Tommy Parker
Judge of the United States District Court for the Western District of Tennessee
Assumed office
January 30, 2018
Appointed byDonald Trump
Preceded bySamuel H. Mays Jr.
Personal details
Born
Thomas Lee Robinson Parker

1963 (age 60–61)
Memphis, Tennessee, U.S.
Political partyRepublican
EducationUniversity of South Carolina (BS)
Vanderbilt University (JD)

Thomas Lee Robinson "Tommy" Parker (born 1963) is a United States district judge of the United States District Court for the Western District of Tennessee.

Education and career

Parker received a Bachelor of Science degree in 1985 from the University of South Carolina. He received a Juris Doctor in 1989 from Vanderbilt University School of Law.[1] Parker began his legal career as an associate at Waring Cox Lawyers in Memphis, Tennessee. He then served as an assistant United States attorney in the Western District of Tennessee for nine years. Before becoming a federal judge, he was a shareholder in the Memphis office of Baker, Donelson, Bearman, Caldwell & Berkowitz, P.C., where he represented clients in civil litigation and criminal matters. Additionally, he previously served as president of the Memphis Bar Association and is a fellow in the American College of Trial Lawyers.[2]

Federal judicial service

On July 13, 2017, President Donald Trump nominated Parker to serve as a United States district judge of the United States District Court for the Western District of Tennessee, to the seat vacated by Judge Samuel H. Mays Jr., who assumed senior status on July 1, 2015.[2][3] A hearing on his nomination before the Senate Judiciary Committee was held on September 6, 2017.[4] On October 5, 2017, his nomination was reported out of committee by a voice vote.[5] On January 9, 2018, the United States Senate invoked cloture on his nomination by a 96–1 vote.[6] On January 10, 2018, his nomination was confirmed by a 98–0 vote.[7][8] He received his commission on January 30, 2018.[9] He was sworn into office on February 2, 2018.

Notable ruling

On June 2, 2023, Parker ruled Tennessee's drag ban unconstitutional.[10]

References

  1. ^ "Thomas Lee Parker Lawyer Profile on Martindale.com". www.martindale.com.
  2. ^ a b "President Donald J. Trump Announces Fifth Wave of Judicial Candidates". whitehouse.gov. July 13, 2017 – via National Archives.
  3. ^ "Ten Nominations Sent to the Senate Today". July 13, 2017. Archived from the original on July 14, 2017.
  4. ^ United States Senate Committee on the Judiciary: Nominations for September 6, 2017
  5. ^ "Results of Executive Business Meeting – October 5, 2017" (PDF). United States Senate Committee on the Judiciary. Retrieved April 25, 2023.
  6. ^ "On the Cloture Motion (Motion to Invoke Cloture: Thomas Lee Robinson Parker to be U.S. District Judge for the Western District of Tennessee)". United States Senate. January 9, 2018. Retrieved November 19, 2022.
  7. ^ "On the Nomination (Confirmation Thomas Lee Robinson Parker, of Tennessee, to be U.S. District Judge for the Western District of Tennessee)". United States Senate. January 10, 2018. Retrieved January 10, 2018.
  8. ^ Collins, Michael (January 10, 2018). "Senate confirms Thomas Parker as federal judge for Tennessee's Western District". Commercial Appeal. USA Today. Retrieved March 8, 2018.
  9. ^ Tommy Parker at the Biographical Directory of Federal Judges, a publication of the Federal Judicial Center.
  10. ^ Gardner, Timothy (June 5, 2023). "Federal judge rejects Tennessee drag show ban as unconstitutional". Reuters. Retrieved June 20, 2023.

External links

Legal offices Preceded bySamuel H. Mays Jr. Judge of the United States District Court for the Western District of Tennessee 2018–present Incumbent
Active district judges of the Sixth Circuit Court of Appeals
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