W. Eugene Davis
| William Eugene Davis | |
|---|---|
| Judge of the United States Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit | |
|
Assumed office November 16, 1983 | |
| Appointed by | Ronald Reagan |
| Preceded by | Robert Ainsworth |
| Judge of the United States District Court for the Western District of Louisiana | |
|
In office September 21, 1976 – November 16, 1983 | |
| Appointed by | Gerald Ford |
| Preceded by | Richard Putnam |
| Succeeded by | John Duhé |
| Personal details | |
| Born |
August 1936 (age 80) Winfield, Alabama, U.S. |
| Political party | Republican |
| Alma mater |
Samford University Tulane University |
William Eugene Davis, known as W. Eugene Davis (born August 1936), is a judge of the United States Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit. His chambers are in Lafayette, Louisiana.
Born in Winfield in Marion County in northwestern Alabama, Davis attended Samford University in Homewood, a suburb of Birmingham, Alabama. After three years at Samford, he received a scholarship to Tulane University Law School in New Orleans. There he received his J.D. in 1960 without having received an undergraduate degree (Samford awarded him a bachelor's degree in 2006). While at Tulane, Davis was a member of the Board of Editors of the Tulane Law Review.
He was in private practice in New Orleans from 1960–64, and then joined a law firm in New Iberia, where his partners were until 1976 Pat Caffery and John Malcolm Duhé, Jr. In his private practice, he frequently represented the oil and gas industries.[1]
On August 5, 1976, Davis was nominated by President Gerald R. Ford, Jr., to a seat on the United States District Court for the Western District of Louisiana vacated by Richard J. Putnam. Davis was confirmed by the United States Senate on September 17, 1976, and received his commission on September 21, 1976.
President Ronald W. Reagan nominated Davis for elevation to the United States Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit on November 1, 1983, to a seat vacated by Robert Andrew Ainsworth, Jr., who died in 1981. Reagan at first considered Ben Toledano, a New Orleans lawyer and former Republican political candidate for the slot but withdrew the nomination after opposition surfaced from the NAACP. Davis was again confirmed by the United States Senate on November 15, 1983, and received his commission the following day.
Davis is one of three judges on a panel that will hear the appeal to Hornbeck Offshore Services LLC v. Salazar, a case challenging the U.S. Department of the Interior six month moratorium on exploratory drilling in deep water that was adopted in the wake of the Deepwater Horizon explosion and the subsequent oil spill. The Fifth Circuit panel denied the government's emergency request to stay the lower court's decision pending appeal.[2]
Davis has announced he will assume senior status on December 31, 2016.[3]
References
- ↑ Sheppard, Kate. Moratorium Case Goes to Another Oily Court, motherjones.com, July 8, 2010.
- ↑ Pelofsky, Jeremy.; Doggett, Tom. Court refuses stay in deepwater drilling case. Reuters Canada. July 8, 2010.
- ↑ http://www.uscourts.gov/judges-judgeships/judicial-vacancies/future-judicial-vacancies
External links
- W. Eugene Davis at the Biographical Directory of Federal Judges, a public domain publication of the Federal Judicial Center.
- Gracella Simmons, "Ten questions with Judge W. Eugene Davis", Baton Rouge Bar Association, Oct. 1, 2006
| Legal offices | ||
|---|---|---|
| Preceded by Richard Putnam |
Judge of the United States District Court for the Western District of Louisiana 1976–1983 |
Succeeded by John Duhé |
| Preceded by Robert Ainsworth |
Judge of the United States Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit 1983–present |
Incumbent |