Stephen Andrew Higginson at a glance
- Current role
- U.S. Circuit Judge
- Jurisdiction
- National federal courts · Federal
- Judicial service
- Active
Stephen Andrew Higginson
U.S. Circuit Judge · U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit
Service record and verification
Judicial service and assignments
- U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit · U.S. Circuit Judge · Not Current In Effective Roster · November 2, 2011–Not Current In Effective Roster · Assignment source ↗
- U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit · U.S. Circuit Judge · Active · Assignment source ↗
Appointment and verification
- Appointment method
- Presidential appointment with Senate confirmation
- Appointing authority
- Barack Obama
- Source authority
- Federal Judicial Center Biographical Directory
Biography
Professional career
- Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Court of Review: Judge since February 25, 2021
- Judge, Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit, 2011-present
- Associate professor, Loyola University New Orleans College of Law, 2004-2011
- held a position as Assistant U.S. Attorney in the District of Massachusetts (1989–1993) and later in the Eastern District of Louisiana (1993–2011)
- Law clerk, Hon. Byron White, Supreme Court of the United States, 1988-1989
- held the role of law clerk to Chief Judge Patricia Wald (D.C. Circuit) (1987–1988) and to Justice Byron White of the U.S. Supreme Court (1988–1989)
- Law clerk, Hon. Patricia Wald, U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit, 1987-1988
- American federal judge serving on the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit and as Presiding Judge of the United States Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Court of Review
Education
- M.Phil. — University of Cambridge — 1992
- Yale University — J.D. (1987)
- Yale Law School, where he was editor-in-chief of The Yale Law Journal — J.D. (1987)
- Harvard University — B.A. (1983)
- Harvard College
Additional information
- Presiding Judge since August 16, 2023
- U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit: Appointed by President Barack Obama on May 9, 2011; confirmed by the Senate 88–0 on October 31, 2011; commissioned November 2, 2011
- Born April 12, 1961, in Boston, Massachusetts.
- Date of birth: 1961-01-01
- Higginson has authored and sat on numerous Fifth Circuit cases, covering areas such as labor law, civil rights, and criminal procedure.
- His rulings often focus on statutory interpretation and procedural issues, as seen in Starbucks v.
- NLRB, where he required agencies to apply the correct legal test for coercion under the totality of the circumstances.
- Birth place: Boston, MA
Applicable Court Rules & Procedures
Oral argument
Courtwide
In federal courts of appeals, oral argument is allowed unless a three-judge panel unanimously finds one of Rule 34's specified grounds for dispensing with it; the clerk provides the date, time, place, and time allocation.
Oral argument must be allowed in every case unless a panel of three judges who have examined the briefs and record unanimously agrees that oral argument is unnecessaryFederal Rule of Appellate Procedure 34, Oral Argument ↗
Sources
Identity source checked July 25, 2026.
Biography sources checked October 11, 2026.
Federal Judicial Center biography
Identity source · HTML · Federal Judicial Center Biographical Directory · effective November 2, 2011 · Source checked July 25, 2026
View Federal Judicial Center biography ↗CourtListener judicial biographical directory
Identity source · HTML · CourtListener / Free Law Project · Source checked August 2, 2026
View CourtListener judicial biographical directory ↗Federal Rule of Appellate Procedure 34, Oral Argument
Courtwide source · HTML · Supreme Court of the United States and Judicial Conference of the United States · Source checked July 26, 2026
View Federal Rule of Appellate Procedure 34, Oral Argument ↗Federal Judicial Center — Biographical Directory of Federal Judges
Identity source · TEXT · Federal Judicial Center · Source checked September 8, 2026
View Federal Judicial Center — Biographical Directory of Federal Judges ↗