Drew Barnett Tipton (born 1967)United States Senate Committee on the Judiciary: Questionnaire for Judicial Nominees: Drew Tipton
/ref> is a

United States district judge The United States district courts are the trial courts of the U.S. federal judiciary. There is one district court for each federal judicial district. Each district covers one U.S. state or a portion of a state. There is at least one feder ...

of the

United States District Court for the Southern District of Texas The United States District Court for the Southern District of Texas (in case citations, S.D. Tex.) is the federal district court with jurisdiction over the southeastern part of Texas. The court's headquarters is in Houston, Houston, Texas, and ...

Education

Tipton graduated from

Angleton High School Angleton High School is a public high school located just outside the city of Angleton, Texas, United States in unincorporated Brazoria County. It is classified as a 5A school by the University Interscholastic League (UIL). It is a part of th ...

, earned his

Bachelor of Arts A Bachelor of Arts (abbreviated B.A., BA, A.B. or AB; from the Latin ', ', or ') is the holder of a bachelor's degree awarded for an undergraduate program in the liberal arts, or, in some cases, other disciplines. A Bachelor of Arts deg ...

from

Texas A&M University Texas A&M University (Texas A&M, A&M, TA&M, or TAMU) is a public university, public, Land-grant university, land-grant, research university in College Station, Texas, United States. It was founded in 1876 and became the flagship institution of ...

, and his

Juris Doctor A Juris Doctor, Doctor of Jurisprudence, or Doctor of Law (JD) is a graduate-entry professional degree that primarily prepares individuals to practice law. In the United States and the Philippines, it is the only qualifying law degree. Other j ...

from

South Texas College of Law South Texas College of Law Houston (STCL or South Texas) is a private law school in Houston, Texas. It was founded in 1923 when the YMCA made the decision to establish a law school with a focus on offering night classes for working professi ...

."President Donald J. Trump Announces Judicial Nominee" White House, January 15, 2020

Career

Military service

Tipton served in the

United States Marine Corps Reserve The Marine Forces Reserve (MARFORRES or MFR), also known as the United States Marine Corps Reserve (USMCR) and the U.S. Marine Corps Forces Reserve, is the reserve force of the United States Marine Corps. The Marine Corps Reserve is an expedit ...

from 1988 to 1994 as a

radio operator A radio operator (also, formerly, a wireless operator in British and Commonwealth English) is a person who is responsible for the operations of a radio system and the technicalities in broadcasting. The profession of radio operator has become l ...

for an

infantry battalion A battalion is a military unit, typically consisting of up to one thousand soldiers. A battalion is commanded by a lieutenant colonel and subdivided into several companies, each typically commanded by a major or a captain. The typical battal ...

. He was

honorably discharged A military discharge is given when a member of the armed forces is released from their obligation to serve. Each country's military has different types of discharge. They are generally based on whether the persons completed their training and the ...

with the rank of

Sergeant Sergeant (Sgt) is a Military rank, rank in use by the armed forces of many countries. It is also a police rank in some police services. The alternative spelling, ''serjeant'', is used in The Rifles and in other units that draw their heritage f ...

. After graduating law school, Tipton served as a

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

to Judge John David Rainey of the

. He previously was in private practice with Marek, Griffin, & Knaupp and

Littler Mendelson Littler Mendelson P.C. is a U.S.-based law firm that specializes in labor and employment law. They have been widely described as a "union busting" firm. The firm has offices in 28 countries: Austria, Belgium, Brazil, Canada, Colombia, Costa Rica, ...

. From 1999 to 2020, he was part of

BakerHostetler BakerHostetler is an American law firm founded in 1916. One of the firm's founders, Newton D. Baker, was U.S. Secretary of War during World War I, and former Mayor of Cleveland, Ohio. History , the firm was ranked the 73rd-largest law firm in t ...

Houston Houston ( ) is the List of cities in Texas by population, most populous city in the U.S. state of Texas and in the Southern United States. Located in Southeast Texas near Galveston Bay and the Gulf of Mexico, it is the county seat, seat of ...

office and became a partner in 2002. His practice focused on complex

employment law Labour laws (also spelled as labor laws), labour code or employment laws are those that mediate the relationship between workers, employing entities, trade unions, and the government. Collective labour law relates to the tripartite relationship be ...

and

trade secret A trade secret is a form of intellectual property (IP) comprising confidential information that is not generally known or readily ascertainable, derives economic value from its secrecy, and is protected by reasonable efforts to maintain its conf ...

litigation.

Federal judicial service

On January 15, 2020, President

Donald Trump Donald John Trump (born June 14, 1946) is an American politician, media personality, and businessman who is the 47th president of the United States. A member of the Republican Party (United States), Republican Party, he served as the 45 ...

announced his intent to nominate Tipton to serve as a

for the

. On February 4, 2020, the nomination was sent to the Senate. Tipton was nominated to the seat vacated by Judge

Sim Lake Simeon Timothy Lake III (born July 4, 1944) is a senior United States district judge of the United States District Court for the Southern District of Texas. His notable trials include the trial of Enron Chairman Ken Lay and former Chief Executive ...

