Xenophon Hicks (May 2, 1872 – November 2, 1952) was a

United States circuit judge In the United States, a federal judge is a judge who serves on a court established under Article Three of the U.S. Constitution. Often called "Article III judges", federal judges include the chief justice and associate justices of the U.S. Su ...

of the

United States Court of Appeals for the Sixth Circuit The United States Court of Appeals for the Sixth Circuit (in case citations, 6th Cir.) is a federal court with appellate jurisdiction over the district courts in the following districts: * Eastern District of Kentucky * Western District of K ...

and previously was a United States district judge of the

United States District Court for the Eastern District of Tennessee The United States District Court for the Eastern District of Tennessee (in case citations, E.D. Tenn.) is the federal court in the Sixth Circuit whose jurisdiction covers most of East Tennessee and a portion of Middle Tennessee. The court has ju ...

and the

United States District Court for the Middle District of Tennessee The United States District Court for the Middle District of Tennessee (in case citations, M.D. Tenn.) is the federal trial court for most of Middle Tennessee. Based at the Estes Kefauver Federal Building and United States Courthouse in Nashville ...

Education and career

Born in

Clinton Clinton is an English toponymic surname, indicating one's ancestors came from English places called Glympton or Glinton.Hanks, P. & Hodges, F. ''A Dictionary of Surnames''. Oxford University Press, 1988 Clinton has also been used as a given nam ...

, Tennessee, Hicks received an Artium Baccalaureus degree from U.S. Grant University (now

Tennessee Wesleyan University Tennessee Wesleyan University (TWU) is a Private university, private United Methodist Church, Methodist university in Athens, Tennessee. It was founded in 1857 and is affiliated with the Holston :wikt:conference, Conference of the United Meth ...

) in 1891 and a

Bachelor of Laws A Bachelor of Laws (; LLB) is an undergraduate law degree offered in most common law countries as the primary law degree and serves as the first professional qualification for legal practitioners. This degree requires the study of core legal subje ...

from

Cumberland School of Law The Cumberland School of Law is an American Bar Association, ABA-accredited law school at Samford University in Homewood, Alabama, United States. It was founded in 1847 at Cumberland University in Lebanon, Tennessee and is the 11th oldest law sch ...

(then part of

Cumberland University Cumberland University is a private university in Lebanon, Tennessee, United States. It was founded in 1842. The oldest campus buildings were constructed between 1892 and 1896. History 1842–1861 The university was founded by the Cumberl ...

, now part of

Samford University Samford University is a Private university, private Christian university in Homewood, Alabama, United States. It was founded by Baptist Church, Baptists in 1841 as Howard College and located until 1887 in Marion, Alabama. It is governed by an in ...

) in 1892. He was in private practice in Clinton from 1892 to 1898. He was city attorney of Clinton from 1892 to 1893, and county attorney of Anderson County, Tennessee from 1894 to 1896. He joined the

United States Army The United States Army (USA) is the primary Land warfare, land service branch of the United States Department of Defense. It is designated as the Army of the United States in the United States Constitution.Article II, section 2, clause 1 of th ...

in 1898 and served in the 6th United States Volunteer Infantry during the

Spanish–American War The Spanish–American War (April 21 – August 13, 1898) was fought between Restoration (Spain), Spain and the United States in 1898. It began with the sinking of the USS Maine (1889), USS ''Maine'' in Havana Harbor in Cuba, and resulted in the ...

and became a captain. He later serving as an alderman and mayor of Clinton. He became a member of the

Tennessee Senate The Tennessee Senate is the upper house of the U.S. state of Tennessee , Tennessee's state legislature, which is known formally as the Tennessee General Assembly. The Tennessee Senate has the power to pass resolutions concerning essentially any ...

in 1911, and was an assistant state attorney general of the 2nd Judicial Circuit of Tennessee from 1911 to 1913. He was a Judge of the Criminal and Law Court for the 2nd Judicial Circuit of Tennessee from 1913 to 1918, and was a Judge of the 19th Circuit Court of Tennessee from 1918 to 1923.

Federal judicial service

Hicks was nominated by President

Warren G. Harding Warren Gamaliel Harding (November 2, 1865 – August 2, 1923) was the 29th president of the United States, serving from 1921 until his death in 1923. A member of the Republican Party (United States), Republican Party, he was one of the most ...

on February 28, 1923, to a joint seat on the

and the

vacated by Judge

Edward Terry Sanford Edward Terry Sanford (July 23, 1865 – March 8, 1930) was an American jurist who served as an associate justice of the Supreme Court of the United States from 1923 until his death in 1930. Prior to his nomination to the high court, Sanford ser ...

. He was confirmed by 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 ...

on March 2, 1923, and received his commission the same day. His service terminated on May 23, 1928, due to his elevation to the Sixth Circuit. Upon the termination of his service, the concurrency with the Middle District ended and his successor served only in the Eastern District. Hicks was nominated by President

Calvin Coolidge Calvin Coolidge (born John Calvin Coolidge Jr.; ; July 4, 1872January 5, 1933) was the 30th president of the United States, serving from 1923 to 1929. A Republican Party (United States), Republican lawyer from Massachusetts, he previously ...

on May 19, 1928, to the

, to a new seat authorized by 45 Stat. 492. He was confirmed by the Senate on May 23, 1928, and received his commission the same day. He was a member of the

Conference of Senior Circuit Judges The Judicial Conference of the United States, formerly known as the Conference of Senior Circuit Judges, was created by the United States Congress in 1922 with the principal objective of framing policy guidelines for administration of judicial co ...

(now the

Judicial Conference of the United States The Judicial Conference of the United States, formerly known as the Conference of Senior Circuit Judges, was created by the United States Congress in 1922 with the principal objective of framing policy guidelines for administration of judicial co ...

) from 1938 to 1948, and was a member of the

from 1948 to 1951. He served as Chief Judge from 1948 to 1952. He assumed senior status on March 1, 1952. His service terminated on November 2, 1952, due to his death.

References

Sources

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Hicks, Xenophon 1872 births 1952 deaths Judges of the United States District Court for the Middle District of Tennessee Judges of the United States District Court for the Eastern District of Tennessee United States district court judges appointed by Warren G. Harding Judges of the United States Court of Appeals for the Sixth Circuit United States court of appeals judges appointed by Calvin Coolidge Tennessee Wesleyan University alumni Tennessee state senators United States Army officers People from Clinton, Tennessee American volunteer soldiers of the Spanish–American War 20th-century members of the Tennessee General Assembly