Thomas Aquinas Higgins (August 15, 1932 – September 11, 2018) was an American
jurist who was
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
.
Education and career
He was born in
Nashville,
Tennessee
Tennessee ( , ), officially the State of Tennessee, is a landlocked state in the Southeastern region of the United States. Tennessee is the 36th-largest by area and the 15th-most populous of the 50 states. It is bordered by Kentucky to th ...
and attended
Father Ryan High School
Father Ryan High School is a private Catholic coeducational high school in Nashville, Tennessee. Founded in 1925 as Nashville Catholic High School for Boys, Father Ryan is located in the Diocese of Nashville. It was the first racially integrated h ...
. He received an
Associate of Arts degree from
Christian Brothers College in 1952 and a
Bachelor of Arts
Bachelor of arts (BA or AB; from the Latin ', ', or ') is a bachelor's degree awarded for an undergraduate program in the arts, or, in some cases, other disciplines. A Bachelor of Arts degree course is generally completed in three or four year ...
degree from the
University of Tennessee
The University of Tennessee (officially The University of Tennessee, Knoxville; or UT Knoxville; UTK; or UT) is a public land-grant research university in Knoxville, Tennessee. Founded in 1794, two years before Tennessee became the 16th state ...
in 1954. He received a
Bachelor of Laws
Bachelor of Laws ( la, Legum Baccalaureus; LL.B.) is an undergraduate law degree in the United Kingdom and most common law jurisdictions. Bachelor of Laws is also the name of the law degree awarded by universities in the People's Republic of Ch ...
from
Vanderbilt University Law School
Vanderbilt University Law School (also known as Vanderbilt Law School or VLS) is a graduate school of Vanderbilt University. Established in 1874, it is one of the oldest law schools in the southern United States. Vanderbilt Law School has consiste ...
in 1957. He was in the
United States Army Judge Advocate General's Corps
The Judge Advocate General's Corps of the United States Army, also known as the U.S. Army JAG Corps, is the legal arm of the United States Army. It is composed of Army officers who are also lawyers and who provide legal services to the Army at a ...
from 1957 to 1960, where he attained the rank of first lieutenant.
He was in private practice in Nashville from 1961 to 1984.
Federal judicial service
Higgins was nominated by President
Ronald Reagan on September 6, 1984, to a seat on the
vacated by Judge
Leland Clure Morton. He 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 October 3, 1984, and received his commission on October 4, 1984. He assumed
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 February 28, 1999. He retired into inactive senior status in 2006, meaning that while he remained a federal judge, he no longer heard cases or participated in the business of the court.
He died on September 11, 2018, in Nashville.
References
Sources
*
{{DEFAULTSORT:Higgins, Thomas Aquinas
1932 births
2018 deaths
Christian Brothers University alumni
Judges of the United States District Court for the Middle District of Tennessee
United States district court judges appointed by Ronald Reagan
20th-century American judges
United States Army officers
Lawyers from Nashville, Tennessee
Military personnel from Tennessee
University of Tennessee alumni
Vanderbilt University Law School alumni
United States Army Judge Advocate General's Corps