The Nominee: A Political and Spiritual Journey

by Leslie H. Southwick

Overview

A firsthand account of the murky, faith-straightening processes by which federal judges are confirmed

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781617039133
Publisher:	University Press of Mississippi
Publication date:	10/11/2013
Series:	Willie Morris Books in Memoir and Biography
Sold by:	Barnes & Noble
Format:	eBook
Pages:	336
File size:	9 MB

About the Author

Leslie H. Southwick, Jackson, Mississippi, is Circuit Judge for the United States Court of Appeals, Fifth Circuit.

Table of Contents

Acknowledgments ix

Introduction 3

1 The Final Day 9

2 Beginnings 18

3 The Bush Administration 36

4 The Mississippi Court of Appeals 50

5 Clinton's Fifth Circuit Choices 67

6 A Hesitant Application 75

7 Becoming a Soldier 82

8 Mixed Judicial and Military Pursuits 88

9 Training and Pursuing 102

10 A Year in Iraq 116

11 Back Home and Breaking Through 130

12 The Fifth Circuit Shift 142

13 The Hearing 152

14 The Sorting Out 166

15 A Pause, and a New Approach 179

16 Desperation, and Witches and Martyrs 192

17 The Committee Speaks 207

18 A Lull: Would There Be a Storm? 213

19 The Final Two Trips 224

20 The Beginning of the Last Day 235

21 The Vote 241

22 A Victory Lap 247

23 Reflections 254

Epilogue 261

Appendix: Selection of Fifth Circuit Judges, 1869-2012 263

Notes 277

Index 302

Editorial Reviews

"Throughout the book, Southwick is witty without being overly clever. The man's warmth and geniality come through on the page. After Southwick's nomination clears committee and reaches the Senate floor, Arlen Specter explains Southwick's ultimate success with the committee by saying 'many people helped, but the key person was [Southwick himself] and how [he] came across to people. Nice.'

In documenting his experiences as he has, Judge Leslie Southwick provides an informative history of the judicial nomination process, but he also humanizes a journey most of us will never take. No matter what you might have thought of the judge's jurisprudence or political affiliations prior to reading the book, by the end of The Nominee, you want to confirm Leslie Southwick."

—Tamara Tabo, Above the Law

From the Publisher