Priscilla Richman | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Chief Judge of theUnited States Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit | |
| In office October 1, 2019 – October 4, 2024 | |
| Preceded by | Carl E. Stewart |
| Succeeded by | Jennifer Walker Elrod |
| Judge of theUnited States Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit | |
| Assumed office June 3, 2005 | |
| Appointed by | George W. Bush |
| Preceded by | William Garwood |
| Justice of the Texas Supreme Court | |
| In office January 1, 1995 – June 6, 2005 | |
| Preceded by | Lloyd Doggett |
| Succeeded by | Don Willett |
| Personal details | |
| Born | (1954-10-04)October 4, 1954 (age 70) Palacios, Texas, U.S. |
| Political party | Republican |
| Spouse | |
| Education | Baylor University (BA,JD) |
Priscilla Richman (formerlyPriscilla Richman Owen; born October 4, 1954) is an American lawyer and jurist serving as aUnited States circuit judge of theUnited States Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit. She served as Chief Judge of that court from 2019 to 2024.[1] She was previously a justice of theSupreme Court of Texas from 1995 to 2005.
Priscilla Richman was born inPalacios,Texas. Her earliest years were spent on her family's farm inCollegeport. She later grew up and went to school inWaco. She worked part-time during high school and college at her stepfather's insurance company. During summers, she returned to Collegeport, working in rice fields and herding cattle.[2]
Richman started college at theUniversity of Texas at Austin and later transferred toBaylor University to be near her family in Waco. She earned aBachelor of Arts degree,cum laude, from Baylor. She then went toBaylor Law School, where she became editor of theBaylor Law Review and graduatedcum laude in 1977, receiving aJuris Doctor. From among approximately 400 examinees, at age 23, she received the highest score on the December 1977 Texas bar examination.
After graduating from law school, Richman joinedAndrews & Kurth inHouston, specializing in oil and gas litigation. She made partner at the age of 30. In private practice, Richman handled a broad range of civil matters at the trial andappellate levels. She was admitted to practice before various state and federal trial courts and appellate courts. She is a member of theAmerican Law Institute, theAmerican Judicature Society, theAmerican Bar Association, and a Fellow of the American and Houston Bar Foundations.
In 1993, after 17 years at Andrews & Kurth, she was asked to run for theTexas Supreme Court as aRepublican. She won with 53 percent of the vote, promising to restore integrity and dignity to a court tainted by scandal.
Richman had written articles and lobbied theTexas Legislature to eliminate partisan election of judges, arguing that they hinder the ability of courts to provide impartial justice. When she was up for reelection in 2000, Democrats did not put up an opponent against her, and she was returned to office with 84 percent of the vote, defeating aLibertarian opponent with the help of endorsements from newspapers statewide.
Richman served on the board of Texas Hearing and Service Dogs, which rescues dogs from pounds, provides training for them, and then gives the dogs to disabled people who cannot otherwise afford them. In addition, she was a founding member of the St. Barnabas Episcopal Mission inAustin and has taught Sunday school.
In the mid-1990s, Congress reduced funding for theLegal Services Corporation. Richman was part of a committee that successfully encouraged theTexas Legislature to enact legislation that has resulted in millions of dollars per year in additional funds for providers of legal services to the poor.
Richman served as the Texas Supreme Court's representative on the Court-Annexed Mediation Task Force, working to resolve differences between lawyer and non-lawyer mediators, in order to provide an alternative to expensive courtroom trials. She has been a member of the Gender Bias Reform Implementation Committee and statewide committees regarding legal services to the poor andpro bono legal services.
Richman also served on the boards of advisors of the Houston and Austin Chapters of theFederalist Society. Richman was instrumental in organizing a group known as Family Law 2000 that seeks to find ways to educate parents about the effect that divorce can have on their children and to lessen the adversarial nature of legal proceedings when a marriage is dissolved.
