Ted Stewart | |
|---|---|
| Senior Judge of theUnited States District Court for the District of Utah | |
| Assumed office September 1, 2014 | |
| Chief Judge of theUnited States District Court for the District of Utah | |
| In office 2011–2014 | |
| Preceded by | Tena Campbell |
| Succeeded by | David Nuffer |
| Judge of theUnited States District Court for the District of Utah | |
| In office November 11, 1999 – September 1, 2014 | |
| Appointed by | Bill Clinton |
| Preceded by | John Thomas Greene Jr. |
| Succeeded by | Howard C. Nielson Jr. |
| Personal details | |
| Born | Brian Theadore Stewart (1948-08-19)August 19, 1948 (age 76) Logan, Utah, U.S. |
| Relations | Chris Stewart (brother) |
| Education | Utah State University (BS) University of Utah (JD) |
Brian Theadore Stewart (born August 19, 1948)[1] is aseniorUnited States district judge of theUnited States District Court for the District of Utah.
Stewart was born inLogan, Utah. He received aBachelor of Science degree fromUtah State University in 1972 and aJuris Doctor from theS.J. Quinney College of Law at theUniversity of Utah.[2]
From 1974 until 1980, Stewart worked in private legal practice inSalt Lake City. He then served as an assistant to SenatorOrrin Hatch in 1980, and then worked as an administrative assistant to CongressmanJames V. Hansen from 1981 until 1985. From 1985 until 1992, Stewart was a commissioner on thePublic Service Commission of Utah. From 1993 until 1998, Stewart served as the executive director of Utah's Department of Natural Resources.[2] From 1998 until becoming a federal judge in 1999, Stewart served as a chief of staff to then-Utah GovernorMike Leavitt.[2][3]
Stewart was a visiting professor atUtah State University in 1991 and from 1994 to 1998. He was also a visiting professor atWeber State University in 1997.[2]
In mid-1999, President Bill Clinton nominated Stewart to federal district court to fill a seat vacated by JudgeJohn Thomas Greene Jr., who assumedsenior status in November 1997.[2][4] Clinton, a Democrat, nominated Stewart, a Republican, because Stewart was a friend of SenatorOrrin Hatch of Utah, and Hatch at that time was the chairman of theUnited States Senate Committee on the Judiciary.[5] Clinton did so as a courtesy to Hatch, hoping the gesture would encourage Republican senators to act to confirm many of the president's languishing judicial nominees.[5]
However, Hatch demanded that Stewart be confirmed before senators could consider other judicial nominees.[5] That enraged Senate Democrats, who refused to allow for a vote on Stewart. That prompted Republican senators to take the then very rare move of filing forcloture on the nomination of a federal district judge. On September 21, 1999, Democrats unified to successfully filibuster Stewart's nomination, by a 55–44 vote on the Senate floor that may well have been the only successful filibuster ever on a federal district court nominee.[5][6]
Two weeks later, Democratic and Republican senators announced a deal that paved the way for votes on the nominations of Stewart and two other judicial nominees.[7] On October 5, 1999, the Senate confirmed Stewart by a 93–5 vote.[8] Stewart received his judicial commission on November 11, 1999.[2] He served as chief judge from 2011 to 2014. He assumedsenior status on September 1, 2014.[2]
Stewart made the initial ruling in favor of the terms-of sale restrictions on the easement in the LDS plaza by theSalt Lake Temple.[9]
On August 1, 2023, Stewart dismissed a lawsuit brought by theFree Speech Coalition against the state of Utah. The lawsuit claimed that a Utah law requiring anage verification system on websites containing pornography violated theFirst Amendment. The Free Speech Coalition stated that it would appeal Judge Stewart's ruling.[10][11]
Stewart is a member ofThe Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. With his brother,Chris Stewart, he wrote the bookSeven Miracles That Saved America: Why They Matter and Why We Should Have Hope, which was published in 2009, and the bookThe Miracle of Freedom: 7 Tipping Points that Saved the World, which was published in 2011.[12] In 2017, he wrote the bookSupreme Power: 7 Pivotal Supreme Court Decisions That Had a Major Impact on America.
| Legal offices | ||
|---|---|---|
| Preceded by | Judge of theUnited States District Court for the District of Utah 1999–2014 | Succeeded by |
| Preceded by | Chief Judge of theUnited States District Court for the District of Utah 2011–2014 | Succeeded by |
| International | |
|---|---|
| National | |
