Thad Heartfield Explained

Thad Heartfield
Office:Senior Judge of the United States District Court for the Eastern District of Texas
Term Start:January 1, 2010
Term End:December 27, 2022
Office1:Chief Judge of the United States District Court for the Eastern District of Texas
Term Start1:2003
Term End1:2009
Predecessor1:John H. Hannah, Jr.
Successor1:David Folsom
Office2:Judge of the United States District Court for the Eastern District of Texas
Term Start2:March 17, 1995
Term End2:January 1, 2010
Appointer2:Bill Clinton
Predecessor2:Robert Manley Parker
Successor2:J. Rodney Gilstrap
Birth Date:10 September 1940[1]
Birth Place:Port Arthur, Texas, U.S.
Education:St. 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]

Notes and References

  1. Book: Judiciary, United States Congress Senate Committee on the . 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 . 1996 . U.S. Government Printing Office . en.
  2. Web site: Heartfield, Thad - Federal Judicial Center.
  3. Web site: Doe v. Silsbee Independent School District, Petition for Writ of Certiorari to the United States Supreme Court, appendix B.
  4. Web site: Cheerleader must compensate school that told her to clap 'rapist'. . 4 May 2011.
  5. http://www.kfdm.com/articles/former-39394-school-high.html Former high school football star pleads guilty to assault in cheerleader case
  6. Web site: 2011 02 22 CheerAppeal Petition for Certiorari.
  7. Web site: Doe v. Silsbee Independent School District, Opinion of the Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals.
  8. Web site: December 28, 2022 . Remembering Federal Senior Judge Thad Heartfield . December 28, 2022 . KBTV . en.
  9. Web site: Melvin . Brittina . December 28, 2022 . Long-time federal judge Thad Heartfield dies at age 82 . December 28, 2022 . 12newsnow.com . en-US.