H.R. No. 2052
R E S O L U T I O N
WHEREAS, The Honorable Leonard Davis is retiring as chief
judge of the United States District Court for the Eastern District
of Texas in May 2015, concluding an exemplary 15-year tenure on the
bench; and
WHEREAS, Appointed as a U.S. district judge in 2002, Judge
Davis has gained recognition as one of the nation's top
intellectual property law jurists; the patent docket in the Eastern
District has grown on his watch from under 10 cases in 2002 to more
than 1,100 in 2015, and he has personally handled more than 1,700
intellectual property cases, including as many as 11 patent jury
trials in a single year; and
WHEREAS, Many of his cases have become landmark decisions of
the Federal Circuit and U.S. Supreme Court, and they have a high
affirmance rate on appeal; Judge Davis has been invited to sit by
designation on both the United States Federal Circuit Court of
Appeals and the Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals, and he has served on
the Judicial Council of the Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals and the
Federal Circuit Advisory Council Committee on Case Management;
moreover, he has served as co-chair of the Federal Judges Committee
of the Federal Circuit Bar Association; and
WHEREAS, Previously, Judge Davis served as chief justice of
the Twelfth Court of Appeals of the State of Texas; before taking
the bench, he distinguished himself as a trial lawyer in East Texas
for more than two decades, and from 1983 to 1988, he was general
counsel to the Republican Party of Texas; he served by
gubernatorial appointment on the Judicial Districts Board and the
State Ethics Advisory Commission, and he has served the State Bar of
Texas on its Legal Publications Committee; and
WHEREAS, A Fellow of the Texas Bar Foundation, Judge Davis
was named 2013 Jurist of the Year by the Texas Chapter of the
American Board of Trial Advocates; in 2012, he received the
prestigious Baylor Lawyer of the Year Award from his alma mater,
where he graduated first in his class in 1976; he also holds a
bachelor's degree in mathematics from The University of Texas at
Arlington and a master's degree in management science from Texas
Christian University; and
WHEREAS, Leonard Davis has set high standards of excellence
throughout his career, and his contributions to his profession have
earned the respect and admiration of the legal community in Texas
and across the country; now, therefore, be it
RESOLVED, That the House of Representatives of the 84th Texas
Legislature hereby congratulate Leonard Davis on the occasion of
his retirement as chief judge of the United States District Court
for the Eastern District of Texas and extend to him sincere best
wishes as he embarks on the next exciting chapter of his life; and,
be it further
RESOLVED, That an official copy of this resolution be
prepared for Judge Davis as an expression of high regard by the
Texas House of Representatives.
Hughes
______________________________
Speaker of the House
I certify that H.R. No. 2052 was adopted by the House on May
21, 2015, by a non-record vote.
______________________________
Chief Clerk of the House