Terry A. Doughty

Western District of Louisiana
	Fifth Circuit
Judgeships
	Posts: 7
	Judges: 6
	Vacancies: 1
Judges
	Chief: Terry A. Doughty
	Active judges: James D. Cain, Jr., Terry A. Doughty, Jerry Edwards Jr., Maurice Hicks, David C. Joseph, Robert Summerhays; Senior judges:; Dee Drell, Elizabeth Erny Foote, Robert James, Tucker Melancon, James Trimble, Donald Walter

Nomination Tracker
Nominee Information
	Name: Terry A. Doughty
	Court: United States District Court for the Western District of Louisiana
Progress
	Confirmed 215 days after nomination.
	Nominated: August 3, 2017
	ABA Rating: Substantial Majority Well Qualified, Minority Qualified (with one abstention)
	Questionnaire: Questionnaire
	Hearing: November 1, 2017
	QFRs: QFRs (Hover over QFRs to read more)
	Reported: December 7, 2017
	Confirmed: March 6, 2018
	Vote: 98 - 0

Terry A. Doughty is the chief judge of the United States District Court for the Western District of Louisiana. He was nominated to the court by President Donald Trump (R) on August 3, 2017, and confirmed by the U.S. Senate on a recorded vote of 98-0 on March 6, 2018.^[1]

The United States District Court for the Western District of Louisiana is one of 94 U.S. District Courts. They are the general trial courts of the United States federal courts. To learn more about the court, click here.

Before becoming a federal judge, Doughty was a judge of the 5th Judicial District in Louisiana from 2009 to 2018.

Judicial nominations, appointments, and elections

United States District Court for the Western District of Louisiana (2018-present)

See also: Federal judges nominated by Donald Trump

Doughty was nominated to the United States District Court for the Western District of Louisiana by President Donald Trump (R) on August 3, 2017. The U.S. Senate confirmed Doughty on March 6, 2018, by a vote of 98-0.^[1] He received commission on March 7, 2018.^[2] To read more about the federal nomination process, click here.

Confirmation vote

The U.S. Senate confirmed Doughty on March 6, 2018, on a vote of 98-0.^[1] To see a full breakdown of the vote on the official U.S. Senate website, click here.

Doughty confirmation vote (March 6, 2018)
Party	Yea	Nay	No vote
Democratic	46	0	1
Republican	50	0	1
Independent	2	0	0
Total	98	0	2

Senate Judiciary Committee hearing

Doughty had his hearing before the Senate Judiciary Committee on November 1, 2017. The committee voted to advance Doughty's nomination to the full Senate on December 7, 2017.^[1]

Nomination

President Donald Trump (R) nominated Doughty on August 8, 2017. Doughty was nominated to replace Judge Robert James, who assumed senior status on May 31, 2016.^[1]

The American Bar Association rated Doughty well qualified by a substantial majority and qualified by a minority for the position.^[3] To read more about ABA ratings, click here.

5th Judicial District, Louisiana (2009-2018)

Doughty was a judge of the 5th Judicial District in Louisiana from 2009 to 2018. He was elected in July 2008 (effective the following January) to replace retired Judge Glenn W. Strong.^[4]^[5]^[6]

Doughty was re-elected in 2014 for a term beginning on January 1, 2015. He left office in 2018 to become a federal judge.

2014 election

See also: Louisiana judicial elections, 2014

Doughty ran for re-election to the 5th Judicial District. As an unopposed candidate, he was automatically re-elected without appearing on the ballot.^[7]

Education

Doughty graduated with a J.D. from the Louisiana State University Law Center in 1984.^[8]

Professional career

2018 - Present: Judge, United States District Court for the Western District of Louisiana

2022 - Present: Chief judge

2009-2018: Judge, Louisiana's 5th Judicial District
1984-2008: Private practice, Rayville, La.^[4]^[9]

About the court

The United States District Court for the Western District of Louisiana is one of 94 United States district courts. When decisions of the court are appealed, they are appealed to the United States Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit, based in New Orleans, at the John Minor Wisdom Federal Courthouse.

The Western District of Louisiana has original jurisdiction over cases filed within its jurisdiction. These cases can include civil and criminal matters that fall under federal law.

The geographic jurisdiction of the Western District of Louisiana consists of all the following parishes in the western part of the state of Louisiana.^[10]

To read opinions published by this court, click here.

The federal nomination process

Federal judges are nominated by the president of the United States and confirmed by the Senate. There are multiple steps to the process:

The president nominates an individual for a judicial seat.
The nominee fills out a questionnaire and is reviewed by the Senate Judiciary Committee.
The Senate Judiciary Committee holds a hearing with the nominee, questioning them about things like their judicial philosophy, past rulings or opinions, etc.

As part of this process, the committee sends a blue slip to senators from the home state in which the judicial nomination was received, allowing them to express their approval or disapproval of the nominee.

After the hearing, the Senate Judiciary Committee will vote to approve or return the nominee.

If approved, the nominee is voted on by the full Senate.
If the Committee votes to return the nominee to the president, the president has the opportunity to re-nominate the individual.

The Senate holds a vote on the candidate.

If the Senate confirms the nomination, the nominee receives a commission to serve a lifelong position as a federal judge.
If the Senate does not confirm the nomination, that nominee does not become a judge.

External links

Suggest a link

Footnotes

Political offices
Preceded by -	United States District Court for the Western District of Louisiana 2018-Present	Succeeded by -
Preceded by -	Louisiana 5th Judicial District Court	Succeeded by -