Clifton L. Corker
2019 - Present
5
Clifton L. Corker is a judge on the United States District Court for the Eastern District of Tennessee. He was nominated to the court by President Donald Trump (R) on November 13, 2018, and confirmed by the United States Senate on July 18, 2019, by a vote of 55-39.[1][2] He received commission on July 22, 2019. To see a full list of judges appointed by Donald Trump, click here.[3]
The United States District Court for the Eastern District of Tennessee is one of 94 U.S. district courts. They are the general trial courts of the United States federal courts. To learn more about the court, click here.
Corker was a federal magistrate judge for the United States District Court for the Eastern District of Tennessee. Corker joined the court on April 30, 2015, to a term that would have expired on April 29, 2023.[4] His term ended when he received commission to the court.
Judicial nominations and appointments
Eastern District of Tennessee (2019-present)
- See also: Federal judges nominated by Donald Trump
On October 10, 2018, President Donald Trump (R) announced his intent to nominate Corker to a seat on the United States District Court for the Eastern District of Tennessee.[5] The U.S. Senate received the nomination November 13.[1] The Senate Judiciary Committee held hearings on Corker's nomination November 28.[6] He was confirmed by the United States Senate on July 18, 2019, by a vote of 55-39.[2] To read more about the federal nominations process, click here.
 |
| Nominee Information |
| Name: Clifton L. Corker |
| Court: United States District Court for the Eastern District of Tennessee |
| Progress |
| Confirmed 247 days after nomination. |
 Nominated: November 13, 2018
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| ABA Rating: Unanimously Well Qualified
|
| Questionnaire: Questionnaire |
| Hearing: November 28, 2018
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| QFRs: QFRs (Hover over QFRs to read more) |
| Reported: February 7, 2019
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| Confirmed: July 18, 2019
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Confirmation vote
The U.S. Senate confirmed Corker on July 18, 2019, on a vote of 55-39.[2] To see a full breakdown of the vote on the official U.S. Senate website, click here.
| Corker confirmation vote (July 18, 2019) | |||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Party | Yea | Nay | No vote | ||||||
 Democratic |
3 | 38 | 4 | ||||||
 Republican |
52 | 0 | 1 | ||||||
 Independent |
0 | 1 | 1 | ||||||
| Total | 55 | 39 | 6 | ||||||
Change in Senate rules
Corker was confirmed to a U.S. District Court under a new precedent the Senate established.
On April 3, 2019, the U.S. Senate voted 51-48 in favor of a change to chamber precedent lowering the maximum time allowed for debate on executive nominees to posts below the Cabinet level and on nominees to district court judgeships from 30 hours after invoking cloture to two.[7]
The change was passed under a procedure, often referred to as the nuclear option, that requires 51 votes rather than 60.[8]
It was the third use of the nuclear option in Senate history. In 2013, it was used to eliminate the 60-vote threshold to confirm presidential nominees, except those to the Supreme Court. In 2017, it was used to eliminate the 60-vote threshold required to confirm Supreme Court nominees.[9] For more, see Filibuster and reconciliation in the United States Congress.
Senate Judiciary Committee hearing
The Senate Judiciary Committee held hearings on Corker's nomination on November 28, 2018.[10]
The Senate Judiciary Committee favorably reported Corker's nomination on February 7, 2019.[11] Click here to see how the committee voted. Corker's nomination was one of 44 that Sen. Lindsey Graham (R-S.C.) reported that day.
Nomination
On November 13, 2018, President Donald Trump (R) nominated Corker to a seat on the United States District Court for the Eastern District of Tennessee. He was nominated to succeed Judge Ronnie Greer, who assumed senior status on June 30, 2018.[1]
At the sine die adjournment of the 115th Congress on January 3, 2019, the Senate returned Corker's nomination to President Trump.[12] Corker was one of 51 individuals the president re-nominated on January 23, 2019.[13]
The American Bar Association rated Corker unanimously well qualified for the position.[14]
Eastern District of Tennessee (2015-2019)
Corker was appointed to the United States District Court for the Eastern District of Tennessee as a federal magistrate judge on April 30, 2015. His eight-year term would have expired on April 29, 2023.[4] He left the seat when he was confirmed to the United States District Court for the Eastern District of Tennessee as an Article III federal judge.
