Thad Heartfield
Thad Heartfield | |
|---|---|
| Senior Judge of the United States District Court for the Eastern District of Texas | |
| Assumed office January 1, 2010 | |
| Chief Judge of the United States District Court for the Eastern District of Texas | |
| In office 2003–2009 | |
| Preceded by | John H. Hannah, Jr. |
| Succeeded by | David Folsom |
| Judge of the United States District Court for the Eastern District of Texas | |
| In office March 17, 1995 – January 1, 2010 | |
| Appointed by | Bill Clinton |
| Preceded by | Robert Manley Parker |
| Succeeded by | James Rodney Gilstrap |
| Personal details | |
| Born | 1940 (age 81–82) Port Arthur, Texas |
| Education | St. Mary's University (BA) St. Mary's University School of Law (JD) |
Thad Heartfield (born 1940) is a Senior United States District Judge of the United States District Court for the Eastern District of Texas in Beaumont, Texas.
Education and career[]
Heartfield graduated from St. Mary's University, Texas with a Bachelor of Arts degree in 1962 and received a Juris Doctor from the St. Mary's University School of Law in 1965. He served as an assistant district attorney for Jefferson County, Texas from 1965 to 1966. He was in private practice in Beaumont, Texas from 1966 to 1969 and from 1973 to 1995. He was the city attorney for Beaumont from 1969 to 1973. He was the Director of the Lower Neches Valley Authority of Texas from 1983 to 1994.
Federal judicial service[]
Heartfield was nominated to a seat on the United States District Court for the Eastern District of Texas by President Bill Clinton on January 11, 1995, confirmed by the United States Senate on March 17, 1995 and received his commission on March 17, 1995. He served as chief judge from 2003 through 2009.[1] He assumed senior status on January 1, 2010.
Notable case[]
In 2009, Judge Heartfield presided over .[2] The plaintiff ("H.S.") was a cheerleader who was ordered by her high school to cheer for a football and basketball player named Rakheem Bolton, who she had accused of raping her[3] and who had pleaded guilty to assaulting her.[4] H.S. refused and was kicked off the team. She sued, claiming a violation of her First Amendment right to free speech. Judge Heartfield granted the school district's motion to dismiss.[5] Judge Heartfield's decision was affirmed by Judges Edith Brown Clement, Emilio M. Garza, and Priscilla Owen of the Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals.[6] H.S. was ordered to pay the school $45,000 in legal fees for filing a "frivolous" lawsuit.[3]
References[]
- ^ "Heartfield, Thad - Federal Judicial Center".
- ^ "Doe v. Silsbee Independent School District, Petition for Writ of Certiorari to the United States Supreme Court, appendix B" (PDF).
- ^ a b "Cheerleader must compensate school that told her to clap 'rapist'". 4 May 2011.
- ^ Former high school football star pleads guilty to assault in cheerleader case
- ^ "2011 02 22 CheerAppeal Petition for Certiorari".
- ^ "Doe v. Silsbee Independent School District, Opinion of the Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals" (PDF).
External links[]
- Thad Heartfield at the Biographical Directory of Federal Judges, a public domain publication of the Federal Judicial Center.
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- 1940 births
- Living people
- People from Port Arthur, Texas
- People from Marshall, Texas
- St. Mary's University, Texas alumni
- St. Mary's University School of Law alumni
- Judges of the United States District Court for the Eastern District of Texas
- United States district court judges appointed by Bill Clinton
- 20th-century American judges
- 21st-century American judges
- United States federal judge stubs