Wicker, Hyde-Smith Recommend Confirmation of Cory Wilson to Serve on Fifth Circuit
Senate Committee Considers Nomination of Mississippian Selected by Trump for Federal Bench
May 20, 2020
WASHINGTON – U.S. Senators Roger Wicker, R-Miss., and Cindy Hyde-Smith, R-Miss., today offered strong recommendations for Mississippi Court of Appeals Judge Cory T. Wilson to be a U.S. Circuit Judge on the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit.
Wicker and Hyde-Smith introduced Wilson at a Senate Judiciary Committee hearing to consider his nomination. President Trump selected Wilson for the Fifth Circuit in March.
“Judge Wilson’s credentials, intellect, and respect for the rule of law are well-established,” Wicker said. “Given his professional and academic achievements and his strong reputation in Mississippi as a fair and impartial judge and a good and decent man, I am confident that Judge Wilson will serve the Fifth Circuit and our nation well as a circuit judge.”
“I can assure you that Judge Wilson has a well-rounded career that includes experience working in executive, legislative, and judicial branches of government. Over the years, he has gained extensive and diverse litigation experience, and is certainly well qualified for the position and well respected by his colleagues,” Hyde-Smith told the committee. “Senator Wicker and I are proud to support Judge Wilson’s nomination and urge the Judiciary Committee to approve his nomination expeditiously.”
If confirmed, Wilson would assume the seat vacated by E. Grady Jolly, who took senior status in 2017.
Wilson, a native of Moss Point, recently received the highest rating of “well qualified” from the American Bar Association to serve on the Fifth Circuit.
Wilson earned an undergraduate degree from the University of Mississippi and law degree from Yale Law School, 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. Wilson is also a former adjunct professor at Mississippi College School of Law.
