Patrick Higginbotham

Patrick Higginbotham
Judge of the United States Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit
In office July 30, 1982 – August 28, 2006
Appointed by	Ronald Reagan
Preceded by	Reynaldo Garza
Succeeded by	Jennifer Elrod
Judge of the United States District Court for the Northern District of Texas
In office December 12, 1975 – July 30, 1982
Appointed by	Gerald Ford
Preceded by	Sarah Hughes
Succeeded by	Joe Fish
Personal details
Born	1938 (age 78–79) McCalla, Alabama, U.S.
Education	University of Alabama, Tuscaloosa (BA, LLB)

Patrick Errol Higginbotham (born 1938 in McCalla, Alabama) is a federal judge on the United States Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit. In 2005, he moved his chambers from Dallas, Texas to Austin, Texas.

Higginbotham attended the University of Alabama on a tennis scholarship. He received a B.A. degree in 1960 and an LL.B. degree in 1961. He served in the United States Air Force JAG Corps and practiced law in Dallas before being appointed to the United States District Court for the Northern District of Texas by President Gerald Ford in 1975. When appointed, he was the youngest sitting federal judge. In 1982, President Ronald Reagan appointed him to the Fifth Circuit.

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.

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