Kevin Christopher Newsom (born September 22, 1972) is an American attorney and jurist serving as a

United States circuit judge In the United States, federal judges are judges who serve on courts established under Article Three of the U.S. Constitution. They include the chief justice and the associate justices of the U.S. Supreme Court, the circuit judges of the U.S. Cou ...

of the

United States Court of Appeals for the Eleventh Circuit The United States Court of Appeals for the Eleventh Circuit (in case citations, 11th Cir.) is a federal court with appellate jurisdiction over the following U.S. district courts: * Middle District of Alabama * Northern District of Alabama * ...

Early life and education

Kevin Newsom was born in

Birmingham, Alabama Birmingham ( ) is a city in the north central region of the U.S. state of Alabama. Birmingham is the seat of Jefferson County, Alabama's most populous county. As of the 2021 census estimates, Birmingham had a population of 197,575, down 1% fr ...

, to Susan and Michael Alan Newsom, an attorney. Newsom attended

Homewood High School Homewood High School (HHS) is a public high school, serving grades 9-12, in the Homewood, Alabama suburb of Birmingham. It is the only high school in the Homewood City School System. The principal is Joel Henneke. In the summer of 2007, the front ...

in Birmingham. In 1994, Newsom received a

Bachelor of Arts Bachelor of arts (BA or AB; from the Latin ', ', or ') is a bachelor's degree awarded for an undergraduate program in the arts, or, in some cases, other disciplines. A Bachelor of Arts degree course is generally completed in three or four years ...

, ''

summa cum laude Latin honors are a system of Latin phrases used in some colleges and universities to indicate the level of distinction with which an academic degree has been earned. The system is primarily used in the United States. It is also used in some Sou ...

'', from

Samford University Samford University is a private Christian university in Homewood, Alabama. In 1841, the university was founded as Howard College by Baptists. Samford University describes itself as the 87th oldest institution of higher learning in the United Sta ...

, graduating first in his class. In 1997, he graduated from

Harvard Law School Harvard Law School (Harvard Law or HLS) is the law school of Harvard University, a private research university in Cambridge, Massachusetts. Founded in 1817, it is the oldest continuously operating law school in the United States. Each class ...

with a

Juris Doctor The Juris Doctor (J.D. or JD), also known as Doctor of Jurisprudence (J.D., JD, D.Jur., or DJur), is a graduate-entry professional degree in law and one of several Doctor of Law degrees. The J.D. is the standard degree obtained to practice law ...

, ''

magna cum laude Latin honors are a system of Latin phrases used in some colleges and universities to indicate the level of distinction with which an academic degree has been earned. The system is primarily used in the United States. It is also used in some So ...

'', where he was Articles Editor of the ''

Harvard Law Review The ''Harvard Law Review'' is a law review published by an independent student group at Harvard Law School. According to the ''Journal Citation Reports'', the ''Harvard Law Review''s 2015 impact factor of 4.979 placed the journal first out of 143 ...

''.

Career

After graduation, Newsom served as a

law clerk A law clerk or a judicial clerk is a person, generally someone who provides direct counsel and assistance to a lawyer or judge by researching issues and drafting legal opinions for cases before the court. Judicial clerks often play significant ...

to Judge

Diarmuid O'Scannlain Diarmuid Fionntain O'Scannlain ( ; born March 28, 1937) is a Senior Status, Senior United States federal judge, United States circuit judge of the United States Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit. His chambers are located in Portland, Oregon, ...

of the

United States Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit The United States Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit (in case citations, 9th Cir.) is the U.S. federal court of appeals that has appellate jurisdiction over the U.S. district courts in the following federal judicial districts: * District ...

. He then clerked for Justice

David Souter David Hackett Souter ( ; born September 17, 1939) is an American lawyer and jurist who served as an associate justice of the U.S. Supreme Court from 1990 until his retirement in 2009. Appointed by President George H. W. Bush to fill the seat t ...

of the

Supreme Court of the United States The Supreme Court of the United States (SCOTUS) is the highest court in the federal judiciary of the United States. It has ultimate appellate jurisdiction over all U.S. federal court cases, and over state court cases that involve a point o ...

from 1998 to 1999. Between and after his clerkships, he worked for

Covington & Burling Covington & Burling LLP is an American multinational law firm. Headquartered in Washington, D.C., the firm advises clients on transactional, litigation, regulatory, and public policy matters. In 2021, Vault.com ranked Covington & Burling as th ...

Washington, D.C. ) , image_skyline = , image_caption = Clockwise from top left: the Washington Monument and Lincoln Memorial on the National Mall, United States Capitol, Logan Circle, Jefferson Memorial, White House, Adams Morgan, ...

