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Allen Winsor
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2019 - Present
6
Allen Cothrel Winsor is a judge on the United States District Court for the Northern District of Florida. On April 10, 2018, President Donald Trump (R) nominated Winsor to a seat on this court. The U.S. Senate confirmed Winsor on June 19, 2019, on a 54-44 vote.[1][2] He received commission on June 21, 2019.[3] To see a full list of judges appointed by Donald Trump, click here.
The United States District Court for the Northern District of Florida 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.
Winsor was a nonpartisan judge of the Florida 1st District Court of Appeal from 2016 to 2019. He was appointed to the court in February 2016 by Gov. Rick Scott (R).[4]
Judicial nominations, appointments, and elections
U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Florida (2019-present)
- See also: Federal judges nominated by Donald Trump
On April 10, 2018, President Donald Trump (R) nominated Winsor to a seat on this court. The U.S. Senate confirmed Winsor on June 19, 2019, on a 54-44 vote.[1][2] To read more about the federal nominations process, click here.
 |
| Nominee Information |
| Name: Allen Winsor |
| Court: United States District Court for the Northern District of Florida |
| Progress |
| Confirmed 435 days after nomination. |
 Nominated: April 10, 2018
|
| ABA Rating: Substantial majority well qualified / Minority qualified
|
| Questionnaire: Questionnaire |
| Hearing: May 23, 2018
|
| QFRs: QFRs (Hover over QFRs to read more) |
| Reported: June 14, 2018 (first)/February 7, 2019 (second)
|
| Confirmed: June 19, 2019
|
| Vote: 54-44
|
Confirmation vote
The U.S. Senate confirmed Winsor on June 19, 2019, on a vote of 54-44.[2] Sen. Joe Manchin of West Virginia was the only Democrat to vote in favor of Winsor's confirmation. To see a full breakdown of the vote on the official U.S. Senate website, click here.
| Winsor confirmation vote (June 19, 2019) | |||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Party | Yea | Nay | No vote | ||||||
 Democratic |
1 | 42 | 2 | ||||||
 Republican |
53 | 0 | 0 | ||||||
 Independent |
0 | 2 | 0 | ||||||
| Total | 54 | 44 | 2 | ||||||
Change in Senate rules
Winsor 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.[5]
The change was passed under a procedure, often referred to as the nuclear option, that requires 51 votes rather than 60.[6]
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.[7] For more, see Filibuster and reconciliation in the United States Congress.
Senate Judiciary Committee hearing
The Senate Judiciary Committee held hearings on Winsor's nomination on May 23, 2018. The nomination was reported out of committee by an 11-10 vote on June 14, 2018.[8]
The Senate Judiciary Committee favorably reported Winsor's nomination on February 7, 2019.[9] Click here to see how the committee voted. Winsor's nomination was one of 44 that Sen. Lindsey Graham (R-S.C.) reported that day.
Nomination
On April 10, 2018, President Donald Trump (R) nominated Winsor to a seat on the United States District Court for the Northern District of Florida. Winsor was nominated to succeed Judge Robert Hinkle, who assumed senior status on November 7, 2016.[1]
At the sine die adjournment of the 115th Congress on January 3, 2019, the Senate returned Winsor's nomination to President Trump.[10] Winsor was one of 51 individuals the president re-nominated on January 23, 2019.[11]
The American Bar Association rated Winsor well qualified by a substantial majority and qualified by a minority for the position.[12] To read more about ABA ratings, click here.
Florida 1st District Court of Appeal (2016-2019)
- See also: Judges appointed by Rick Scott
Winsor was a nonpartisan judge of the Florida 1st District Court of Appeal from 2016 to 2019. He was appointed to the court in February 2016 by Gov. Rick Scott (R).[4] Winsor was retained in the general election on November 6, 2018.
2018 election
Florida 1st District Court of Appeal
Allen Winsor was retained to the Florida 1st District Court of Appeal on November 6, 2018 with 64.9% of the vote.
