Patrick Errol Higginbotham
Appointed by President Ronald Reagan in 1982 and confirmed by voice vote, Patrick Errol Higginbotham is a Judge on the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit. He earned a law degree from University of Alabama School of Law in 1961. He previously served on the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Texas. Opinions & record ↓ Sources ↓
- Born
- 1938 · age 88
- Appointed by
- Ronald Reagan, 1982
- Confirmed
- by voice vote
- Education
- University of Alabama 1960 · University of Alabama Law 1961
- Succeeded
- Reynaldo Guerra Garza
- Succeeded by
- Jennifer Walker Elrod
Federal judicial service
| Year | Court | Appointed by | Vote |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1975 | Northern District of Texas succeeded Sarah Tilghman Hughes | Ford (R) | Voice vote |
| 1982 | Fifth Circuit succeeded Reynaldo Guerra Garza | Reagan (R) | Voice vote |
Party letters show the appointing president’s party, not the judge’s own. A voice vote means the chamber approved aloud. No senator-by-senator tally is recorded.
Confirmation vote
Voice vote
The Senate approved this confirmation aloud, with no senator-by-senator tally recorded. Recorded roll-call votes begin in 1989.
Education
| University of Alabama | B.A. | 1960 |
| University of Alabama School of Law | LL.B. | 1961 |
Judicial Record
In our data, Higginbotham authored 60 published opinions for the court (1976–2011). Most cited: Vuyanich v. Republic Nat. Bank of Dallas (66 citations).
Published, precedential opinions from the CourtListener corpus. Counts and rankings are objective and recomputable: how we count. We describe the record, not the judge.
Selected opinions
| Year | Case | Citation | Cited |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1980 | Vuyanich v. Republic Nat. Bank of Dallas | 505 F. Supp. 224 | 66 |
| 1981 | Tatro v. State of Tex. | 516 F. Supp. 968 | 51 |
| 1979 | Hundahl v. United Benefit Life Ins. Co. | 465 F. Supp. 1349 | 49 |
| 1980 | Hunt v. BP Exploration Co.(Libya) Ltd. | 492 F. Supp. 885 | 45 |
| 2011 | Danos v. Jones | 652 F.3d 577 | 40 |
| 1979 | Taylor v. Titan Midwest Construction Corp. | 474 F. Supp. 145 | 40 |
| 1981 | Vuyanich v. Republic Nat. Bank of Dallas | 521 F. Supp. 656 | 36 |
| 1978 | OKC Corp. v. Williams | 461 F. Supp. 540 | 35 |
| 1978 | Maxey v. Freightliner Corp. | 450 F. Supp. 955 | 29 |
| 1979 | Cooper v. University of Texas at Dallas | 482 F. Supp. 187 | 28 |
| 1978 | Synercom Technology, Inc. v. University Computing Co. | 462 F. Supp. 1003 | 27 |
| 1979 | Securities & Exchange Commission v. OKC Corp. | 474 F. Supp. 1031 | 25 |
| 1979 | Henry v. Texas Tech University | 466 F. Supp. 141 | 25 |
| 1978 | United States v. Treadway | 445 F. Supp. 959 | 24 |
| 1981 | LTV Federal Credit Union v. UMIC Government Securities, Inc. | 523 F. Supp. 819 | 20 |
Showing the 15 most-cited of 60 authored opinions in our data. “Cited” is inbound citations across the CourtListener corpus. Case links open the ruling’s full text (CourtListener) or its page here; read the methodology and verify against the primary source.
Questions & answers
- Who appointed Patrick Errol Higginbotham?
- President Ronald Reagan appointed Patrick Errol Higginbotham to the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit in 1982.
- Was Patrick Errol Higginbotham appointed by a Democrat or a Republican?
- Patrick Errol Higginbotham was appointed by President Ronald Reagan, a Republican. JudicialFinder records the appointing president's party, not a judge's own politics.
- What was Patrick Errol Higginbotham's confirmation vote?
- Patrick Errol Higginbotham was confirmed by voice vote on July 27, 1982. No senator-by-senator tally was recorded.
- Which court is Patrick Errol Higginbotham on?
- Patrick Errol Higginbotham is a Judge on the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit.
Sources
Each fact on this page traces to a primary public record.
- FJC Biographical Directory
- Wikidata
- CourtListener bulk data (Free Law Project): authored opinions & citation counts
How we source & reconcile data → Data & Sources
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44 years on the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit. Data as of 2026-08-10. Informational only; verify against the primary source before relying. Not a consumer report (FCRA).