John Gilpin Heyburn II (November 12, 1948 – April 29, 2015) was a
United States district judge
The United States district courts are the trial courts of the U.S. federal judiciary. There is one district court for each federal judicial district, which each cover one U.S. state or, in some cases, a portion of a state. Each district cou ...
of the
. Heyburn served as the
Chief Judge
A chief judge (also known as presiding judge, president judge or principal judge) is the highest-ranking or most senior member of a lower court or circuit court with more than one judge. According to the Federal judiciary of the United States, th ...
of the Court between 2001 and 2008.
Early life and education
Heyburn was born in
Boston
Boston (), officially the City of Boston, is the state capital and most populous city of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts, as well as the cultural and financial center of the New England region of the United States. It is the 24th- mo ...
,
Massachusetts
Massachusetts (Massachusett: ''Muhsachuweesut Massachusett_writing_systems.html" ;"title="nowiki/> məhswatʃəwiːsət.html" ;"title="Massachusett writing systems">məhswatʃəwiːsət">Massachusett writing systems">məhswatʃəwiːsət'' En ...
, and raised in
Louisville
Louisville ( , , ) is the largest city in the Commonwealth of Kentucky and the 28th most-populous city in the United States. Louisville is the historical seat and, since 2003, the nominal seat of Jefferson County, on the Indiana border.
...
,
Kentucky
Kentucky ( , ), officially the Commonwealth of Kentucky, is a state in the Southeastern region of the United States and one of the states of the Upper South. It borders Illinois, Indiana, and Ohio to the north; West Virginia and Virginia ...
. His father and grandfather were both attorneys. Heyburn graduated from
Harvard University
Harvard University is a private Ivy League research university in Cambridge, Massachusetts. Founded in 1636 as Harvard College and named for its first benefactor, the Puritan clergyman John Harvard, it is the oldest institution of high ...
with his
Artium Baccalaureus degree in 1970 where he also lettered in
cross-country and
track, completed several
Boston Marathons, and was a member of the
Owl Club
The Owl Club of Cape Town, South Africa (formed in 1894), is a social meeting place for all those with an interest in the arts and sciences. The monthly meetings include an evening of fellowship, fine dining, stimulating conversation, talks by ac ...
. He earned his
Juris Doctor from the
University of Kentucky College of Law
The University of Kentucky J. David Rosenberg College of Law, also known as UK Rosenberg College of Law, is the law school of the University of Kentucky located in Lexington, Kentucky. Founded initially from a law program at Transylvania Universit ...
in 1976 and was a member of its National
Moot Court
Moot court is a co-curricular activity at many law schools. Participants take part in simulated court or arbitration proceedings, usually involving drafting memorials or memoranda and participating in oral argument. In most countries, the phrase " ...
Team.
Legal career
Heyburn spent his entire pre-judicial legal career as a private practice attorney with the Louisville based law firm of Brown, Todd and Heyburn (now
Frost Brown Todd
Frost Brown Todd LLP is a law firm based in the Southern and Midwestern United States. It resulted from the 2000 merger of Frost & Jacobs LLP, a Cincinnati-based firm, with Brown Todd & Heyburn PLLC, a Louisville-based firm. It has over 575 attor ...
) from 1976 to 1992. His practice focused on
civil litigation
Civil law is a major branch of the law.Glanville Williams. '' Learning the Law''. Eleventh Edition. Stevens. 1982. p. 2. In common law legal systems such as England and Wales and the United States, the term refers to non-criminal law. The law ...
within the construction industry. He also served as Special Counsel for then-
Jefferson County Judge/Executive
The Jefferson County Judge/Executive is the nominal chief executive of Jefferson County, Kentucky. On January 3, 2003, the county government merged with that of its largest city, Louisville, to create the Louisville Metro Government. The former p ...
Mitch McConnell. Also, Heyburn served in the
United States Army Reserve
The United States Army Reserve (USAR) is a reserve force of the United States Army. Together, the Army Reserve and the Army National Guard constitute the Army element of the reserve components of the United States Armed Forces.
Since July 2020 ...
from 1970 to 1976.
Federal judicial career
On the recommendation of Senator
Mitch McConnell, Heyburn was nominated by President
George H. W. Bush on March 20, 1992, to a seat vacated by
Thomas A. Ballantine Jr. as Ballantine took
senior status
Senior status is a form of semi- retirement for United States federal judges. To qualify, a judge in the federal court system must be at least 65 years old, and the sum of the judge's age and years of service as a federal judge must be at leas ...
