John Nixon
John Trice Nixon was a federal judge on the United States District Court for the Middle District of Tennessee. He joined the court in 1980 after being nominated by President Jimmy Carter (D). He served on senior status from 1998 to 2019. He died on December 19, 2019.
Nixon served as the court's chief judge from 1991 to 1998.
Early life and education
Born in New Orleans, Louisiana, Nixon graduated from Harvard University with his bachelor's degree in 1955 and from Vanderbilt University Law School with his LL.B. in 1960.[1]
Professional career
- 1980-2019: United States District Court for the Middle District of Tennessee
- 1998-2019: Senior judge
- 1991-1998: Chief judge
- 1980-1998: Judge
- 1978-1980: Judge, Tennessee General Sessions Court
- 1977-1978: Judge, Tennessee Circuit Court
- 1976-1977: Private practice, Nashville, Tenn.
- 1971-1976: Staff attorney, Tennessee State Comptroller
- 1969-1971: Private practice
- 1964-1969: Trial attorney, U.S. Department of Justice
- 1962-1964: City attorney, Anniston, Ala.
- 1960-1962: Private practice, Anniston, Ala.[1]
Judicial career
Middle District of Tennessee
Nixon was nominated to the United States District Court for the Middle District of Tennessee by President Jimmy Carter (D) on February 27, 1980, to a new judgeship created by 92 Stat. 1629. Nixon was confirmed by the U.S. Senate on May 9, 1980, and he received his commission on May 12, 1980. Nixon served as the chief judge of the court from 1991 to 1998. He elected to take senior status beginning on August 15, 1998. His service ended on December 19, 2019, when he died.[1] Nixon was succeeded in this position by Aleta Trauger.
Noteworthy cases
Whirlpool Co. found liable in racial/sexual harassment suit (2009)
Judge Nixon ruled on December 22, 2009, that Whirlpool, Inc. was liable for the sexual and racial harassment of a black former employee who had worked at a Tennessee plant for sixteen years.
Nixon awarded the former employee over $1 million in damages after there was evidence that a specific employee had sexually and racially harassed her for a three-month period and that she suffered clinical post-traumatic stress disorder because of it.
The judge found that Whirlpool knew about the harassment and failed to take corrective action to prevent it, thereby forcing the plaintiff to work in a hostile environment.[2]
See also
- United States District Court for the Middle District of Tennessee
- United States Court of Appeals for the 6th Circuit
External links
Footnotes
| Political offices | ||
|---|---|---|
| Preceded by: NA-New Seat 92 Stat. 1629 |
Middle District of Tennessee 1980–1998 Seat #3 |
Succeeded by: Aleta Trauger
|
| |||
|---|---|---|---|
| 1977 |
Ballantine • Bownes • Boyle • Bua • Carr • Clark • Cowan • Daly • Filippine • Higginbotham • Hoeveler • Hug • Johnstone • Kane • Keith • Leval • Logan • MacLaughlin • McKay • Melton • Merritt • Murphy • Nickerson • Oberdorfer • Roszkowski • Roy • Rubin • Sifton • Tang • Vance • Veron | ||
| 1978 |
Arnold • Baker • Boyle • Burns • Campos • Claiborne • Collins • Cook • Devine • Diamond • Duplantier • Edenfield • Friedman • Gonzalez • Greene • Jenkins • Lowe • Mazzone • McMillian • O'Brien • Pfaelzer • Phillips • Pollak • Sand • Shapiro • Simmons • Smith • Sweet • Tanner • Wiseman • Ziegler | ||
| 1979 |
Ackerman • Alarcon • Anderson • Arceneaux • Arnold • Aspen • Beatty • Beer • Belew • Bertelsman • Bilby • N. Black • S. Black • Bloch • Bowen • Brett • Brooks • Brown • Buchmeyer • Bunton • Burciaga • Cabranes • Carr • Carrigan • Castagna • Cire • Clark • Cohn • Conaboy • Cordova • Crabb • Cudahy • Davis • DeAnda • Debevoise • Edwards • Eginton • Ellison • Enslen • O. Evans • T. Evans • Farris • Ferguson • Fletcher • Frye • Garcia • Garza • B. Gibson • H. Gibson • Gierbolini-Ortiz • Giles • Gilliam • Green • Hall • Hastings • Hatchett • Hatfield • Hatter • Hawkins • Henderson • Higby • Hillman • Houck • Howard • Hudspeth • Hungate • F. Johnson • S. Johnson • N. Jones • S. Jones • Karlton • Kazen • Kearse • Keeton • Kehoe • Kennedy • Kidd • King • Kravitch • Loughlin • Martin • McCurn • McDonald • McNaught • McNichols • Mikva • Mitchell • Moran • Murnaghan • Murphy • D. Nelson • D.W. Nelson • Newblatt • Newman • Overton • Paine • Panner • J. Parker • R. Parker • Penn • Perez-Gimenez • Perry • Politz • Poole • Porter • Pregerson • Price • Rambo • Ramirez • Reavley • Redden • E. Reed • S. Reed • Reinhardt • Renner • Robinson • Rothstein • Sachs • Saffels • Sanders • Sarokin • Schroeder • Schwartz • Seay • Senter • Seymour • Shannon • Shaw • Shoob • Skopil • Sloviter • Sofaer • Spellman • Sprouse • Staker • Tate • Taylor • Thompson • Tidwell • Unthank • Vietor • Vining • Wald • Ward • Weinshienk • West • Wicker • Williams • Winder • Woods • Wright • Zobel | ||
| 1980 |
Aguilar • Aldrich • Anderson • Boochever • Breyer • Britt • Cahill • Canby • Carroll • Cerezo • Clemon • S. Ervin • R. Erwin • Getzendanner • Gilmore • Ginsburg • Haltom • Hardy • Henderson • Hobbs • Holschuh • Horton • Howard • Johnson • Keep • Kelly • Kenyon • Kocoras • Marquez • Marshall • Michael • Nixon • Norris • Patel • Polozola • Propst • Quackenbush • Ramsey • Rice • Shadur • Spiegel • Tashima • Thompson • Vela • White • Williams | ||
| 1981 | |||
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