Education
Corker earned his B.B.A. from James Madison University and his J.D. from William & Mary's Marshall-Wythe School of Law in 1993.[4][5]
Professional career
- 2019-present: Federal judge, United States District Court for the Eastern District of Tennessee
- 2015-2019: Federal magistrate judge, United States District Court for the Eastern District of Tennessee
- 1996-2015: Attorney in private practice
- 1995-1996: Associate, Terry, Terry & Stapleton
- 1993-1994: Law clerk, Honorable Cynthia Kinser of the United States District Court for the Western District of Virginia[4][5]
About the court
| Eastern District of Tennessee |
|---|
| Sixth Circuit |
|
| Judgeships |
| Posts: 5 |
| Judges: 5 |
| Vacancies: 0 |
| Judges |
| Chief: Travis Randall McDonough |
| Active judges: Charles Atchley Jr., Clifton L. Corker, Katherine Crytzer, Travis Randall McDonough, Thomas Varlan Senior judges: |
The United States District Court for the Eastern District of Tennessee is one of 94 United States district courts. When decisions of the court are appealed, they are appealed to the United States Court of Appeals for the Sixth Circuit based in downtown Cincinnati at the Potter A. Stewart Federal Courthouse and Building.
The Eastern District of Tennessee has original jurisdiction over cases filed within its jurisdiction. These cases can include civil and criminal matters that fall under federal law.
Based in Knoxville, the Eastern District of Tennessee maintains branch facilities in Chattanooga, Greenville, and Winchester.
There are four court divisions, each covering the following counties:
The Northeastern Division, covering Carter, Cocke, Greene, Hamblen, Hancock, Hawkins, Johnson, Sullivan, Unicoi and Washington counties.
The Northern Division, covering Anderson, Blount, Campbell, Claiborne, Grainger, Jefferson, Knox, Loudon, Monroe, Morgan, Roane, Scott, Sevier and Union counties.
The Southern Division, covering Bledsoe, Bradley, Hamilton, McMinn, Marion, Meigs, Polk, Rhea and Sequatchie counties.
The Winchester Division, covering Bedford, Coffee, Franklin, Grundy, Lincoln, Moore, Warren and Van Buren counties.
To read opinions published by this court, click here.
The federal nomination process
Federal judges are nominated by the president of the United States and confirmed by the Senate. There are multiple steps to the process:
- The president nominates an individual for a judicial seat.
- The nominee fills out a questionnaire and is reviewed by the Senate Judiciary Committee.
- The Senate Judiciary Committee holds a hearing with the nominee, questioning them about things like their judicial philosophy, past rulings or opinions, etc.
- As part of this process, the committee sends a blue slip to senators from the home state in which the judicial nomination was received, allowing them to express their approval or disapproval of the nominee.
- After the hearing, the Senate Judiciary Committee will vote to approve or return the nominee.
- If approved, the nominee is voted on by the full Senate.
- If the Committee votes to return the nominee to the president, the president has the opportunity to re-nominate the individual.
- The Senate holds a vote on the candidate.
- If the Senate confirms the nomination, the nominee receives a commission to serve a lifelong position as a federal judge.
- If the Senate does not confirm the nomination, that nominee does not become a judge.
See also
- United States District Court for the Eastern District of Tennessee
- United States Court of Appeals for the 6th Circuit
External links
- United States District Court for the Eastern District of Tennessee
- United States Court of Appeals for the 6th Circuit
- Biography from the Federal Judicial Center
- White House announcement nominating Corker to the Eastern District of Tennessee
Footnotes
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 1.2 Congress.gov, "PN2590 — Clifton L. Corker — The Judiciary," accessed November 28, 2018
- ↑ 2.0 2.1 2.2 Congress.gov, "PN227 — Clifton L. Corker — The Judiciary," accessed July 22, 2019
- ↑ Federal Judicial Center, "Corker, Clifton Leland," accessed July 25, 2019
- ↑ 4.0 4.1 4.2 4.3 Johnson City Press, "Johnson City attorney Corker named to federal post," April 30, 2015
- ↑ 5.0 5.1 5.2 WhiteHouse.gov, "President Donald J. Trump Announces Eighteenth Wave of Judicial Nominees, Eighteenth Wave of United States Attorney Nominees, and Thirteenth Wave of United States Marshal Nominees," October 10, 2018
- ↑ Committee on the Judiciary, "Nominations," November 28, 2018
