Xenophon Hicks (May 2, 1872 – November 2, 1952) was a

United States circuit judge In the United States, federal judges are judges who serve on courts established under Article Three of the U.S. Constitution. They include the chief justice and the associate justices of the U.S. Supreme Court, the circuit judges of the U.S. Cou ...

of the United States Court of Appeals for the Sixth Circuit and previously was a United States district judge of the United States District Court for the Eastern District of Tennessee and the United States District Court for the Middle District of Tennessee.

Education and career

Born in

Clinton Clinton is an English toponymic surname, indicating one's ancestors came from English places called Glympton or Glinton.Hanks, P. & Hodges, F. ''A Dictionary of Surnames''. Oxford University Press, 1988 Clinton has frequently been used as a given ...

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 ...

, Hicks received an

Artium Baccalaureus 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 years ...

degree from U.S. Grant University (now Tennessee Wesleyan University) in 1891 and 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 Chi ...

from Cumberland School of Law (then part of

Cumberland University Cumberland University is a private university in Lebanon, Tennessee. It was founded in 1842. The campus's current historic buildings were constructed between 1892 and 1896. History 1842-1861 The university was founded by the Cumberland ...

, now part of

Samford University Samford University is a private Christian university in Homewood, Alabama. In 1841, the university was founded as Howard College by Baptists. Samford University describes itself as the 87th oldest institution of higher learning in the United Sta ...

) in 1892. He was in private practice in Clinton from 1892 to 1898. He was city attorney of Clinton from 1892 to 1893, and county attorney of Anderson County, Tennessee from 1894 to 1896. He joined the

United States Army The United States Army (USA) is the land service branch of the United States Armed Forces. It is one of the eight U.S. uniformed services, and is designated as the Army of the United States in the U.S. Constitution.Article II, section 2, cla ...

in 1898, later serving as an alderman and mayor of Clinton. He became a member of the Tennessee Senate in 1911, and was an assistant state attorney general of the 2nd Judicial Circuit of Tennessee from 1911 to 1913. He was a Judge of the Criminal and Law Court for the 2nd Judicial Circuit of Tennessee from 1913 to 1918, and was a Judge of the 19th Circuit Court of Tennessee from 1918 to 1923.

Federal judicial service

Hicks was nominated by President

Warren G. Harding Warren Gamaliel Harding (November 2, 1865 – August 2, 1923) was the 29th president of the United States, serving from 1921 until his death in 1923. A member of the Republican Party, he was one of the most popular sitting U.S. presidents. A ...

on February 28, 1923, to a joint seat on the United States District Court for the Eastern District of Tennessee and the United States District Court for the Middle District of Tennessee vacated by Judge Edward Terry Sanford. 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 March 2, 1923, and received his commission the same day. His service terminated on May 23, 1928, due to his elevation to the Sixth Circuit. Upon the termination of his service, the concurrency with the Middle District ended and his successor served only in the Eastern District. Hicks was nominated by President

Calvin Coolidge Calvin Coolidge (born John Calvin Coolidge Jr.; ; July 4, 1872January 5, 1933) was the 30th president of the United States from 1923 to 1929. Born in Vermont, Coolidge was a History of the Republican Party (United States), Republican lawyer ...

on May 19, 1928, to the United States Court of Appeals for the Sixth Circuit, to a new seat authorized by 45 Stat. 492. He was confirmed by the Senate on May 23, 1928, and received his commission the same day. He was a member of the

Conference of Senior Circuit Judges The Judicial Conference of the United States, formerly known as the Conference of Senior Circuit Judges, was created by the United States Congress in 1922 with the principal objective of framing policy guidelines for administration of judicial cour ...

(now the

Judicial Conference of the United States The Judicial Conference of the United States, formerly known as the Conference of Senior Circuit Judges, was created by the United States Congress in 1922 with the principal objective of framing policy guidelines for administration of judicial cour ...

) from 1938 to 1948, and was a member of the

from 1948 to 1951. He served as Chief Judge from 1948 to 1952. He assumed

senior status Senior status is a form of semi-retirement for United States federal judges. To qualify, a judge in the Federal judiciary of the United States, federal court system must be at least 65 years old, and the sum of the judge's age and years of servi ...

on March 1, 1952. His service terminated on November 2, 1952, due to his death.

References

Sources

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Hicks, Xenophon 1872 births 1952 deaths Judges of the United States District Court for the Middle District of Tennessee Judges of the United States District Court for the Eastern District of Tennessee United States district court judges appointed by Warren G. Harding Judges of the United States Court of Appeals for the Sixth Circuit United States court of appeals judges appointed by Calvin Coolidge 20th-century American judges Tennessee Wesleyan University alumni Tennessee state senators United States Army personnel People from Clinton, Tennessee