stat. 333. He was confirmed by the United States Senate on October 16, 1985, and received his commission on October 17, 1985. He served as Chief Judge from 2003 to 2010.[1]

Judicial backlog

On September 29, 2016, the U.S. Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals removed Wingate as judge from two cases for continued failure to rule upon pending motions.[2] This was not the first time the Court of Appeals had taken notice of Judge Wingate's judicial backlog; in 2010, the higher court criticized him for taking more than six years to issue a final judgment in a civil case.[3]

Notable cases

Wingate sentenced Chris Epps, former Mississippi Department of Corrections (MDOC) commissioner, to 325 months (19.7 years) for corruption-related crimes.[4] Wingate cited a burglary incident in which Epps, while on bail, attempted to move material from a Flowood, Mississippi residence he previously gave up to the court, as the reason why Wingate gave a sentence that was longer than the one recommended by prosecutors, 13 years.[5] Over the objections of the NAACP, effective January 1, 2024, Wingate allowed the creation of a new Capitol Complex Improvement District Court in the city of Jackson where the chief justice will be appointed by the Chief Justice of the Mississippi Supreme Court, and the prosecutors by the Mississippi Attorney General. [6]

See also

References

  1. ^ a b c Henry Travillion Wingate at the Biographical Directory of Federal Judges, a publication of the Federal Judicial Center.
  2. ^ Journal, ABA. "Federal judge is tossed from two cases for repeated failure to rule on pending motions". ABA Journal. Retrieved 2016-10-07.
  3. ^ "5th Circuit removes Entergy case from Judge Wingate". The Clarion Ledger. Retrieved 2016-10-07.
  4. ^ Gates, Jimmie E. (2017-05-25). "Ex-prison chief gets nearly 20-year sentence". USA Today at MSN. Archived from the original on 2017-05-25. Retrieved 2017-05-26.
  5. ^ Gates, Jimmie E. (2017-05-24). "Chris Epps sentenced to almost 20 years". The Clarion-Ledger. Retrieved 2016-05-27. "In his decision not to accept the prosecution's 13-year sentence recommendation, Wingate said to do so would ignore the burglary Epps committed while out on bond."
  6. ^ Judge allows new court in Mississippi's majority-Black capital, rejecting NAACP request to stop it', Associated Press, January 1, 2024. Retrieved January 2, 2024.

Sources

External links

Legal offices Preceded bySeat established by 98 Stat. 333 Judge of the United States District Court for the Southern District of Mississippi 1985–present Incumbent Preceded byTom Stewart Lee Chief Judge of the United States District Court for the Southern District of Mississippi 2003–2010 Succeeded byLouis Guirola Jr.
Active district judges of the Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals
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