Know a Nominee: Judge Cory Wilson to the Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals

UPDATE - 6/24/20: The Senate confirmed Judge Cory Wilson to the Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals on a 52-48 vote Wednesday. The vote went mostly along party-lines, with Republicans in favor except for Sen. Susan Collins (R-ME), who joined Democrats in voting against Wilson's confirmation.

With Wilson's confirmation, President Donald Trump has appointed 200 judges who have been confirmed to federal courts. That includes two Supreme Court justices, 53 circuit court judges, 143 district court judges, and two U.S. Court of International Trade judges. Additionally, Wilson fills the final circuit court vacancy at present.

UPDATE - 6/23/20: Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-KY) announced that the Senate is going to vote on Judge Cory Wilson's nomination to the Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals on Wednesday.

UPDATE - 6/22/20: The Senate voted 51-43 to limit further debate on the nomination of Judge Cory Wilson to the Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals. The vote was mostly along party-lines, all Democrats and Sen. Susan Collins (R-ME) voted no. A confirmation vote will occur Tuesday or Wednesday, but hasn't been scheduled yet.

Countable's original article appears below.

The Senate is expected to vote on the nomination of Judge Cory Wilson to the Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals. Here’s what you need to know about the nominee: 

Who is Judge Cory Wilson?

• Wilson, 49, is currently a Judge for the Mississippi Court of Appeals and has served in that role since February 2019. He previously served as a Republican member of the Mississippi House of Representatives from 2016 to 2019.
• Prior to his nomination to the Fifth Circuit, he was tapped to serve as a U.S. District Judge for the Southern District of Mississippi, but his nomination was withdrawn so that he could be nominated to the Fifth Circuit. 
• Wilson earned his undergraduate degree with honors, summa cum laude, from the University of Mississippi, and his law degree from Yale Law School where he served on the law review.
• After graduation, he served as a law clerk to Judge Emmett Ripley Cox on the Eleventh Circuit Court of Appeals, as a fellow in the Dept. of Defense as a Special Assistant to Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld. Before his election to the Mississippi legislature, Wilson worked in the state treasurer’s office & the secretary of state’s office.

What’s the outlook for his nomination?

• The Senate Judiciary Committee advanced Wilson’s circuit court nomination on a party-line 12-10 vote on June 11th, with all Republicans in favor and all Democrats opposed. 
• Democrats took issue with social media posts Wilson made that criticized Democratic politicians such as Hillary Clinton, Barack Obama, and Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-NY). Wilson said that if confirmed, he would delete his account because his role as a federal judge is different than his role when he was a Mississippi politician.
• The American Bar Association’s judicial nomination rating panel gave Wilson’s circuit court nomination a rating of “well qualified” from a majority of the panel, and “qualified” from a minority of the panel, while one panel member abstained. It had previously given Wilson’s district court nomination a unanimous rating of “qualified”.

What does it mean for the Fifth Circuit?

• Wilson’s confirmation would fill a position on the Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals that became vacant on October 3, 2017, when Judge E. Grady Jolly (a Ronald Reagan appointee) took senior status. Jolly’s duty station was in Jackson, Mississippi.
• The Fifth Circuit has 17 active judgeships. Of the judges on the bench, two were appointed by Ronald Reagan, two by Bill Clinton, four by George W. Bush, three by Barack Obama, and five by Donald Trump. Wilson’s confirmation would fill the lone vacancy.

— Eric Revell

(Photo Credit: iStock / imaginima)