Samuel Mays
| Samuel Mays | |
| Current Court Information: | |
| United States District Court for the Western District of Tennessee | |
| Title: | Judge |
| Position: | Seat #1 |
| Service: | |
| Appointed by: | George W. Bush |
| Active: | 5/10/2002 - Present |
| Preceded by: | Jerome Turner |
| Personal History | |
| Born: | 1948 |
| Home State: | Memphis, TN |
| Bachelors: | Amherst College, B.A., 1970 |
| Law School: | Yale U. School of Law, J.D., 1973 |
Contents |
Samuel H. Mays, Jr. is an Article III federal judge for the United States District Court for the Western District of Tennessee. He joined the court in 2002 after being nominated by President George W. Bush.
Early life and education
A native of Memphis, Mays graduated from Amherst College with his Bachelor's Degree in 1970 and graduated from Yale Law School in 1973. [1]
Professional career
After law school, Mays served as a private practice attorney in the State of Tennessee for 22 years from 1973 to 1995. In 1995, Mays became Legal counsel to Governor Donald Sundquist (R-Tennessee) from 1995 to 1997. In 1997, Mays became Deputy to the governor and chief of staff for Tennessee Governor Donald Sundquist from 1997 to 2000. From 2000 to 2002, Mays served as a private practice attorney before being appointed to the Federal Bench.[1]
Judicial career
Western District of Tennessee
On the unanimous recommendation of Senators Bill Frist and Fred Dalton Thompson, Mays was appointed by President George W. Bush on on January 23, 2002, to a seat vacated by Jerome Turner as Turner died while in judicial service. Mays was confirmed by the U.S. Senate on May 9, 2002, on a senate vote and received commission on May 10, 2002.[1]
Notable cases
A notable case on this page needs to be updated.
Judge Mays is a pivotal figure in the on-going saga to consolidate the Memphis City and Shelby County School Districts. Voters in municipal areas in Shelby County voted in favor of creating their own school districts rather than merge with Memphis City Schools. This move was fought by proponents of the consolidation effort and Judge Mays was called upon to make a decision. On November 27, 2012, he ruled unconstitutional under Tennessee law the effort to create municipal school districts in suburban areas around Memphis. He has deferred ruling on two other issues related to the consolidation, however, until early 2013.[2]
See also
External links
References
| Federal judicial offices | ||
|---|---|---|
| Preceded by: Jerome Turner |
Western District of Tennessee 2002–Current Seat #1 |
Succeeded by: NA |
| |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Active judges |
Chief Judge: Jon McCalla • Samuel Mays • Daniel Breen • Stanley Anderson • John T. Fowlkes | ||
| Senior judges | |||
| Magistrate judges | Diane Vescovo • Tu Pham • Edward Bryant • Charmiane Claxton • | ||
| Former Article III judges |
Bernice Donald • John McNairy • Morgan Welles Brown • Julia Gibbons • Harry Wellford • West Hughes Humphreys • Connally Findlay Trigg • Eli Shelby Hammond • John Ethridge McCall • John William Ross • Harry Bennett Anderson • John Donelson Martin • Marion Boyd • Bailey Brown • Odell Horton • Robert McRae • Jerome Turner • | ||
| Former Chief judges |
James D. Todd • Julia Gibbons • Marion Boyd • Bailey Brown • Odell Horton • Robert McRae • | ||
