Ted Stewart

Ted Stewart
Senior Judge of the United States District Court for the District of Utah
Assumed office
September 1, 2014
Chief Judge of the United States District Court for the District of Utah
In office
2011–2014
Preceded by Tena Campbell
Succeeded by David Nuffer
Judge of the United States District Court for the District of Utah
In office
November 11, 1999 – September 1, 2014
Appointed by Bill Clinton
Preceded by John Thomas Greene Jr.
Personal details
Born Brian Theadore Stewart
1948 (age 69–70)
Logan, Utah
Education Utah State University (B.S.)
S.J. Quinney College of Law (J.D.)

Brian Theadore "Ted" Stewart (born 1948) is a Senior United States District Judge of the United States District Court for the District of Utah.

Early life and education

Born in Logan, Utah, Stewart received a Bachelor of Science degree from Utah State University in 1972 and a Juris Doctor from the S.J. Quinney College of Law at the University of Utah.[1]

Professional career

From 1974 until 1980, Stewart worked in private legal practice in Salt Lake City. He then served as an assistant to United States Senator Orrin Hatch in 1980, and then worked as an administrative assistant to United States Representative James V. Hansen from 1981 until 1985. From 1985 until 1992, Stewart was a commissioner on the Public Service Commission of Utah. From 1993 until 1998, Stewart served as the executive director of Utah's Department of Natural Resources.[1] From 1998 until becoming a federal judge in 1999, Stewart served as a chief of staff to then-Utah Governor Mike Leavitt.[1][2]

Nomination to federal district court, filibuster and confirmation

In mid-1999, President Bill Clinton nominated Stewart to federal district court to fill a seat vacated by Judge John Thomas Greene, who had taken senior status in November 1997.[1][3] Clinton, a Democrat, nominated Stewart, a Republican, because Stewart was a friend of Senator Orrin Hatch of Utah, and Hatch at that time was the chairman of the United States Senate Committee on the Judiciary.[4] Clinton did so as a courtesy to Hatch, hoping the gesture would encourage Republican senators to act to confirm many of the president's languishing judicial nominees.[4]

However, Hatch demanded that Stewart be confirmed before senators could consider other judicial nominees.[4] That enraged Senate Democrats, who refused to allow for a vote on Stewart. That prompted Republican senators to take the very rare move of filing for cloture on the nomination of a federal district judge. On September 21, 1999, Democrats unified to successfully filibuster Stewart's nomination, in a 55-44 party-line vote on the Senate floor that may well have been the only successful filibuster ever on a federal district court nominee.[4][5]

Two weeks later, Democratic and Republican senators announced a deal that paved the way for votes on the nominations of Stewart and two other judicial nominees. On October 5, 1999, the Senate vote 93-5 to confirm Stewart.[6] Stewart received his judicial commission on November 11, 1999.[1] He served as Chief Judge from 2011 to 2014. He assumed senior status on September 1, 2014.[1]

Notable case

Stewart made the initial ruling in favor of the terms-of sale restrictions on the easement in the LDS plaza by the Salt Lake Temple.[7]

Personal

Stewart is a member of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. With his brother, Chris Stewart, he wrote the book Seven Miracles That Saved America: Why They Matter and Why We Should Have Hope, which was published in 2009, and the book The Miracle of Freedom: 7 Tipping Points that Saved the World, which was published in 2011.[8] In 2017, he wrote the book Supreme Power: 7 Pivotal Supreme Court Decisions That Had a Major Impact on America.

References

  1. 1 2 3 4 5 6 "Stewart, Brian Theadore - Federal Judicial Center". www.fjc.gov.
  2. ↑ III, SAM FULWOOD (10 August 1999). "Clinton Calls on Senate to Confirm Judicial Nominees" – via LA Times.
  3. ↑ "PN455 - Nomination of Brian Theadore Stewart for The Judiciary, 106th Congress (1999-2000)". thomas.loc.gov. 5 October 1999.
  4. 1 2 3 4 Lewis, Neil A. (22 September 1999). "In Odd Turn, Democrats Stall Clinton's Nominees" – via NYTimes.com.
  5. ↑ "U.S. Senate: U.S. Senate Roll Call Votes 106th Congress - 1st Session". www.senate.gov.
  6. ↑ "U.S. Senate: U.S. Senate Roll Call Votes 106th Congress - 1st Session". www.senate.gov.
  7. ↑ Deseret News, May 3, 2004
  8. ↑ "New Utah congressman has ties that bind: family". 23 January 2013.
Legal offices
Preceded by
John Thomas Greene Jr.		 Judge of the United States District Court for the District of Utah
1999–2014		 Vacant
Preceded by
Tena Campbell		 Chief Judge of the United States District Court for the District of Utah
2011–2014		 Succeeded by
David Nuffer
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