Joseph Bataillon
Senior Judge of the United States District Court for the District of Nebraska
Assumed office
October 3, 2014
Chief Judge of the United States District Court for the District of Nebraska
In office
2004–2011
Preceded byRichard G. Kopf
Succeeded byLaurie Smith Camp
Judge of the United States District Court for the District of Nebraska
In office
September 18, 1997 – October 3, 2014
Appointed byBill Clinton
Preceded byLyle Elmer Strom
Succeeded byRobert F. Rossiter Jr.
Personal details
Born
Joseph Francis Bataillon[1]

(1949-10-03) October 3, 1949
Omaha, Nebraska, U.S.
EducationCreighton University (BA)
Creighton University School of Law (JD)

Joseph Francis Bataillon (born October 3, 1949) is a senior United States district judge of the United States District Court for the District of Nebraska.

Education and career

Born in Omaha, Nebraska, Bataillon received a Bachelor of Arts degree from Creighton University in 1971 and a Juris Doctor from Creighton University School of Law in 1974. Bataillon was a deputy public defender, Douglas County, Nebraska from 1974 to 1980. He was in private practice in Omaha from 1980 to 1997.

Federal judicial service

On January 7, 1997, Bataillon was nominated by President Bill Clinton to a seat on the United States District Court for the District of Nebraska vacated by Lyle Elmer Strom. Bataillon was confirmed by the United States Senate on September 11, 1997, and received his commission on September 18, 1997. He served as chief judge of the District from 2004 to 2011. He assumed senior status on October 3, 2014.

Notable case

In 2003-05, Bataillon heard Citizens for Equal Protection v. Bruning, a federal constitutional challenge to a voter initiative constitutional amendment that prohibited Nebraska from recognizing same-sex marriages or unions known as Nebraska Initiative Measure 416. In November 2005, Bataillon ruled that Initiative Measure 416 was unconstitutional under the Equal Protection Clause, the First Amendment, and the Contract Clause's prohibition on bills of attainder. In so doing, Bataillon became the first judge in the U.S. to invalidate a state marriage amendment defining marriage as between a man and a woman on federal constitutional grounds.

In July, 2006, the United States Court of Appeals for the Eighth Circuit reversed Bataillon's decision on all three arguments and held that "laws limiting the state-recognized institution of marriage to heterosexual couples ... do not violate the Constitution of the United States."

In 2015, the Eighth Circuit's ruling was invalidated by the United States Supreme Court's decision in Obergefell v. Hodges.

Personal life

Bataillon is married to Pam Bataillon, who ran for lieutenant governor of Nebraska in 1998.[2][3]

References

  1. ↑ Confirmation hearings on federal appointments: hearings before the Committee on the Judiciary, United States Senate, One Hundred Fifth Congress, first session, on confirmation of appointees to the federal judiciary.
  2. ↑ "Pam Bataillon Campaigns". Omaha World-Herald. May 8, 1998. p. 22. Retrieved June 22, 2023.
  3. ↑ "Pam Bataillon Entering Race". Omaha World-Herald. February 23, 1998. p. 9. Retrieved June 22, 2023.

Sources

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