William Lynn "Chip" Campbell Jr. (born January 4, 1969) is an American lawyer who serves as the chief United States district judge of the United States District Court for the Middle District of Tennessee.

Education

Campbell earned a

Bachelor of Science A Bachelor of Science (BS, BSc, SB, or ScB; from the Latin ') is a bachelor's degree awarded for programs that generally last three to five years. The first university to admit a student to the degree of Bachelor of Science was the University of ...

in political science from the

United States Naval Academy The United States Naval Academy (US Naval Academy, USNA, or Navy) is a federal service academy in Annapolis, Maryland. It was established on 10 October 1845 during the tenure of George Bancroft as Secretary of the Navy. The Naval Academy ...

. He served seven years in the

United States Marine Corps The United States Marine Corps (USMC), also referred to as the United States Marines, is the maritime land force service branch of the United States Armed Forces responsible for conducting expeditionary and amphibious operations through combi ...

, principally as a naval flight officer. He received a

Juris Doctor The Juris Doctor (J.D. or JD), also known as Doctor of Jurisprudence (J.D., JD, D.Jur., or DJur), is a graduate-entry professional degree in law and one of several Doctor of Law degrees. The J.D. is the standard degree obtained to practice law ...

from the University of Alabama School of Law, where he served as editor-in-chief of the ''Alabama Law Review'' and was an inductee of the

Order of the Coif The Order of the Coif is an honor society for United States law school graduates. The name is a reference to the ancient English order of advocates, the serjeants-at-law, whose courtroom attire included a coif—a white lawn or silk skullcap, whi ...

Career

He worked as an associate and later a partner in the Nashville firm of Riley Warnock & Jacobson, PLC, and as an associate in the

Birmingham, Alabama Birmingham ( ) is a city in the north central region of the U.S. state of Alabama. Birmingham is the seat of Jefferson County, Alabama's most populous county. As of the 2021 census estimates, Birmingham had a population of 197,575, down 1% fr ...

, office of Maynard, Cooper & Gale, P.C. Before becoming a judge, he was a member in the Nashville office of

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, Ohio, Cincinnati-based firm, with Brown Todd & Heyburn PLLC, a Louisville, Kentucky, Loui ...

, LLC, where he handled civil litigation.

Federal judicial service

On July 13, 2017, President

Donald Trump Donald John Trump (born June 14, 1946) is an American politician, media personality, and businessman who served as the 45th president of the United States from 2017 to 2021. Trump graduated from the Wharton School of the University of Pe ...

nominated Campbell to serve as a United States District Judge of the United States District Court for the Middle District of Tennessee. On September 6, 2017, the Senate Judiciary Committee held a hearing on his nomination. On October 5, 2017, his nomination was reported out of committee by a

voice vote In parliamentary procedure, a voice vote (from the Latin ''viva voce'', meaning "live voice") or acclamation is a voting method in deliberative assemblies (such as legislatures) in which a group vote is taken on a topic or motion by responding vo ...

. On January 8, 2018, 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 ...

invoked cloture on his nomination by a 89–1 vote. On January 9, 2018, his nomination was confirmed by a 97–0 vote. He received his judicial commission on January 12, 2018. He became the chief judge on April 15, 2024. On July 24, 2020, Campbell blocked part of Tennessee's abortion law that would ban abortions in the early stages of pregnancy.

References

External links

*
William L. Campbell Jr. at U.S. District Court for the Middle District of Tennessee
* 1969 births Living people 21st-century American lawyers 21st-century American judges Alabama lawyers Judges of the United States District Court for the Middle District of Tennessee Lawyers from Nashville, Tennessee United States district court judges appointed by Donald Trump United States Naval Academy alumni United States Marine Corps officers University of Alabama School of Law alumni {{US-federal-judge-stub