- ↑ The Hill, "GOP triggers 'nuclear option' to speed up Trump picks," April 3, 2019
- ↑ Axios, "Senate GOP invokes 'nuclear option' to speed up confirmations of Trump nominees," April 3, 2019
- ↑ NBC News, "McConnell to use 'nuclear option' to confirm lower-level nominees," April 2, 2019
- ↑ Committee on the Judiciary, "Nominations," November 28, 2018
- ↑ U.S. Senate Judiciary Committee, "Results of Executive Business Meeting," February 7, 2019
- ↑ Under Senate Rule XXXI, paragraph 6 of the Standing Rules of the Senate, pending nominations are returned to the president if the Senate adjourns sine die or recesses for more than 30 days. Congressional Research Service, "Senate Consideration of Presidential Nominations: Committee and Floor Procedure," April 11, 2017
- ↑ WhiteHouse.gov, "Nominations Sent to the Senate," January 23, 2019
- ↑ American Bar Association, "Ratings of Article III and Article IV judicial nominees, 115th Congress," accessed November 28, 2018
| Political offices | ||
|---|---|---|
| Preceded by - |
United States District Court for the Eastern District of Tennessee 2019-Present |
Succeeded by - |
| Preceded by - |
United States District Court for the Eastern District of Tennessee -2019 |
Succeeded by - |
| |||
|---|---|---|---|
| 2017 |
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| 2018 |
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| 2019 |
Eric Miller • Chad Readler • Eric Murphy • Neomi Rao • Paul Matey • Allison Jones Rushing • Bridget S. Bade • Roy Altman • Patrick Wyrick • Holly Brady • David Morales • Andrew Brasher • J. Campbell Barker • Rodolfo Ruiz • Daniel Domenico • Michael Truncale • Michael Park • Joseph Bianco • Raúl Arias-Marxuach • Daniel Collins • Joshua Wolson • Wendy Vitter • Kenneth Kiyul Lee • Kenneth Bell • Stephen Clark • Howard Nielson • Rodney Smith • Jean-Paul Boulee • Sarah Daggett Morrison • Rossie Alston • Pamela A. Barker • Corey Maze • Greg Guidry • Matthew Kacsmaryk • Allen Winsor • Carl Nichols • James Cain, Jr. • Tom Barber • J. Nicholas Ranjan • Clifton L. Corker • Peter Phipps • Daniel Bress • Damon Leichty • Wendy W. Berger • Peter Welte • Michael Liburdi • William Shaw Stickman • Mark Pittman • Karin J. Immergut • Jason Pulliam • Brantley Starr • Brian Buescher • James Wesley Hendrix • Timothy Reif • Martha Pacold • Sean Jordan • Mary Rowland • John M. Younge • Jeff Brown • Ada Brown • Steven Grimberg • Stephanie A. Gallagher • Steven Seeger • Stephanie Haines • Mary McElroy • David J. Novak • Frank W. Volk • Charles Eskridge • Rachel Kovner • Justin Walker • T. Kent Wetherell • Danielle Hunsaker • Lee Rudofsky • Jennifer Philpott Wilson • William Nardini • Steven Menashi • Robert J. Luck • Eric Komitee • Douglas Cole • John Sinatra • Sarah Pitlyk • Barbara Lagoa • Richard Myers II • Sherri Lydon • Patrick Bumatay • R. Austin Huffaker • Miller Baker • Anuraag Singhal • Karen Marston • Jodi Dishman • Mary Kay Vyskocil • Matthew McFarland • John Gallagher • Bernard Jones • Kea Riggs • Robert J. Colville • Stephanie Dawkins Davis • Gary R. Brown • David Barlow • Lewis Liman | ||
| 2020 |
Lawrence VanDyke • Daniel Traynor • John Kness • Joshua Kindred • Philip Halpern • Silvia Carreno-Coll • Scott Rash • John Heil • Anna Manasco • John L. Badalamenti • Drew Tipton • Andrew Brasher • Cory Wilson • Scott Hardy • David Joseph • Matthew Schelp • John Cronan • Justin Walker • Brett H. Ludwig • Christy Wiegand • Thomas Cullen • Diane Gujarati • Stanley Blumenfeld • Mark Scarsi • John Holcomb • Stephen P. McGlynn • Todd Robinson • Hala Jarbou • David Dugan • Iain D. Johnston • Franklin U. Valderrama • John Hinderaker • Roderick Young • Michael Newman • Aileen Cannon • James Knepp • Kathryn Kimball Mizelle • Benjamin Beaton • Kristi Johnson • Toby Crouse • Philip Calabrese • Taylor McNeel • Thomas Kirsch • Stephen Vaden • Katherine Crytzer • Fernando Aenlle-Rocha • Charles Atchley • Joseph Dawson | ||
Federal courts:
Sixth Circuit Court of Appeals • U.S. District Court: Eastern District of Tennessee, Middle District of Tennessee, Western District of Tennessee • U.S. Bankruptcy Court: Eastern District of Tennessee, Middle District of Tennessee, Western District of Tennessee
State courts:
Tennessee Supreme Court • Tennessee Court of Appeals • Tennessee Court of Criminal Appeals • Tennessee Circuit Court • Tennessee Chancery Courts • Tennessee Criminal Court • Tennessee Probate Court • Tennessee General Sessions Court • Tennessee Juvenile Court • Tennessee Municipal Court
State resources:
Courts in Tennessee • Tennessee judicial elections • Judicial selection in Tennessee
