The Honorable Patrick E. Higginbotham was appointed to the United States District Court, Northern District of Texas, in 1975 and in 1982 to the United States Court of Appeals, Fifth Circuit. He serves as a faculty member of the Federal Judicial Center and is Adjunct Professor of Constitutional Law at SMU Law School where he teaches courses in constitutional law and federal courts.

In 1975, Judge Higginbotham was a conferee at both the American Assembly on Law and the American Future at Stanford University; in 1976, he was a conferee at the Pound Conference in St. Paul, Minnesota.

Judge Higginbotham was born in Alabama on December 16, 1938 and received his B.A. and LL.B. degrees from the University of Alabama and an honorary Dr. of Laws, SMU. He is a member of the ALI and advisor to its project on Complex Litigation; Trustee of Southwestern Legal Foundation; President of the American Inns of Court Foundation; Fellow, American Bar Foundation; member of the Committee on Ethics 2000, ABA; former Chair, Appellate Judges Conference, ABA; and former member of Board of Editors, ABA Journal. He was an advisor to the National Center for State Courts on its study of habeas corpus. He is a member of the Board of Overseers, Institute for Civil Justice, RAND, and is former Chairman of the Advisory Committee on Civil Rules. He is the author of numerous articles and book reviews.