. Heyburn was confirmed by the
United States Senate
The United States Senate is the upper chamber of the United States Congress, with the House of Representatives being the lower chamber. Together they compose the national bicameral legislature of the United States.
The composition and pow ...
on August 12, 1992, on a Senate vote and received commission on August 17, 1992. He served as Chief Judge from 2001 to 2008. He took
senior status
Senior status is a form of semi- retirement for United States federal judges. To qualify, a judge in the federal court system must be at least 65 years old, and the sum of the judge's age and years of service as a federal judge must be at leas ...
on April 1, 2014.
He served in that capacity until his death from
liver cancer on April 29, 2015, at the age of 66, in Louisville.
In 1994,
Chief Justice Rehnquist appointed Heyburn to serve on the Budget Committee of the
Judicial Conference of the United States. In January 1997, Heyburn was appointed Chair of the Budget Committee and served in that capacity until December 2004. In that role Heyburn led the development of the appropriations request for the federal judiciary. He testified many times before various
House and
Senate committees on budget issues. He consulted with the
Republic of Ireland
Ireland ( ga, Éire ), also known as the Republic of Ireland (), is a country in north-western Europe consisting of 26 of the 32 Counties of Ireland, counties of the island of Ireland. The capital and largest city is Dublin, on the eastern ...
judiciary during the reform of their justice system.
In June 2007,
Chief Justice Roberts appointed Heyburn as Chair of the
Judicial Panel on Multidistrict Litigation
The United States Judicial Panel on Multidistrict Litigation (J.P.M.L. or the Panel) is a special body within the United States federal court system which manages multidistrict litigation. It was established by Congress in 1968 by , and has th ...
. The Panel decides whether cases in districts around the nation including overlapping nationwide or statewide class actions, should be centralized in a single judicial district for pretrial purposes.
Heyburn spoke throughout the country on the
congressional budget process, the independent judiciary and the role of the
Panel on Multidistrict Litigation in complex litigation.
Notable cases
Heyburn presided over ''Maker's Mark v. Diageo North America, et al.'', 703
F. Supp. 2d
The ''Federal Supplement'' ( is a case law reporter published by West Publishing in the United States that includes select opinions of the United States district courts since 1932, and is part of the National Reporter System. Although the ''F ...
671 (W.D. Ky. 2010). Heyburn's ruling in that case was upheld on appeal to the Sixth Circuit; the appellate decision, ''Maker's Mark'', 679
F.3d
The ''Federal Reporter'' () is a case law reporter in the United States that is published by West Publishing and a part of the National Reporter System. It begins with cases decided in 1880; pre-1880 cases were later retroactively compiled by We ...
410 (2012), written by Judge
Boyce F. Martin, Jr., began: "All bourbon is whiskey, but not all whiskey is bourbon." It is recognized as one of the most thoughtful judicial histories of
bourbon and American spirits ever printed.
On February 11, 2014, Heyburn ruled in ''
Bourke v. Beshear
The lead cases on same-sex marriage in Kentucky are ''Bourke v. Beshear'', and its companion case ''Love v. Beshear''. In ''Bourke'', a U.S. district court found that the Equal Protection Clause requires Kentucky to recognize valid same-sex marri ...
'' that the Commonwealth of Kentucky must recognize
same-sex marriage
Same-sex marriage, also known as gay marriage, is the marriage of two people of the same sex or gender. marriage between same-sex couples is legally performed and recognized in 33 countries, with the most recent being Mexico, constituting ...
s performed in states where those unions are legal.
On July 1, 2014, Heyburn ruled again in favor of same sex marriage, declaring that
same-sex couples have a right to marry in Kentucky. He wrote "In America, even sincere and long-hold religious beliefs do not trump the constitutional rights of those who happen to have been out-voted", in response to arguments put forth by attorney Leigh Latherow, who was hired by Gov.
Steve Beshear to defend the ban. The argument put forth by the Ashland attorney was solely justified by the assertion that traditional marriages contribute to a more stable birth rate, which in turn bolsters the state's economic health. Heyburn was quoted, "These arguments are not those of serious people."
References
External links
FJC BioJudge Heyburn's homepageWebsite of the United States District Court for the Western District of KentuckyWebsite of the Judicial Panel on Multidistrict Litigation
{{DEFAULTSORT:Heyburn, John Gilpin II
1948 births
2015 deaths
Harvard Crimson men's track and field athletes
Judges of the United States District Court for the Western District of Kentucky
United States district court judges appointed by George H. W. Bush
20th-century American judges
University of Kentucky College of Law alumni
Lawyers from Boston
Lawyers from Louisville, Kentucky
Harvard Crimson men's cross country runners