News Mississippi

Senators support confirmation of Trump’s nominee for District Judge

By Steven Gagliano

On Wednesday, U.S. Senators Roger Wicker (R-Miss.) and Cindy Hyde-Smith (R-Miss.) offered strong recommendations for Mississippi Court of Appeals Judge Cory T. Wilson to be a U.S. District Court Judge for the Southern District of Mississippi.

Wicker and Hyde-Smith introduced Wilson at a Senate Judiciary Committee hearing to consider judicial nominees. President Trump nominated Wilson last year.

“Judge Wilson’s credentials, intelligence, and respect for the rule of law are without question,” Wicker said. “I am confident given his academic and professional achievements that Judge Wilson would serve the southern district and our union well as U.S. district judge.”

“I know Judge Wilson personally. He is an excellent choice to serve on the judiciary. His experience as a public servant, his legal knowledge, and his personal qualities will serve him and the American people well when he takes a seat on the federal bench,” Hyde-Smith said. “President Trump nominated a qualified, impressive, and solid conservative candidate to this vacancy, and I urge the committee to approve Judge Cory Wilson’s nomination as soon as possible.”

The full Senate can vote to confirm Wilson only after the Judiciary Committee approves the nomination. If confirmed, Wilson would assume the seat vacated by District Court Judge Louis Guirola, Jr., who took senior status.

Wilson, a native of Moss Point, earned an undergraduate degree from the University of Mississippi and law degree from Yale University, where he served on the Yale Law Journal. He served as a law clerk to Eleventh Circuit Court of Appeal Judge Emmett Ripley Cox, in addition to being a White House Fellow in the U.S. Department of Defense.

Prior to his appointment to the Mississippi Court of Appeals, Wilson served in the Mississippi House of Representatives and held senior positions within the offices of the Mississippi State Treasurer and Mississippi Secretary of State. A lawyer by profession, Wilson is also a former adjunct professor at Mississippi College School of Law.