Kristi Johnson
2020 - Present
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Kristi Haskins Johnson is a judge on the United States District Court for the Southern District of Mississippi. She was nominated by President Donald Trump (R) on May 4, 2020, and confirmed by a 53-43 vote of the U.S. Senate on November 17, 2020. She received her judicial commission on December 1, 2020. To see a full list of judges appointed by Donald Trump, click here.
The U.S. District Court for the Southern District of Mississippi 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.
Johnson was the solicitor general of Mississippi in 2020.[1]
Judicial nominations and appointments
U.S. District Court for the Southern District of Mississippi
- See also: Federal judges nominated by Donald Trump
On May 4, 2020, President Donald Trump (R) nominated Johnson to a seat on the United States District Court for the Southern District of Mississippi. She was confirmed by a 53-43 vote of the U.S. Senate on November 17, 2020. She received commission on December 1, 2020.[2] To read more about the federal nominations process, click here.
Nominee Information |
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Name: Kristi Haskins Johnson |
Court: United States District Court for the Southern District of Mississippi |
Progress |
Confirmed 197 days after nomination. |
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Questionnaire: Questionnaire |
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QFRs: QFRs (Hover over QFRs to read more) |
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Confirmation vote
The U.S. Senate confirmed Johnson by a 53-43 vote on November 17, 2020.[2] To see a full breakdown of the vote on the official U.S. Senate website, click here.
Johnson confirmation vote (November 17, 2020) | |||||||||
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Party | Yea | Nay | No vote | ||||||
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3 | 41 | 1 | ||||||
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50 | 0 | 3 | ||||||
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0 | 2 | 0 | ||||||
Total | 53 | 43 | 4 |
Change in Senate rules
Johnson 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.[3]
The change was passed under a procedure, often referred to as the nuclear option, that requires 51 votes rather than 60.[4]
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.[5] For more, see Filibuster and reconciliation in the United States Congress.
Senate Judiciary Committee hearing
Johnson had her hearing before the Senate Judiciary Committee on September 9, 2020.[6] Johnson's nomination was reported to the full Senate on October 22, 2020, after a 12-0 committee vote. No Democratic committee members were present to advance her nomination.[7]
Nomination
On March 30, 2020, President Donald Trump (R) announced his intent to nominate Johnson to a seat on the United States District Court for the Southern District of Mississippi.[8] The president officially submitted her nomination on May 4.[2]
Johnson was nominated to replace Judge Keith Starrett, who assumed senior status on April 30, 2019.[2]
Mississippi Sens. Roger Wicker (R) and Cindy Hyde-Smith (R) supported Johnson's nomination. Both senators emphasized that Johnson would be the first woman to serve as a federal judge for the Southern District of Mississippi.
- Said Hyde-Smith: "Kristi Johnson’s legal and academic career indicate she will make an excellent U.S. District Court Judge. It was a pleasure to recommend a well-qualified Mississippian to be the first woman judge to serve in the Southern District."
- Said Wicker: "Johnson is a well-respected litigator who has the qualifications, intellect, and experience necessary to serve with distinction. And, if confirmed, she would bring an important perspective to the bench as the first woman to serve as a federal judge for the Southern District."[9]
The American Bar Association unanimously rated Johnson qualified for the position.[10] To read more about ABA ratings, click here.
Early life and education
Johnson was born in Oxford, Mississippi, in 1980. She obtained a B.A. from the University of Mississippi in 2003. She earned her J.D., summa cum laude, from the Mississippi College School of Law in 2008. During her legal studies, she served as an editor for the Mississippi College Law Review.[8][11]
Professional career
- 2020-present: Judge, United States District Court for the Southern District of Mississippi
- 2020: Solicitor general, State of Mississippi
- 2014-2020: Assistant U.S. attorney, United States Attorney's Office, Southern District of Mississippi
- 2011-2014: Attorney, Ogletree, Deakins, Nash, Smoak & Stewart, P.C.
- 2010-2011: Law clerk to Judge Leslie Southwick, United States Court of Appeals for the 5th Circuit
- 2008-2010: Law clerk to Judge Sharion Aycock, United States District Court for the Northern District of Mississippi[12]
Awards and associations
Awards
- 2019:
- Mississippi Distinguished Civilian Award
- United States Attorney Daniel E. Lynn Award for Superior Litigation Service in Civil Litigation
- 2018: Letter of appreciation, U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs
- 2017: Letter of commendation, National Science Foundation Office of Inspector General[11]
Associations
- 2018-present: Member, The Federalist Society
- 2017-2019: Bencher, Charles L. Clark Chapter of the American Inns of Court
- 2011-2012: Editorial board, Mississippi Defense Lawyer's Association
- 2010-2014: Member, Jackson Young Lawyer's Association
- 2008: Member, Mississippi Bar Association
- Federal Bar Association
- 2020: Vice-president
- 2019: Treasurer
- 2018: Secretary[11]
About the court
Southern District of Mississippi |
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Fifth Circuit |
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Judgeships |
Posts: 6 |
Judges: 6 |
Vacancies: 0 |
Judges |
Chief: Daniel Jordan |
Active judges: Kristi Haskins Johnson, Daniel Jordan, Taylor McNeel, Halil Ozerden, Carlton W. Reeves, Henry Wingate Senior judges: |
The United States District Court for the Southern District of Mississippi 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 Fifth Circuit based in downtown New Orleans at the John Minor Wisdom Federal Courthouse.
