Tommy Parker (judge)
{{Other people|Tommy Parker}}
{{Short description|American judge (born 1963)}}
{{Use mdy dates|date=December 2017}}
{{Infobox officeholder
|name = Tommy Parker
|image = Thomas Lee R. Parker (cropped).jpg
|office = Judge of the United States District Court for the Western District of Tennessee
|appointer = Donald Trump
|term_start = January 30, 2018
|term_end =
|predecessor = Samuel H. Mays Jr.
|successor =
|birth_name = {{nowrap|Thomas Lee Robinson Parker}}
|birth_date = {{birth year and age|1963}}
|birth_place = Memphis, Tennessee, U.S.
|death_date =
|death_place =
|education = University of South Carolina (BS)
Vanderbilt University (JD)
}}
Thomas Lee Robinson "Tommy" Parker (born 1963) is a United States district judge of the United States District Court for the Western District of Tennessee.
Education and career
Parker received a Bachelor of Science degree in 1985 from the University of South Carolina. He received a Juris Doctor in 1989 from Vanderbilt University School of Law.{{cite web|url=https://www.martindale.com/memphis/tennessee/thomas-lee-parker-1610131-a/|title=Thomas Lee Parker Lawyer Profile on Martindale.com|website=www.martindale.com}} Parker began his legal career as an associate at Waring Cox Lawyers in Memphis, Tennessee. He then served as an assistant United States attorney in the Western District of Tennessee for nine years. Before becoming a federal judge, he was a shareholder in the Memphis office of Baker, Donelson, Bearman, Caldwell & Berkowitz, P.C., where he represented clients in civil litigation and criminal matters. Additionally, he previously served as president of the Memphis Bar Association and is a fellow in the American College of Trial Lawyers.{{cite web|url=https://trumpwhitehouse.archives.gov/the-press-office/2017/07/13/president-donald-j-trump-announces-fifth-wave-judicial-candidates|work=whitehouse.gov|title=President Donald J. Trump Announces Fifth Wave of Judicial Candidates|via=National Archives|date=July 13, 2017}}
=Federal judicial service=
On July 13, 2017, President Donald Trump nominated Parker to serve as a United States district judge of the United States District Court for the Western District of Tennessee, to the seat vacated by Judge Samuel H. Mays Jr., who assumed senior status on July 1, 2015.{{cite web|url=https://www.whitehouse.gov/the-press-office/2017/07/13/ten-nominations-sent-senate-today|title=Ten Nominations Sent to the Senate Today|date=July 13, 2017|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170714065923/https://www.whitehouse.gov/the-press-office/2017/07/13/ten-nominations-sent-senate-today|archive-date=July 14, 2017|df=mdy-all}} A hearing on his nomination before the Senate Judiciary Committee was held on September 6, 2017.[https://www.judiciary.senate.gov/meetings/08/08/2017/nominations United States Senate Committee on the Judiciary: Nominations for September 6, 2017] On October 5, 2017, his nomination was reported out of committee by a voice vote.{{cite web|url=https://www.judiciary.senate.gov/imo/media/doc/10-05-17%20Results%20of%20Executive%20Business%20Meeting.pdf|title=Results of Executive Business Meeting – October 5, 2017|publisher=United States Senate Committee on the Judiciary|accessdate=April 25, 2023}} On January 9, 2018, the United States Senate invoked cloture on his nomination by a 96–1 vote.{{Cite web|url=https://www.senate.gov/legislative/LIS/roll_call_votes/vote1152/vote_115_2_00004.htm|title=On the Cloture Motion (Motion to Invoke Cloture: Thomas Lee Robinson Parker to be U.S. District Judge for the Western District of Tennessee)|date=January 9, 2018|website=United States Senate|access-date=November 19, 2022}} On January 10, 2018, his nomination was confirmed by a 98–0 vote.{{Cite web|url=https://www.senate.gov/legislative/LIS/roll_call_votes/vote1152/vote_115_2_00005.htm|title=On the Nomination (Confirmation Thomas Lee Robinson Parker, of Tennessee, to be U.S. District Judge for the Western District of Tennessee)|date=January 10, 2018|website=United States Senate|access-date=January 10, 2018}}{{cite news|last1=Collins|first1=Michael|title=Senate confirms Thomas Parker as federal judge for Tennessee's Western District|url=https://www.commercialappeal.com/story/news/politics/2018/01/10/senate-confirms-thomas-parker-federal-judge-tennessees-western-district/1020604001/|access-date=8 March 2018|agency=USA Today|publisher=Commercial Appeal|date=January 10, 2018}} He received his commission on January 30, 2018.{{FJC Bio|nid=4028131|inline=yes}} He was sworn into office on February 2, 2018.
= Notable ruling =
On June 2, 2023, Parker ruled Tennessee's drag ban unconstitutional.{{Cite web |last=Gardner |first=Timothy |date=June 5, 2023 |title=Federal judge rejects Tennessee drag show ban as unconstitutional |url=https://www.reuters.com/legal/federal-judge-rejects-tennessee-drag-show-ban-unconstitutional-2023-06-03/ |access-date=June 20, 2023 |website=Reuters |language=en}}
References
{{reflist}}
External links
- {{FJC Bio|nid=4028131}}
- {{Ballotpedia|Thomas_Parker_(Tennessee)|Thomas Lee Robinson Parker}}
{{s-start}}
{{s-legal}}
{{s-bef|before=Samuel H. Mays Jr.}}
{{s-ttl|title={{nowrap|Judge of the United States District Court for the Western District of Tennessee}}|years=2018–present}}
{{s-inc}}
{{s-end}}
{{United States 6th Circuit district judges}}
{{Authority control}}
{{DEFAULTSORT:Parker, Tommy}}
Category:20th-century American lawyers
Category:21st-century American lawyers
Category:Assistant United States attorneys
Category:Judges of the United States District Court for the Western District of Tennessee
Category:Lawyers from Memphis, Tennessee
Category:United States district court judges appointed by Donald Trump
Category:University of South Carolina alumni
Category:Vanderbilt University Law School alumni
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