Patrick Higginbotham

Education and career

Born in McCalla, Alabama Higginbotham received a Bachelor of Arts degree from the University of Alabama in 1960, attending on a tennis scholarship. He received a Bachelor of Laws from the University of Alabama School of Law in 1961. He was in the United States Air Force, JAG Corps from 1961 to 1964. He was in private practice of law in Dallas, Texas from 1964 to 1975. He was an adjunct professor of constitutional law at the Southern Methodist University School of Law in 1976.

Federal judicial service

Higginbotham was nominated by President Gerald Ford on December 2, 1975, to a seat on the United States District Court for the Northern District of Texas vacated by Judge Sarah T. Hughes. He was confirmed by the United States Senate on December 12, 1975, and received commission the same day. His service was terminated on August 3, 1982, due to elevation to the Fifth Circuit.

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. He was confirmed by the Senate on July 27, 1982, and received commission on July 30, 1982. He assumed senior status on August 28, 2006.

Supreme Court consideration

In 1986, when the nomination of Robert Bork to the Supreme Court of the United States was flailing, Higginbotham was widely considered the leading replacement candidate. After Senators Lloyd Bentsen and Dennis DeConcini came out in support of his nomination, the Reagan administration, unwilling to allow the senators to both prevent the appointment of Bork and dictate the next nominee, declined to nominate Higginbotham. The nomination eventually went to Justice Anthony Kennedy.

Other service

For many years, 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. He served as president of the American Inns of Court Foundation, and in 1996 the Dallas chapter of that organization renamed itself after him. He 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. He is also a lifetime member of the American Law Institute and a member of the Board of Overseers, Institute of Civil Justice, RAND Corporation.

Speeches and writings

Higginbotham has published a number of articles in law reviews and newspapers. He is also 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.

Law clerks

Many of Higginbotham's clerks later clerked on the Supreme Court. His former clerks include Princeton University president Christopher L. Eisgruber, Iowa Supreme Court Justice Edward Mansfield (judge), University of Pennsylvania Law School professor Stephanos Bibas, Harvard Law School professor James Greiner, University of Michigan Law School professor Kyle D. Logue, New York University School of Law professor Roderick Hills, Jr., University of Texas School of Law professor Henry Hu, George Washington University Law School professor Michael B. Abramowicz, University of Illinois College of Law professor Jay P. Kesan, George Mason University School of Law professor Nelson Lund, and Adam K. Mortara of Bartlit, Beck, Herman, Palenchar & Scott LLP, William H.J.Hubbard of the University of Chicago Law School, Cheryl M. Joseph, Williams & Connolly, Robert Little, Gibson Dunn, Renato Mariotti, of Thompson Coburn LLP and former Assistant United States Attorney, Northern District of Illinois, Elizabeth M. Tulis, Assistant United States Attorney, Southern District of New York, and Sharon Freytag, Haynes and Boone.

Notable Opinions

Present

Higginbotham continues to maintain a full workload on the court in addition to teaching courses in Constitutional Law and Federal Courts at St. Mary's University School of Law in San Antonio, Texas. He has also taught at the University of Texas School of Law, the University of Alabama School of Law, the Southern Methodist University Dedman School of Law, and the Texas Tech University School of Law. The University of Alabama School of Law maintains an endowed scholarship in his name. He was married to Elizabeth O'Neal Higginbotham until her death on June 10, 2017, at the age of 78. They have two daughters, Anne Elizabeth and Patricia Lynn. He lives on his ranch in Blanco, Texas.