The Southern District of Mississippi has six authorized judicial posts. The chief judge of the court is Daniel Jordan, who was appointed by George W. Bush (R). Two judges on the court were appointed by Donald Trump (R).
The Southern District of Mississippi has original jurisdiction over cases filed within its jurisdiction. These cases can include civil and criminal matters that fall under federal law.
The geographic jurisdiction of the Southern District of Mississippi consists of all the following counties in the southern part of the state of Mississippi.
- Adams County
- Amite County
- Claiborne County
- Clarke County
- Copiah County
- Covington County
- Forrest County
- Franklin County
- George County
- Greene County
- Hancock County
- Harrison County
- Hinds County
- Holmes County
- Issaquena County
- Jackson County
- Jasper County
- Jefferson County
- Jefferson Davis County
- Jones County
- Kemper County
- Lamar County
- Lauderdale County
- Lawrence
- Leake County
- Lincoln County
- Madison County
- Marion County
- Neshoba County
- Newton County
- Noxubee County
- Pearl River County
- Perry County
- Pike County
- Rankin County
- Scott County
- Sharkey County
- Simpson County
- Smith County
- Stone County
- Walthall County
- Warren County
- Wayne County
- Wilkinson County
- Yazoo County
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 Southern District of Mississippi
- United States Court of Appeals for the 5th Circuit
External links
- Search Google News for this topic
- Biography from the Federal Judicial Center
- LinkedIn profile
- U.S. District Court for the Southern District of Mississippi
- U.S. Court of Appeals for the 5th Circuit
Footnotes
- ↑ Mage News, "AG Fitch Appoints MS’s First Solicitor General," February 25, 2020
- ↑ 2.0 2.1 2.2 2.3 Congress.gov, "PN1742 — Kristi Haskins Johnson — The Judiciary," accessed May 5, 2020
- ↑ 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, "Nominations," September 9, 2020
- ↑ Senate Judiciary Committee, "Results of Executive Business Meeting," October 22, 2020
- ↑ 8.0 8.1 WhiteHouse.gov, "President Donald J. Trump Announces Judicial Nominees," March 30, 2020
- ↑ Y'all Politics, "Wicker, Hyde-Smith Applaud Mississippi Judicial Nominations," March 30, 2020
- ↑ American Bar Association, "Standing Committee on the Federal Judiciary: Ratings of Article III and Article IV judicial nominees: 116th Congress," accessed September 2, 2020
- ↑ 11.0 11.1 11.2 Senate Judiciary Committee, "Questionnaire for judicial nominees," accessed September 9, 2020
- ↑ LinkedIn, "Kristi Johnson," accessed March 31, 2020
Political offices | ||
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Preceded by - |
United States District Court for the Southern District of Mississippi 2020-Present |
Succeeded by - |
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2017 |
Thomas Parker • Elizabeth Branch • Neil Gorsuch • Amul Thapar • David C. Nye • John K. Bush • Kevin Newsom • Timothy J. Kelly • Ralph Erickson • Scott Palk • Trevor McFadden • Joan Larsen • Amy Coney Barrett • Allison Eid • Stephanos Bibas • Donald Coggins Jr. • Dabney Friedrich • Greg Katsas • Steven Grasz • Don Willett • James Ho • William L. Campbell Jr. • David Stras • Tilman E. Self III • Karen Gren Scholer • Terry A. Doughty • Claria Horn Boom • John Broomes • Rebecca Grady Jennings • Kyle Duncan • Kurt Engelhardt • Michael B. Brennan • Joel Carson • Robert Wier • Fernando Rodriguez Jr. • Annemarie Carney Axon • | ||
2018 |
Andrew Oldham • Amy St. Eve • Michael Scudder • John Nalbandian • Mark Bennett • Andrew Oldham • Britt Grant • Colm Connolly • Maryellen Noreika • Jill Otake • Jeffrey Beaverstock • Emily Coody Marks • Holly Lou Teeter • Julius Richardson • Charles B. Goodwin • Barry Ashe • Stan Baker • A. Marvin Quattlebaum Jr. • Terry F. Moorer • Susan Baxter • William Jung • Alan Albright • Dominic Lanza • Eric Tostrud • Charles Williams • Nancy E. Brasel • James Sweeney • Kari A. Dooley • Marilyn J. Horan • Robert Summerhays • Brett Kavanaugh • David Porter • Liles Burke • Michael Juneau • Peter Phipps • Lance Walker • Richard Sullivan • Eli Richardson • Ryan Nelson • Chad F. Kenney, Sr. • Susan Brnovich • William M. Ray, II • Jeremy Kernodle • Thomas Kleeh • J.P. Hanlon • Mark Norris • Jonathan Kobes • Michael Brown • David Counts | ||
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 |