Richman was nominated on May 9, 2001, by PresidentGeorge W. Bush to fill a vacancy on the Fifth Circuit created by JudgeWilliam Lockhart Garwood, who assumedsenior status on January 23, 1997. Senate Democrats immediately decided to block her nomination for two reasons. First, the Democrats were angry that two previous nominees who President Clinton had nominated to Garwood's empty seat,Jorge Rangel andEnrique Moreno, were never given hearings by theUnited States Senate during Clinton's second term because the Senate was controlled by Republicans at the time. Second, they considered her to be tooconservative. As a result, theSenate Judiciary Committee, which was controlled by Senate Democrats during the107th Congress, voted 10-9 along party lines against advancing Richman's nomination to a full Senate vote. In 2003, after Republicans had taken the Senate back, Democratsfilibustered her. In 2005, after Republicans picked up four more seats in the Senate during the109th Congress, her nomination was again considered.
Richman had considerable judicial experience as a member of the Texas Supreme Court, and had been rated "Well-Qualified" (highest possible) by theAmerican Bar Association for the Fifth Circuit position.[3] According toABC News reporterJan Crawford Greenburg, Senate Democrats strategically "targeted outspoken conservatives who were potential Supreme Court picks....their successes in filibustering women, Hispanics, and African Americans in 2003 undermined Bush's plans to replace [retiring U.S. Supreme Court Associate Justice Sandra Day O'Connor] with another woman or a minority."[4] Supporters of the Richman nomination asserted that her criticized rulings were often near-unanimous, or simply followed federal precedents. Richman was touted as a judicial conservative who would, in the words of President Bush, "interpret the law, not legislate from the bench."[5]
Opponents, however, criticized her for what they claimed were her conservative positions on contentious social and economic issues, and pro-corporate decisions. Democratic SenatorEdward Kennedy said President Bush's appointee forAttorney General,Alberto Gonzales, during his service with Richman on the Texas Supreme Court had frequently criticized Richman; Kennedy said Gonzales argued one of Richman's positions taken in dissent would "judicially amend" a statute for the benefit of manufacturers selling defective products.[6] Onabortion, Richman was criticized by pro-choice groups for her interpretation of Texas'sparental-notification law, and for joining a majority decision on overrides only once.[7]
In May 2005, a compromise was arranged by a bipartisan group of moderate senators called theGang of 14, which allowed for Richman to finally be given a full Senate vote. On May 24, 2005, cloture was invoked on her nomination by an 81–18 vote.[8] She was finally confirmed by a 55–43 vote[9] on May 25, 2005. Richman was the third judge nominated by Bush to the Fifth Circuit and confirmed by theUnited States Senate. She received her commission on June 3, 2005. She has served as the circuit'sChief Judge from 2019 to 2024.[10][1]
In 2005, Richman was often cited as apotential Bush Supreme Court nominee to replace retired justiceSandra Day O'Connor. On September 17, 2005, Minority LeaderHarry Reid informed Majority LeaderBill Frist that Richman would be filibustered if she were nominated for the Supreme Court, but Frist believed at the time that Richman could still be confirmed in the face of a filibuster.[11]
In June 2015, Richman joined JudgeCarolyn Dineen King in reversing an unconditional writ ofhabeas corpus granted toAlbert Woodfox, one of theAngola Three inmates at theLouisiana State Penitentiary.[12] The ruling, which held that JudgeJames Joseph Brady of theUnited States District Court for the Middle District of Louisiana abused his discretion in issuing the writ, kept 69-year-old Woodfox in solitary confinement at the penitentiary until his release on February 19, 2016. In 2010, Richman joinedEmilio M. Garza andEdith Brown Clement in affirming the dismissal of the complaint inDoe v. Silsbee Independent School District.[13] The plaintiff ("H.S.") was a cheerleader who was ordered by her high school to cheer for her alleged rapist, a basketball player named Rakheem Bolton.[14] H.S. refused and was kicked off the team. She sued, claiming a violation of herFirst Amendment right to free speech. TheEastern District of Texas JudgeThad Heartfield granted the school district's motion to dismiss,[15] and Judges Clement, Garza, and Richman affirmed.[13] H.S. was ordered to pay the school $45,000 in legal fees for filing a "frivolous" lawsuit.[14]
In April 2022, Richman marriedNathan Hecht, chief justice of theTexas Supreme Court. Richman announced she would resume using her maiden name.[16]
{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: bot: original URL status unknown (link).{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: bot: original URL status unknown (link).{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: bot: original URL status unknown (link).| Legal offices | ||
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| Preceded by | Judge of theUnited States Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit 2005–present | Incumbent |
| Preceded by | Chief Judge of theUnited States Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit 2019–2024 | Succeeded by |
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