Mark T. Pittman

Mark Timothy Pittman (born 1975)[1] is a United States District Judge of the United States District Court for the Northern District of Texas and former Judge of the Texas Court of Appeals.

Mark T. Pittman
Judge of the United States District Court for the Northern District of Texas
Assumed office
August 5, 2019
Appointed byDonald Trump
Preceded byJohn H. McBryde
Justice of the Texas Second Court of Appeals
In office
January 6, 2017 – August 5, 2019
Appointed byGreg Abbott
Preceded byLee Ann Dauphinot
Succeeded byMike Wallach
Judge of the 352nd Civil Court
for Tarrant County
In office
January 8, 2015 – January 6, 2017
Appointed byRick Perry
Preceded byBonnie Sudderth
Succeeded byJosh Burgess
Personal details
Born1975 (age 46–47)
Big Spring, Texas, U.S.
EducationTexas A&M University (BA)
University of Texas (JD)

Early life and education

Pittman was born in Big Spring, Texas.[2] He received his Bachelor of Arts, magna cum laude, from Texas A&M University and his Juris Doctor from The University of Texas School of Law.[3]

After graduating from law school, Pittman clerked for Judge Eldon Brooks Mahon of the United States District Court for the Northern District of Texas. He then worked as an associate at Kelly, Hart & Hallman LLP. From 2004 to 2007, Pittman was a trial attorney in the Commercial Litigation Branch of the United States Department of Justice Civil Division. Pittman then served as an Assistant United States Attorney for the Northern District of Texas. Pittman later worked as a Senior Attorney at the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation. Before becoming a judge, Pittman was an Enforcement Attorney with the United States Securities and Exchange Commission in Fort Worth.[3]

Judicial career

State judicial service

Pittman was a Judge on the State's 352nd District Court, based in Fort Worth, Texas. In 2017, he was appointed by Governor Greg Abbott to be a Justice of Texas's Second Court of Appeals.[3][4] He served in that capacity until he was appointed a federal judge in 2019.

Federal judicial service

On January 16, 2019, President Donald Trump announced his intent to nominate Pittman to serve as a United States District Judge for the United States District Court for the Northern District of Texas. On January 17, 2019, his nomination was sent to the Senate. President Trump nominated Pittman to a seat vacated by John H. McBryde, who took senior status on October 9, 2018.[5] On March 5, 2019, a hearing on his nomination was held before the Senate Judiciary Committee.[6] On April 4, 2019, his nomination was reported out of committee by a 12–10 party line vote.[7] On July 30, 2019, the Senate voted 54–34 to invoke cloture on his nomination.[8] On July 31, 2019, his nomination was confirmed by a vote of 54–36.[9] He received his judicial commission on August 5, 2019.

Notable rulings

On November 8, 2021, Pittman ruled that United Airlines can impose a COVID-19 vaccine mandate on its employees while only providing unpaid leave for exempted workers.[10]

On January 6, 2022, Pittman ordered COVID-19 vaccine manufacturer Pfizer to release the data submitted to the U.S. Food and Drug Administration for authorized use of the vaccine at a much faster rate. The data, which came from a Freedom of Information Act request, included 451,000 pages of documents which would have been released at a pace of 500 pages a month and have taken 75 years to be released completely. Pittman ordered the manufacturer to release at a pace of atleast 55,000 pages a month.[11]

Memberships

He is a member of the State Bar of Texas, Tarrant County Bar Association, Texas Bar Foundation, and the American Judges Association. He is vice president and a founding member of the Tarrant County Federalist Society.[4]

References
  1. United States Senate Committee on the Judiciary: Questionnaire for Judicial Nominees: Mark Pittman
  2. "JUSTICE MARK T. PITTMAN ", Texas Second Court of Appeals
  3. "President Donald J. Trump Announces Nineteenth Wave of Judicial Nominees" White House, January 16, 2019 This article incorporates text from this source, which is in the public domain.
  4. "Governor Abbott Appoints Pittman To Second Court Of Appeals". gov.texas.gov (Press release). January 6, 2017. Retrieved January 17, 2019.
  5. "Nine Nominations Sent to the Senate", White House, January 17, 2019
  6. United States Senate Committee on the Judiciary: Nominations for March 5, 2019
  7. Results of Executive Business Meeting – April 4, 2019, Senate Judiciary Committee
  8. On the Cloture Motion (Motion to Invoke Cloture: Mark T. Pittman to be U.S. District Judge for the Northern District of Texas), United States Senate, July 30, 2019
  9. On the Nomination (Confirmation: Mark T. Pittman, of Texas, to be U.S. District Judge for the Northern District of Texas), United States Senate, July 31, 2019
  10. Hals, Tom; Singh, Rajesh Kumar (November 9, 2021). "U.S. judge upholds United Airlines' COVID-19 vaccine mandate for employees". Reuters. Retrieved November 10, 2021.
  11. Siri, Aaron (January 18, 2022). "Why a Judge Ordered FDA to Release Covid-19 Vaccine Data Pronto". Bloomberg Law News. Retrieved March 7, 2022.
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