, who assumed senior status on July 5, 2019. A hearing on his nomination before the

Senate Judiciary Committee The United States Senate Committee on the Judiciary, informally known as the Senate Judiciary Committee, is a Standing committee (United States Congress), standing committee of 22 U.S. senators whose role is to oversee the United States Departm ...

was held on February 12, 2020. On May 14, 2020, the nomination was reported out of committee by a 12–10 vote. On June 3, 2020, the

United States Senate The United States Senate is a chamber of the Bicameralism, bicameral United States Congress; it is the upper house, with the United States House of Representatives, U.S. House of Representatives being the lower house. Together, the Senate and ...

invoked

cloture Cloture (, ), 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. is ...

on Tipton's nomination by a 53–42 vote. Later that day, his nomination was confirmed by a 52–41 vote. He received his judicial commission on June 15, 2020.

Notable rulings

* On January 26, 2021, Tipton enjoined an Executive Order issued by President

Joe Biden Joseph Robinette Biden Jr. (born November 20, 1942) is an American politician who was the 46th president of the United States from 2021 to 2025. A member of the Democratic Party (United States), Democratic Party, he served as the 47th vice p ...

, which halted the deportation of some illegal immigrants for a 100-day period by temporarily blocking the President from overturning the prior administration's immigration policy known as Migrant Protection Protocols (MPP). * On February 23, shortly before the temporary stay expired, Tipton ruled that Biden's executive order pausing deportations for 100 days exceeded presidential authority. * On September 15, a three-judge panel of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit ruled Tipton's ruling regarding Biden's executive order was incorrect, disagreeing with his reading of the

Illegal Immigration Reform and Immigrant Responsibility Act of 1996 The Illegal Immigration Reform and Immigrant Responsibility Act of 1996 (IIRAIRA), is a law enacted as division C of the Omnibus Consolidated Appropriations Act of 1997 that made major changes to the Immigration and Nationality Act (INA). IIRAIR ...

and his disregard for the long-standing tradition of executive procedural authority. On November 30, 2021, the full Fifth Circuit vacated that three-judge panel's decision, thereby lifting the stay on Tipton's preliminary injunction. On July 21, 2022, the Supreme Court agreed hear the case and left in place Tipton's ruling striking down the Biden policy, which means that the Biden administration cannot implement it while it waits for the Supreme Court to hear argument and issue a decision. On June 23, 2023, the

Supreme Court In most legal jurisdictions, a supreme court, also known as a court of last resort, apex court, high (or final) court of appeal, and court of final appeal, is the highest court within the hierarchy of courts. Broadly speaking, the decisions of ...

overturned his ruling on 8–1 vote, on the grounds that Tipton did not have jurisdiction over the case.

Memberships

He has been a member of the

American Legion The American Legion, commonly known as the Legion, is an Voluntary association, organization of United States, U.S. war veterans headquartered in Indianapolis, Indiana. It comprises U.S. state, state, Territories of the United States, U.S. terr ...

since 1999. He has been a member of the

American Bar Association The American Bar Association (ABA) is a voluntary association, voluntary bar association of lawyers and law students in the United States; national in scope, it is not specific to any single jurisdiction. Founded in 1878, the ABA's stated acti ...

since 2000. From 2002 to 2008, he was a member of the Republican National Lawyers Association. Since 2003, he has been a member of the

Marine Corps Association The Marine Corps Association (often abbreviated MCA) is the professional organization for members of the United States Marine Corps and friends of the Corps. It is known for its publications '' Leatherneck Magazine'' and '' Marine Corps Gazette''. ...

. Since 2010, he has been a member of the

Federalist Society The Federalist Society for Law and Public Policy Studies (FedSoc) is an American Conservatism in the United States, conservative and Libertarianism in the United States, libertarian legal organization that advocates for a Textualism, textualist an ...

. He has been a member of the Second Baptist Church in

Houston, Texas Houston ( ) is the List of cities in Texas by population, most populous city in the U.S. state of Texas and in the Southern United States. Located in Southeast Texas near Galveston Bay and the Gulf of Mexico, it is the county seat, seat of ...

since 2008.

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Tipton, Drew Barnett 1967 births Living people 20th-century American lawyers 21st-century American lawyers Baptists from Texas Judges of the United States District Court for the Southern District of Texas People associated with BakerHostetler People from Angleton, Texas South Texas College of Law alumni Texas A&M University alumni Texas lawyers Texas Republicans United States district court judges appointed by Donald Trump United States Marine Corps reservists