Mark Norris (American politician)
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Mark Saalfield Norris Sr. (born July 9, 1955) is a United States district judge of the United States District Court for the Western District of Tennessee. He served as a Republican member of the Tennessee Senate from 2001 through 2018, serving as Majority Leader from 2007 to 2018.


Education and career

Norris received his Bachelor of Arts from Colorado College, and his
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 Denver Sturm College of Law. From 1980 to 2006, Norris practiced law at Armstrong Allen. Before becoming a judge, Norris was senior counsel at Adams and Reese in Memphis. In 1994, Norris was elected to the Shelby County Commission. He served on that body until 2000.


Tennessee Senate

Norris was first elected to represent District 32 in the Tennessee Senate in 2000. The District is composed of Dyer, Lauderdale, and Tipton counties, and the eastern and northeastern portion of Shelby County."President Donald J. Trump Announces Fifth Wave of Judicial Candidates" White House, July 13, 2017
/ref> While in the Senate Norris was an active member in the American Legislative Exchange Council (ALEC), having attended meetings of the organization. In 2002, Norris ran to represent Tennessee's 7th congressional district in the United States House of Representatives, but lost the primary to Marsha Blackburn. He did not have to give up his Senate seat to run for Congress; Tennessee state senators serve staggered four-year terms, and Norris was not up for reelection until 2004. He was elected the State Senate Majority Leader in 2007. In 2015, Norris opposed a proposal to make the Bible the official state book.Otis Sanford
Mark Norris has steep trek to Tennessee governorship
''Commercial Appeal'' (January 14, 2017).
Norris ran unopposed for re-election in 2016, collecting $655,000 in campaign contributions, the largest among all
Tennessee General Assembly The Tennessee General Assembly (TNGA) is the state legislature of the U.S. state of Tennessee. It is a part-time bicameral legislature consisting of a Senate and a House of Representatives. The Speaker of the Senate carries the additional title ...
candidates. Norris engaged in an effort to bar refugee resettlement in Tennessee and was a lead figure supporting a lawsuit challenging the constitutionality of the U.S. Refugee Resettlement Program. Norris created an online petition against refugee resettlement under the headline "Don't let potential terrorists come to Tennessee." Norris also supported the
Trump travel ban The Trump travel ban (labeled the "Muslim ban" by critics) denotes a series of executive actions taken by Donald Trump as President of the United States. On January 20, 2021, newly-inaugurated president Joe Biden issued a proclamation revok ...
s.Joel Ebert
Sen. Mark Norris being vetted for appointment to federal judgeship
''USA Today'' Network (June 12, 2017).
Norris resigned from the state senate on November 1, 2018, after being confirmed to the district court.


Federal judicial service

On July 13, 2017, President Donald Trump nominated Norris to the United States District Court for the Western District of Tennessee, to the seat vacated by Judge
J. Daniel Breen John Daniel Breen (born July 10, 1950) is a senior United States district judge of the United States District Court for the Western District of Tennessee. Education and career Breen was born in Jackson, Tennessee. He received a Bachelor of Arts ...
, who assumed senior status on March 18, 2017. Prior to his nomination, Norris was publicly considering a candidacy for
Governor of Tennessee The governor of Tennessee is the head of government of the U.S. state of Tennessee. The governor is the only official in Tennessee state government who is directly elected by the voters of the entire state. The current governor is Bill Lee, a ...
in
2018 File:2018 Events Collage.png, From top left, clockwise: The 2018 Winter Olympics opening ceremony in PyeongChang, South Korea; Protests erupt following the Assassination of Jamal Khashoggi; March for Our Lives protests take place across the United ...
. Trump's nomination of Norris was supported by Republican Senators Lamar Alexander and Bob Corker of Tennessee. Norris' nomination was opposed by former U.S. District Judge
Shira Scheindlin Shira A. Scheindlin (; born 1946) is an American attorney and jurist who served as a United States district judge of the United States District Court for the Southern District of New York. Early life and education Scheindlin was born in Washing ...
, an appointee of Bill Clinton, who wrote a ''New York Times'' opinion editorial in which she described Norris as one of a number of "the least qualified and most bizarre" of Trump's judicial appointments. On November 1, 2017, a hearing on his nomination was held before the Senate Judiciary Committee. During the hearing, Norris said in response to a question from Senator
Amy Klobuchar Amy Jean Klobuchar ( ; born May 25, 1960) is an American lawyer and politician serving as the senior United States senator from Minnesota, a seat she has held since 2007. A member of the Minnesota Democratic–Farmer–Labor Party (DFL), Minne ...
that he viewed the case '' Obergefell v. Hodges'' (determining that same-sex couples have a constitutional right to marry) as settled law. On December 7, 2017, his nomination was reported out of committee by an 11–9 vote. On January 3, 2018, his nomination was returned to the President under Rule XXXI, Paragraph 6 of the United States Senate. On January 5, 2018, President Donald Trump announced his intent to renominate Norris to a federal judgeship. On January 8, 2018, his renomination was sent to the
Senate A senate is a deliberative assembly, often the upper house or chamber of a bicameral legislature. The name comes from the ancient Roman Senate (Latin: ''Senatus''), so-called as an assembly of the senior (Latin: ''senex'' meaning "the el ...
. On January 18, 2018, his nomination was reported out of committee by a 11–10 vote. In January 10, 2018, Norris said he was unsure if he would be confirmed to the judgeship by the U.S. Senate and planned to remain in the state legislature until his nomination was ultimately confirmed. On October 11, 2018, his nomination was confirmed by a 51–44 vote. He received his judicial commission on November 8, 2018.


See also

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Donald Trump judicial appointment controversies Donald Trump, President of the United States from 2017 to 2021, entered office with a significant number of judicial vacancies, including a Supreme Court vacancy due to the death of Antonin Scalia in February 2016. During the first eight month ...


References


External links

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Tennessee Senate Member (archive)
, - , - , - {{DEFAULTSORT:Norris, Mark 1955 births Living people 20th-century American lawyers 20th-century American politicians 21st-century American lawyers 21st-century American judges 21st-century American politicians Colorado College alumni Judges of the United States District Court for the Western District of Tennessee People from Akron, Ohio People from Collierville, Tennessee Sturm College of Law alumni Tennessee lawyers Republican Party Tennessee state senators United States district court judges appointed by Donald Trump