Retention Vote |
% |
Votes |
|||
| ✔ | Yes |
64.9
|
761,518 | ||
No |
35.1
|
412,328 | |||
Total Votes |
1,173,846 | ||||
|
|
Early life and education
Winsor was born in Orlando, Florida, in 1976. He received a B.S. and a B.A. from Auburn University in 1997. He obtained his J.D. from the University of Florida College of Law in 2002.[13]
Professional career
- 2019-present: Judge, U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Florida
- 2016-2019: Judge, Florida First District Court of Appeal
- 2013-2016: Florida Office of the Attorney General Pam Bondi (R)
- 2013-2016: Solicitor General
- 2015: Argued before the United States Supreme Court[14]
- 2013: Chief deputy solicitor general
- 2013-2016: Solicitor General
- 2005-2013: Gray Robinson PA in Tallahassee, Florida
- 2008-2013: Shareholder
- 2005-2008: Associate
- 2003-2005: Associate, King & Spalding LLP in Atlanta, Georgia
- 2002-2003: Law clerk to Judge Ed Carnes, U.S. Court of Appeals for the 11th Circuit[13]
About the court
| Northern District of Florida |
|---|
| Eleventh Circuit |
|
| Judgeships |
| Posts: 4 |
| Judges: 4 |
| Vacancies: 0 |
| Judges |
| Chief: Mark E. Walker |
| Active judges: Margaret Rodgers, Mark E. Walker, T. Kent Wetherell, Allen Winsor Senior judges: |
The United States District Court for the Northern District of Florida is one of 94 United States district courts. The district operates out of courthouses in Gainesville, Panama City, Pensacola, and Tallahassee. When decisions of the court are appealed, they are appealed to the United States Court of Appeals for the Eleventh Circuit based in downtown Atlanta at the Elbert P. Tuttle Federal Courthouse.
The Northern District of Florida has original jurisdiction over cases filed within its jurisdiction. These cases can include civil and criminal matters that fall under federal law.
The four courthouses in which it hears cases are Gainesville, Panama City, Pensacola and Tallahassee.
There are four court divisions, each covering the following counties:
The Gainesville Division, covering Alachua, Dixie, Gilchrist, Lafayette, and Levy counties.
The Panama City Division, covering Bay, Calhoun, Gulf, Holmes, Jackson, and Washington counties.
The Pensacola Division, covering Escambia, Okaloosa, Santa Rosa, and Walton counties.
The Tallahassee Division, covering Franklin, Gadsden, Jefferson, Leon, Liberty, Madison, Taylor, and Wakulla counties.
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 Northern District of Florida
- United States Court of Appeals for the 11th Circuit
External links
- Search Google News for this topic
- Biography from the Federal Judicial Center
- United States District Court for the Northern District of Florida
- United States Court of Appeals for the 11th Circuit
- Florida 1st District Court of Appeal
Footnotes
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 1.2 Congress.gov, "PN1811 — Allen Cothrel Winsor — The Judiciary," accessed June 20, 2019
- ↑ 2.0 2.1 2.2 Congress.gov, "PN256 — Allen Cothrel Winsor — The Judiciary," accessed June 20, 2019
- ↑ Federal Judicial Center, "Winsor, Allen Cothrel," accessed June 24, 2019
- ↑ 4.0 4.1 Florida Politics, "Rick Scott names 9 new judges, including Allen Winsor," February 5, 2016
- ↑ 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
- ↑ Senate Judiciary Committee, "Results of the Executive Business Meeting," June 14, 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," accessed January 24, 2019
- ↑ 13.0 13.1 Senate Judiciary Committee, "Questionnaire for judicial nominees: Allen Cothrel Winsor," accessed June 20, 2019
- ↑ C-Span, "Hurst v. Florida Oral Argument," October 13, 2015
| Political offices | ||
|---|---|---|
| Preceded by - |
United States District Court for the Northern District of Florida 2019-Present |
Succeeded by - |
| Preceded by - |
Florida 1st District Court of Appeal 2016-2019 |
Succeeded by - |
| |||
|---|---|---|---|
| 2017 |
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| 2025 |
Whitney Hermandorfer • Joshua Divine • Cristian M. Stevens • Zachary Bluestone • Emil Bove • Edward Artau • Kyle Dudek | ||
Federal courts:
Eleventh Circuit Court of Appeals • U.S. District Court: Middle District of Florida, Northern District of Florida, Southern District of Florida • U.S. Bankruptcy Court: Middle District of Florida, Northern District of Florida, Southern District of Florida
State courts:
Florida Supreme Court • Florida District Courts of Appeal • Florida Circuit Court • Florida County Court
State resources:
Courts in Florida • Florida judicial elections • Judicial selection in Florida
