Sul Ozerden
Judge of the United States District Court for the Southern District of Mississippi
Assumed office
May 1, 2007
Appointed byGeorge W. Bush
Preceded byDavid C. Bramlette
Personal details
Born
Halil Suleyman Ozerden

(1966-12-05) December 5, 1966
Hattiesburg, Mississippi, U.S.
EducationGeorgetown University (BSFS)
Stanford University (JD)

Halil Suleyman "Sul" Ozerden (Turkish: Halil Süleyman Özerden; born December 5, 1966) is a United States district judge of the United States District Court for the Southern District of Mississippi and a former nominee to be a Circuit Judge for the United States Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit.

Early life

Ozerden was born in Hattiesburg, Mississippi to a Turkish family. He obtained a Bachelor of Science in Foreign Service at Georgetown University's Walsh School of Foreign Service. Sul was a four-year Navy ROTC scholarship student, serving as battalion executive officer (1989). Upon receiving his commission as a naval officer, he completed United States Navy Flight School in Pensacola, Florida, from 1989 to 1990, and was designated a naval flight officer.

Ozerden obtained his Juris Doctor in 1998 from Stanford Law School, and served as associate editor for the Stanford Law Review.

Professional career

Ozerden served as a commissioned officer in the United States Navy from 1989 to 1995. His military service included: naval flight officer/bombardier-navigator, A-6E Intruder; over 1,000 flight hours; mission commander qualified; two six-month Western Pacific deployments aboard the USS Kitty Hawk; head of Safety Department; Navy Commendation Medal for missions flown in Operation Restore Hope (Somalia) and Operation Southern Watch (Iraq); and the Navy Achievement Medal. He was honorably discharged with the rank of lieutenant (O-3).

Ozerden began his legal career as a law clerk for United States District Judge Eldon E. Fallon of the Eastern District of Louisiana from 1998 to 1999 and also served as a private practice attorney licensed in Mississippi from 1999 to 2007.

Federal judicial service

On the recommendation of United States Senators Thad Cochran and Trent Lott, President George W. Bush nominated Ozerden to be a United States District Judge for the Southern District of Mississippi on January 8, 2007. He was confirmed by the United States Senate on April 24, 2007 by a 95–0 vote.[1] He received his commission on May 1, 2007.[2]

In 2023, Ozerden sided with a lawsuit filed by an anti-vaccine group to overturn Mississippi's long-standing and strict vaccination requirements. Ozerden forced Mississippi to allow parents to decline vaccinations for their children on religious grounds. At the time, Mississippi law had since 1979 not allowed parents to exempt their children from vaccinations, except for medical reasons. This had resulted in Mississippi having one of the highest vaccination rates in the United States, with 99% of kindergarteners being immunized.[3]

Failed nomination to appellate court

On June 11, 2019, President Trump announced his intent to nominate Ozerden to serve as a United States circuit judge for the United States Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit.[4] On June 24, 2019, his nomination was sent to the Senate. He was nominated to the seat vacated by E. Grady Jolly, who assumed senior status on October 3, 2017.[5] On July 17, 2019, a hearing on his nomination was held before the Senate Judiciary Committee.[6] On September 12, 2019, Senator Ted Cruz announced his opposition to the nomination.[7] The Judiciary Committee was scheduled to vote on recommending Ozerden on September 26, 2019, but the vote was postponed after Senator Josh Hawley joined Ted Cruz in his opposition to Ozerden's elevation to the Circuit Court.[8] On January 3, 2020, his nomination was returned to the President under Rule XXXI, Paragraph 6 of the United States Senate.[9]

Memberships

Ozerden became a member of the Federalist Society in 2019.[10]

See also

References

  1. ↑ "On the Nomination (Confirmation Halil Suleyman Ozerden, of Mississippi, to be U.S. District Judge)". United States Senate. April 24, 2007. Retrieved April 14, 2023.
  2. ↑ "Ozerden, Halil Suleyman - Federal Judicial Center". www.fjc.gov.
  3. ↑ "How a well-timed legal assault unraveled Mississippi's stellar record in vaccinating kids". NBC News. 2023-12-16.
  4. ↑ "President Donald J. Trump Announces Judicial Nominees" White House, June 11, 2019 Public Domain This article incorporates text from this source, which is in the public domain.
  5. ↑ "Thirteen Nominations and One Withdrawal Sent to the Senate", White House, June 24, 2019
  6. ↑ "Nominations", United States Senate Committee on the Judiciary: Nominations for July 17, 2019
  7. ↑ Everett, Burgess; Levine, Marianne; Johnson, Eliana (12 September 2019). "Ted Cruz will oppose Trump's judicial nominee". POLITICO. Retrieved 2019-09-13.
  8. ↑ "Senate Judiciary shelves vote on Trump judicial pick after conservative opposition". Politico. September 26, 2019. Retrieved September 26, 2019.
  9. ↑ "PN896 - Nomination of Halil Suleyman Ozerden for The Judiciary, 116th Congress (2019–2020)". www.congress.gov. 2020-01-03. Retrieved 2020-01-04.
  10. ↑ United States Senate Committee on the Judiciary: Questionnaire for Judicial Nominees: Halil Suleyman Ozerden
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