A Mississippi attorney and partner at a law firm with multiple locations in the state has been nominated to a federal appeals court judgeship.
President Donald Trump announced Thursday that Todd Butler, a partner at Phelps Dunbar, has been nominated to serve on the Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals, located in New Orleans. His nomination was backed by U.S. Sens. Roger Wicker and Cindy Hyde-Smith, both Republicans from Mississippi.
“Todd Butler is an excellent pick for the federal bench,” Wicker said. “He believes in interpreting the law as it is written, pursuant to the text and original meaning of the Constitution — exactly the quality that should characterize a jurist. Mr. Butler is a credit to his home state of Mississippi.”
“President Trump has nominated an excellent pick in Mississippi’s own Todd Butler to serve as a judge on the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit,” Hyde-Smith added. “He believes in interpreting the law as written, exactly the quality we need on the federal bench.”
Butler, who graduated among the top of his class at Mississippi State University and Mississippi College School of Law (now Mississippi Christian School of Law), is expected to succeed Judge Leslie H. Southwick on the federal bench. Southwick is a George W. Bush appointee who plans to semi-retire once a successor is named.
Before serving in the appointed role, Butler must be confirmed by the U.S. Senate, where Republicans currently hold a 53-47 majority. Hyde-Smith expects him to be confirmed “swiftly.” If that’s the case, he will soon be tasked with reviewing decisions made by lower U.S. district courts and federal administrative agencies to determine if legal errors occurred during the original proceedings.
“The wonderful people of the Great State of Mississippi (one of my favorites!), and the rest of the Fifth Circuit, can count on Todd to protect the Constitution and the Rule of Law,” Trump wrote on Truth Social.
The Senate Judiciary Committee has not yet scheduled a confirmation hearing to address Butler’s nomination.