In December 2003, he was appointed the State of Alabama's second Solicitor General, replacing Nathan A. Forrester, and served for three and a half years under state

Attorneys General In most common law jurisdictions, the attorney general or attorney-general (sometimes abbreviated AG or Atty.-Gen) is the main legal advisor to the government. The plural is attorneys general. In some jurisdictions, attorneys general also have exec ...

William H. Pryor Jr. William Holcombe Pryor Jr. (born April 26, 1962) is an American lawyer serving as the chief judge of the United States Court of Appeals for the Eleventh Circuit. He is a former commissioner of the United States Sentencing Commission. Previously, ...

and

Troy King Troy Robin King (born August 22, 1968) is the former attorney general of the state of Alabama. He previously served as an assistant attorney general and a legal adviser to both Republican governors Bob Riley and Fob James. King was appointed by ...

. While serving as Solicitor General, Newsom argued 18 cases, including 3 before the United States Supreme Court. Afterwards, Newsom was a partner at Bradley Arant Boult Cummings LLP in Birmingham, where his practice focused on appellate litigation. Newsom serves on the Board of Overseers of Samford University. He is a member of the

Federalist Society The Federalist Society for Law and Public Policy Studies (abbreviated as FedSoc) is an American conservative and libertarian legal organization that advocates for a textualist and originalist interpretation of the U.S. Constitution. Headquartered ...

and the

American Law Institute The American Law Institute (ALI) is a research and advocacy group of judges, lawyers, and legal scholars established in 1923 to promote the clarification and simplification of United States common law and its adaptation to changing social needs. ...

Federal judicial service

On May 8, 2017, President

Donald Trump Donald John Trump (born June 14, 1946) is an American politician, media personality, and businessman who served as the 45th president of the United States from 2017 to 2021. Trump graduated from the Wharton School of the University of Pe ...

nominated Newsom to a seat on the

vacated by Judge

Joel F. Dubina Joel Fredrick Dubina (born October 26, 1947) is an American attorney and jurist serving as a Senior United States circuit judge of the United States Court of Appeals for the Eleventh Circuit and a former United States District Judge of the Unite ...

who assumed

senior status Senior status is a form of semi-retirement for United States federal judges. To qualify, a judge in the Federal judiciary of the United States, federal court system must be at least 65 years old, and the sum of the judge's age and years of servi ...

on October 26, 2013. A hearing on his nomination before the

Senate Judiciary Committee The United States Senate Committee on the Judiciary, informally the Senate Judiciary Committee, is a standing committee of 22 U.S. senators whose role is to oversee the Department of Justice (DOJ), consider executive and judicial nominations, a ...

took place on June 14, 2017. On July 13, 2017, his nomination was reported out of committee by a 18–2 vote. On July 31, 2017, the

United States Senate The United States Senate is the upper chamber of the United States Congress, with the House of Representatives being the lower chamber. Together they compose the national bicameral legislature of the United States. The composition and pow ...

invoked

cloture Cloture (, also ), closure or, informally, a guillotine, is a motion or process in parliamentary procedure aimed at bringing debate to a quick end. The cloture procedure originated in the French National Assembly, from which the name is taken. ...

on his nomination by a 68–26 vote. On August 1, 2017, his nomination was confirmed by a 66–31 vote.On the Nomination (Confirmation Kevin Christopher Newsom, of Alabama, to be U.S. Circuit Judge for the Eleventh Circuit), United States Senate, August 1, 2017
/ref> He received his judicial commission on August 2, 2017.

Personal life

In 1994, Newsom married Deborah E. Wilgus, who also attended Samford University, and they have two children.

References

Selected works

External links

*
Biography at Eleventh Circuit Court of Appeals
*
Appearances at the U.S. Supreme Court
from the

Oyez Project The Oyez Project at the Illinois Institute of Technology's Chicago-Kent College of Law is an unofficial online multimedia archive of the Supreme Court of the United States, especially audio of oral arguments. The website "aims to be a complete an ...

*
Questionnaire for Judicial Nominees
for the

United States Senate Committee on the Judiciary The United States Senate Committee on the Judiciary, informally the Senate Judiciary Committee, is a standing committee of 22 U.S. senators whose role is to oversee the Department of Justice (DOJ), consider executive and judicial nominations, a ...

Contributor profile
from the

, - {{DEFAULTSORT:Newsom, Kevin 1972 births Living people 20th-century American lawyers 21st-century American lawyers 21st-century American judges Alabama lawyers Alabama Republicans American legal scholars Federalist Society members Harvard Law School alumni Judges of the United States Court of Appeals for the Eleventh Circuit Law clerks of the Supreme Court of the United States Lawyers from Birmingham, Alabama Lawyers from Washington, D.C. Members of the American Law Institute People associated with Covington & Burling Samford University alumni Solicitors General of Alabama United States court of appeals judges appointed by Donald Trump

Early life and education

Career

Federal judicial service

Personal life

See also

References

Selected works

External links