Henry Travillion Wingate

Henry Travillion Wingate (born January 6, 1947) is a United States District Judge of the United States District Court for the Southern District of Mississippi.

Henry Travillion Wingate
Chief Judge of the United States District Court for the Southern District of Mississippi
In office 2003–2010
Preceded by	Tom Stewart Lee
Succeeded by	Louis Guirola Jr.
Judge of the United States District Court for the Southern District of Mississippi
Incumbent
Assumed office October 17, 1985
Appointed by	Ronald Reagan
Preceded by	Seat established by 98 Stat. 333
Personal details
Born	Henry Travillion Wingate (1947-01-06) January 6, 1947 Jackson, Mississippi
Education	Grinnell College (B.A.) Yale Law School (J.D.)

Early life and education

Born in Jackson, Mississippi, Wingate received a Bachelor of Arts degree from Grinnell College in 1969 and a Juris Doctor from Yale Law School in 1972. He was a law clerk for Community Legal Aid in Jackson from 1972 to 1973.[1]

Career

Wingate was in private practice in Jackson in 1973. He was a Lieutenant in the Naval Legal Services Office of the United States Navy from 1973 to 1976, serving as a senior assistant defense counsel from 1973 to 1974 and a trial counsel from 1974 to 1976. He was an adjunct instructor at Golden Gate University School of Law from 1975 to 1976. He was an adjunct lecturer at Tidewater Community College in 1976. He was a special assistant attorney general of the State of Mississippi from 1976 to 1980. He was an adjunct professor at the Mississippi College School of Law from 1978 to 1983. He was an assistant district attorney of the Seventh Circuit Court District, State of Mississippi from 1980 to 1984. He joined the United States Naval Reserve in 1983. He was an Assistant United States Attorney of the Southern District of Mississippi from 1984 to 1985.[1]

Federal judicial service

Wingate was nominated by President Ronald Reagan on September 11, 1985, to the United States District Court for the Southern District of Mississippi, to a new seat created by 98 Stat. 333. He was confirmed by the United States Senate on October 16, 1985, and received his commission on October 17, 1985. He served as Chief Judge from 2003 to 2010.[1]

Judicial backlog

On September 29, 2016, the U.S. Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals removed Wingate as judge from two cases for continued failure to rule upon pending motions.[2] This was not the first time the Court of Appeals had taken notice of Judge Wingate's judicial backlog; in 2010, the higher court criticized him for taking more than six years to issue a final judgment in a civil case.[3]

Notable case

Wingate sentenced Chris Epps, former Mississippi Department of Corrections (MDOC) commissioner, to 325 months (19.7 years) for corruption-related crimes.[4] Wingate cited a burglary incident in which Epps, while on bail, attempted to move material from a Flowood, Mississippi residence he previously gave up to the court, as the reason why Wingate gave a sentence that was longer than the one recommended by prosecutors, 13 years.[5]

References

1. Henry Travillion Wingate at the Biographical Directory of Federal Judges, a public domain publication of the Federal Judicial Center.
2. Journal, ABA. "Federal judge is tossed from two cases for repeated failure to rule on pending motions". ABA Journal. Retrieved 2016-10-07.
3. "5th Circuit removes Entergy case from Judge Wingate". The Clarion Ledger. Retrieved 2016-10-07.
4. Gates, Jimmie E. (2017-05-25). "Ex-prison chief gets nearly 20-year sentence". USA Today at MSN. Archived from the original on 2017-05-25. Retrieved 2017-05-26.
5. Gates, Jimmie E. (2017-05-24). "Chris Epps sentenced to almost 20 years". The Clarion-Ledger. Retrieved 2016-05-27. "In his decision not to accept the prosecution's 13-year sentence recommendation, Wingate said to do so would ignore the burglary Epps committed while out on bond."

Sources

• Henry Travillion Wingate at the Biographical Directory of Federal Judges, a public domain publication of the Federal Judicial Center.

External links

• The Ku Klux Klan in Mississippi (2010), by Michael Newton

Legal offices
Preceded by Seat established by 98 Stat. 333	Judge of the United States District Court for the Southern District of Mississippi 1985–present	Incumbent
Preceded by Tom Stewart Lee	Chief Judge of the United States District Court for the Southern District of Mississippi 2003–2010	Succeeded by Louis Guirola Jr.