Leonard Davis
From Judgepedia
| Leonard Davis | |
| Current Court Information: | |
| United States District Court for the Eastern District of Texas | |
| Title: | Chief Judge |
| Position: | Seat #6 |
| Service: | |
| Appointed by: | George W. Bush |
| Active: | 5/10/2002 - Current |
| Chief: | 2012 - Current |
| Preceded by: | Paul Brown |
| Personal History | |
| Born: | 1948 |
| Home State: | Fort Worth, TX |
| Bachelors: | U. of Texas, B.A., 1970 |
| Law School: | Baylor U. School of Law, J.D., 1976 |
| Graduate School: | Texas Christian University, M.A., 1974 |
| Military service: | Texas Army National Guard, 1970-1973 |
Contents |
Leonard E. Davis is an Article III federal judge for the United States District Court for the Eastern District of Texas. Davis became the chief judge of the court in 2012.
Early life and education
Born in Fort Worth, Texas, Davis graduated from the University of Texas at Arlington with his Bachelor's Degree in 1970 and a Master's Degree from Texas Christian University in Fort Worth, Texas in 1974. Davis later earned his J.D. degree from Baylor University School of Law in Waco in 1977. Davis served in the Texas Army National Guard from 1970 to 1973.[1]
Professional career
Davis was a private practice attorney in the State of Texas from 1977 to 2000 before being appointed by then Texas Governor George W. Bush as Chief Justice of the Texas Twelfth District Court of Appeals from 2000 to 2002.[1]
Judicial career
Eastern District of Texas
On the recommendation of Texas U.S. Senators Kay Bailey-Hutchinson and Phil Gramm, Davis was nominated to the United States District Court for the Eastern District of Texas by President George W. Bush on January 23, 2002 to a seat vacated by Paul Brown. Davis was confirmed by the U.S. Senate on May 9, 2002 on a unopposed 97-0-3 senate vote and received commission on May 10, 2002. Davis became the chief judge of the court in 2012.[2]
Notable cases
Microsoft patent case
Microsoft is asking Judge Davis to toss out a lawsuit in which Microsoft lost a $200 million verdict after a federal jury found that the company’s Word products violated a patented way to process electronic documents. Also, Microsoft is pursuing a counter-claim seeking a ruling that it did not use a patent owned by closely held i4i LP. [3]
"There is no evidence that Microsoft looked at the patent or knew about the content of the patent," Matthew Powers, a Microsoft attorney during arguments in front of Judge Davis. [3]
A verdict issued by the Eastern District of Texas, said that: "Microsoft’s infringement was willful." This resulted in i4i LP winning a $200 million dollar verdict. [3]
Douglas Cawley, an attorney for i4i, rebuts Microsoft claims stating: "The evidence amply supports the jury’s finding of willfulness. Microsoft knew of the patent, and chose to ignore it." [3].
On August 11, 2009, Judge Davis ordered Microsoft a 60 day injunction against any sale of Microsoft Word in the United States. Attorneys for Microsoft are planning to file an emergency appeal with the Federal Circuit Court of Appeals to issue a stay on the injunction Judge Davis ordered to keep selling Word until a full appeal is heard. Microsoft will plan to appeal the case on grounds i4i used an invalid patent in claiming Microsoft infringed against the Toronto-based software development company in developing Word 2003[4].
On August 24, 2009, Microsoft filed an appeal against the injunction Judge Davis ordered on Microsoft Word sales to the Federal Circuit Court of Appeals. Attorneys for Microsoft have filed their appeal on the basis that Judge Davis according to attorneys made significant procedural errors claiming that the judge erred in his interpretation. Despite the appeal, Microsoft has a lot of legal options to work with including a technical workaround of its Word products or reaching a formal settlement with i4i[5].
On September 4, 2009, the Federal Circuit Court of Appeals granted a stay on the injunction Judge Davis ordered on Microsoft Word sales while the appeal proceedings go forward[6]. The Federal Circuit Court of Appeals will hold a formal appeal hearing on September 23, 2009 in which will determine if the judge's ruling would be upheld[6].
See also
External links
- Judge Davis Webpage at the United States District Court for the Eastern District of Texas
- The Robing Room- Rate Judge Davis
- Judge Davis's Biography from the Federal Judicial Center
References
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 Judge Davis's Biography from the Federal Judicial Center.
- ↑ "THOMAS" Leonard Davis USDC, EDTX confirmation: PN1337-107
- ↑ 3.0 3.1 3.2 3.3 "Bloomberg" Microsoft Asks federal judge to Overturn Patent Loss to i4i, July 9, 2009
- ↑ "Seattle Post-Intelligencer" August 13, 2009
- ↑ "CNET" Microsoft files appeal in Word injunction case, August 26, 2009
- ↑ 6.0 6.1 "CNET" Microsoft granted stay of Word injunction, September 3, 2009
| Federal judicial offices | ||
|---|---|---|
| Preceded by: Paul Brown | Eastern District of Texas 2012–Current Seat #6 | Succeeded by: NA |
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|---|---|---|---|
| Active judges |
Chief Judge: Leonard Davis • Ron Clark • Marcia Crone • Richard Schell • Michael Schneider • James Gilstrap | ||
| Senior judges | |||
| Magistrate judges | Amos Mazzant • Don Bush • Caroline Craven • Keith Giblin • Judith Guthrie • John Love • Zack Hawthorn • Roy Payne • | ||
| Former Article III judges |
John Charles Watrous • Amos Morrill • Joel Winch • Chauncey Brewer Sabin • Robert Parker • David Ezekiel Bryant • Gordon James Russell • William Lee Estes • David Folsom • T. John Ward • William Justice • Randolph Bryant • Lamar Cecil • Howell Cobb • Joseph Fisher • Sam Hall • John H. Hannah • Joseph Sheehy • William Steger • | ||
| Former Chief judges |
Robert Parker • Thad Heartfield • David Folsom • Richard Schell • William Justice • Joseph Fisher • John H. Hannah • Joseph Sheehy • | ||
