Thad Heartfield
Senior Judge of the United States District Court for the Eastern District of Texas
In office
January 1, 2010 – December 27, 2022
Chief Judge of the United States District Court for the Eastern District of Texas
In office
2003–2009
Preceded byJohn H. Hannah, Jr.
Succeeded byDavid Folsom
Judge of the United States District Court for the Eastern District of Texas
In office
March 17, 1995 – January 1, 2010
Appointed byBill Clinton
Preceded byRobert Manley Parker
Succeeded byJ. Rodney Gilstrap
Personal details
Born(1940-09-10)September 10, 1940[1]
Port Arthur, Texas, U.S.
DiedDecember 27, 2022(2022-12-27) (aged 82)
EducationSt. Mary's University (BA, JD)

Thad Heartfield (September 10, 1940 – December 27, 2022) was an American lawyer who served as a United States district judge of the United States District Court for the Eastern District of Texas from 1995 to 2022.

Education and career

Heartfield graduated from St. Mary's University, Texas with a Bachelor of Arts degree in 1962 and received a Juris Doctor from the St. Mary's University School of Law in 1965. He served as an assistant district attorney for Jefferson County, Texas, from 1965 to 1966. He was in private practice in Beaumont, Texas, from 1966 to 1969 and from 1973 to 1995. He was the city attorney for Beaumont from 1969 to 1973. He was the Director of the Lower Neches Valley Authority of Texas from 1983 to 1994.

Federal judicial service

Heartfield was nominated to a seat on the United States District Court for the Eastern District of Texas by President Bill Clinton on January 11, 1995, confirmed by the United States Senate on March 17, 1995, and received his commission on March 17, 1995. He served as chief judge from 2003 through 2009.[2] He assumed senior status on January 1, 2010.

Notable case

In 2009, Heartfield presided over Doe v. Silsbee Independent School District.[3] The plaintiff ("H.S.") was a cheerleader who was ordered by her high school to cheer for a football and basketball player named Rakheem Bolton, who she had accused of raping her[4] and who had pleaded guilty to assaulting her.[5] H.S. refused and was kicked off the team. She sued, claiming a violation of her First Amendment right to free speech. Judge Heartfield granted the school district's motion to dismiss.[6] Judge Heartfield's decision was affirmed by Judges Edith Brown Clement, Emilio M. Garza, and Priscilla Owen of the Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals.[7] H.S. was ordered to pay the school $45,000 in legal fees for filing a "frivolous" lawsuit.[4]

Personal life and death

Heartfield died on December 27, 2022, at the age of 82.[8][9]

References

  1. ↑ Judiciary, United States Congress Senate Committee on the (1996). Confirmation Hearings on Federal Appointments: Hearings Before the Committee on the Judiciary, United States Senate, One Hundred Fourth Congress, First Session, on Confirmation of Appointees to the Federal Judiciary. U.S. Government Printing Office.
  2. ↑ "Heartfield, Thad - Federal Judicial Center".
  3. ↑ "Doe v. Silsbee Independent School District, Petition for Writ of Certiorari to the United States Supreme Court, appendix B" (PDF).
  4. 1 2 "Cheerleader must compensate school that told her to clap 'rapist'". Independent.co.uk. 4 May 2011.
  5. ↑ Former high school football star pleads guilty to assault in cheerleader case
  6. ↑ "2011 02 22 CheerAppeal Petition for Certiorari".
  7. ↑ "Doe v. Silsbee Independent School District, Opinion of the Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals" (PDF).
  8. ↑ "Remembering Federal Senior Judge Thad Heartfield". KBTV. December 28, 2022. Retrieved December 28, 2022.
  9. ↑ Melvin, Brittina (December 28, 2022). "Long-time federal judge Thad Heartfield dies at age 82". 12newsnow.com. Retrieved December 28, 2022.
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