Leslie Southwick

Leslie Southwick

Nonpartisan

United States Court of Appeals for the 5th Circuit

Tenure

2007 - Present

Years in position

17

Education

Bachelor's

Rice University, 1972

Law

University of Texas School of Law, 1975

Personal

Birthplace

Edinburg, Texas

Leslie Southwick is a federal judge on the United States Court of Appeals for the 5th Circuit. He joined the court in 2007 after being nominated by President George W. Bush.

Early life and education

Born in Edinburg, Texas, Southwick graduated from Rice University with his bachelor's degree in 1972 and from the University of Texas Law School with his J.D. in 1975.

Military career

Southwick served in both the U.S. Army Reserve (1993-1997) and the Mississippi National Guard (1997-2008). He served as a U.S. Army staff judge advocate in 2005.

Professional career

• 2007 - Present: Judge, United States Court of Appeals for the 5th Circuit
• 1998 - Present: Adjunct Professor, Mississippi College School of Law

2007: Vising professor, Mississippi College School of Law

• 1995-2006: Judge, Mississippi Court of Appeals
• 1989-1993: Deputy assistant attorney general, Civil Division, U.S. Department of Justice
• 1985-1989: Adjunct professor, Mississippi College School of Law
• 1977-1989: Private practice, Jackson, Miss.
• 1976-1977: Law clerk, Hon. Charles Clark, United States Court of Appeals for the 5th Circuit
• 1975-1976: Briefing attorney, Hon. John F. Onion, Jr., Texas Court of Criminal Appeals

Judicial career

Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals

Nomination Tracker
Nominee Information
Name: Leslie Southwick
Court: United States Court of Appeals for the 5th Circuit
Progress
Confirmed 505 days after nomination.
ANominated: June 6, 2006
AABA Rating: Unanimously Well Qualified
Questionnaire:
AHearing: September 19, 2006 May 10, 2007
Hearing Transcript: Hearing Transcript
QFRs: (Hover over QFRs to read more)
AReported: August 3, 2007 September 29, 2006
AConfirmed: October 24, 2007
AVote: 59-38
AReturned: December 9, 2006

Southwick was first nominated to the United States Court of Appeals for the 5th Circuit by President George W. Bush on June 6, 2006, to a seat vacated by Judge William Barbour. The American Bar Association rated Southwick Substantial Majority Well Qualified, Minority Qualified for the nomination. Hearings on Southwick's nomination were held before the United States Senate Committee on the Judiciary on September 19, 2006, and his nomination was reported by U.S. Sen. Arlen Specter (R-Pa.) on September 29, 2006. Under Rule XXXI, paragraph six of the standing rules of the Senate, Southwick's nomination was returned to the president on December 9, 2006. President Bush resubmitted Southwick's nomination to a seat vacated by Judge Charles Pickering on January 9, 2007. The American Bar Association rated Southwick Unanimously Well Qualified for the nomination. Hearings before the Senate Judiciary Committee were held on May 10, 2007, and his nomination was reported by U.S. Sen. Patrick Leahy (D-Vt.) on August 3, 2007. After a cloture motion, Southwick was confirmed on a recorded 59-38 vote of the U.S. Senate on October 24, 2007. He received his commission on October 29, 2007.

Noteworthy cases

Fifth Circuit panel rules class action waivers do not violate labor law

See also: United States Court of Appeals for the 5th Circuit (Murphy Oil USA, Incorporated, v. National Labor Relations Board, No. 14-60800)

On October 26, 2015, a three-judge panel of the Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals declined to enforce the majority of an order of the National Labor Relations Board. In November of 2008, as a condition of employment with Murphy Oil USA, Inc., an employee was required to sign an arbitration agreement with the company. The agreement contained a provision waiving the employee's right to pursue work-related claims through a class or collective action in any forum and, instead, compelled the employee to pursue such claims against the company solely through individual arbitration. The employee later filed a class action lawsuit against the company claiming the waiver violated the National Labor Relations Act (NLRA). In a separate proceeding, the National Labor Relations Board ruled that such waivers violated the NLRA, contradicting the judgment of the Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals.

Writing for the panel in this case, Judge Leslie Southwick held that Murphy Oil's arbitration agreement in place prior to March of 2012 violated the NLRA because the agreement's language could have been reasonably construed by employees to read that the waiver included both a judicial waiver and an administrative waiver, the latter of which would prevent an employee from pursuing an unfair labor charge against the company before the Board. This provision, the court held, violated Section 8(a)(1) of the NLRA. Judge Southwick reaffirmed the Fifth Circuit's judgment, however, that mandatory class or collective action waivers in arbitration agreements did not violate the NLRA.

The U.S. Supreme Court agreed to hear arguments in this case during its October 2017 term.

For more, see Epic Systems Corporation v. Lewis

For more, see Ernst and Young v. Morris

See also

• United States Court of Appeals for the 5th Circuit

External links

• Judge Southwick's biography from the Federal Judicial Center

Footnotes

Political offices
Preceded by -	United States Court of Appeals for the 5th Circuit 2007-Present	Succeeded by -