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Mark Pittman
Judge of the United States District Court for the Northern District of Texas
Assumed office
August 5, 2019
Appointed by Donald Trump
Preceded by John H. McBryde
Justice of the Texas Second Court of Appeals
In office
January 6, 2017 – August 5, 2019
Appointed by Greg Abbott
Preceded byLee Ann Dauphinot
Succeeded byMike Wallach
Judge of the 352nd Civil Court for Tarrant County
In office
January 8, 2015 – January 6, 2017
Appointed by Rick Perry
Preceded byBonnie Sudderth
Succeeded byJosh Burgess
Personal details
Born
Mark Timothy Pittman

1975 (age 48–49)
Big Spring, Texas, U.S.
Education Texas A&M University ( BA)
University of Texas at Austin ( JD)

Mark Timothy Pittman (born 1975) [1] is a United States district judge of the United States District Court for the Northern District of Texas and former judge of the Texas Court of Appeals.

Early life and education

Pittman was born in Big Spring, Texas. [2] He received his Bachelor of Arts, magna cum laude, in political science from Texas A&M University and his Juris Doctor from The University of Texas School of Law. [3]

Legal career

After graduating from law school, Pittman clerked for Judge Eldon Brooks Mahon of the United States District Court for the Northern District of Texas. He then worked as an associate at Kelly, Hart & Hallman LLP in Fort Worth. [4] From 2004 to 2007, Pittman was a trial attorney in the Commercial Litigation Branch of the United States Department of Justice Civil Division. Pittman then served as an Assistant United States Attorney for the Northern District of Texas. Pittman later worked as a Senior Attorney at the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation. Before becoming a judge, Pittman was an enforcement attorney with the United States Securities and Exchange Commission in Fort Worth. [3]

Judicial career

State judicial service

Pittman was a judge on the State's 352nd District Court, based in Tarrant County. In 2017, he was appointed by Texas Governor Greg Abbott to be a justice of Texas's Second Court of Appeals. [3] [5] He served in that capacity until he was appointed a federal judge in 2019.

Federal judicial service

On January 16, 2019, President Donald Trump announced his intent to nominate Pittman to serve as a United States district judge for the United States District Court for the Northern District of Texas. On January 17, 2019, his nomination was sent to the Senate. President Trump nominated Pittman to a seat vacated by John H. McBryde, who assumed senior status on October 9, 2018. [6] On March 5, 2019, a hearing on his nomination was held before the Senate Judiciary Committee. [7] On April 4, 2019, his nomination was reported out of committee by a 12–10 vote. [8] On July 30, 2019, the Senate invoked cloture on his nomination by a 54–34 vote. [9] On July 31, 2019, his nomination was confirmed by a 54–36 vote. [10] He received his judicial commission on August 5, 2019. [11] He was sworn into office on August 8, 2019. [12]

Notable rulings

On November 8, 2021, Pittman ruled that United Airlines could impose a COVID-19 vaccine mandate on its employees while only providing unpaid leave for exempted workers. [13]

On January 6, 2022, Pittman ordered the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) to review, redact, and release data submitted by COVID-19 vaccine manufacturer Pfizer for authorized use of the vaccine at an unprecedented rate. The data came from a Freedom of Information Act request submitted to FDA for documents beyond what was already publicly available on FDA's website as part of the approved vaccine's Action Package. Although the pace of the scheduling order required FDA to hire an additional team of contractors and expend roughly $5 million solely to comply with this FOIA request, Pittman ordered FDA to release documents at a faster pace, including at least 55,000 pages some months and at least 80,000 pages other months. [14]

On November 10, 2022, Pittman ruled that the Biden administration did not have the authority to forgive student loan debt through executive action through the HEROES Act. [15]

In December 2022, Pittman ruled that Texas' law banning people from 18 to 20 years of age from carrying concealed handguns was unconstitutional in light of New York State Rifle & Pistol Association, Inc. v. Bruen. [16]

In March 2024, Pittman ruled that the Minority Business Development Agency was wrong to consider historic discrimination based on race in its operations, citing Students for Fair Admissions v. Harvard. [17] [18]

Memberships

He is a member of the State Bar of Texas, Tarrant County Bar Association, Texas Bar Foundation, and the American Judges Association. He is vice president and a founding member of the Tarrant County Federalist Society. [5]

References

  1. ^ United States Senate Committee on the Judiciary: Questionnaire for Judicial Nominees: Mark Pittman
  2. ^ "JUSTICE MARK T. PITTMAN ", Texas Second Court of Appeals
  3. ^ a b c "President Donald J. Trump Announces Nineteenth Wave of Judicial Nominees" White House, January 16, 2019 Public Domain This article incorporates text from this source, which is in the public domain.
  4. ^ https://www.kellyhart.com/locations/fort-worth/
  5. ^ a b "Governor Abbott Appoints Pittman To Second Court Of Appeals". gov.texas.gov (Press release). January 6, 2017. Retrieved January 17, 2019.
  6. ^ "Nine Nominations Sent to the Senate", White House, January 17, 2019
  7. ^ United States Senate Committee on the Judiciary: Nominations for March 5, 2019
  8. ^ "Results of Executive Business Meeting – April 4, 2019" (PDF). Senate Judiciary Committee.
  9. ^ "On the Cloture Motion (Motion to Invoke Cloture: Mark T. Pittman to be U.S. District Judge for the Northern District of Texas)". United States Senate. July 30, 2019.
  10. ^ "On the Nomination (Confirmation: Mark T. Pittman, of Texas, to be U.S. District Judge for the Northern District of Texas)". United States Senate. July 31, 2019.
  11. ^ Mark T. Pittman at the Biographical Directory of Federal Judges, a publication of the Federal Judicial Center.
  12. ^ "Press Release: Judge Mark T. Pittman" (Press release). Fort Worth, Texas: United States District Court for the Northern District of Texas. August 8, 2019. Retrieved June 20, 2023.
  13. ^ Hals, Tom; Singh, Rajesh Kumar (November 9, 2021). "U.S. judge upholds United Airlines' COVID-19 vaccine mandate for employees". Reuters. Retrieved November 10, 2021.
  14. ^ Siri, Aaron (January 18, 2022). "Why a Judge Ordered FDA to Release Covid-19 Vaccine Data Pronto". Bloomberg Law News. Retrieved March 7, 2022.
  15. ^ Lobosco, Katie (November 10, 2022). "Federal court strikes down Biden's student loan forgiveness program". CNN. Retrieved November 10, 2022.
  16. ^ Asgarian, Roxanna (December 21, 2022). "Texas drops fight to prevent 18- to 20-year-olds from carrying handguns in public". The Texas Tribune. Retrieved July 18, 2023.
  17. ^ Mark, Julian; Telford, Taylor (March 6, 2024). "Federal judge orders minority-business agency opened to all races". The Washington Post. Retrieved March 6, 2024.
  18. ^ Irwin, Lauren (March 7, 2024). "Minority business agency must serve all races, a federal judge rules". The Hill. Retrieved March 6, 2024.

External links

Legal offices
Preceded by Judge of the United States District Court for the Northern District of Texas
2019–present 		Incumbent
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