Walter L. Nixon

Judge Nixon was the senior federal district court judge for the Southern District of Mississippi. In 1986, he was convicted of perjury and sentenced to five years in prison for lying in testimony before a federal grand jury about his attempt to influence the prosecution of a business associate’s son. After the conviction, the U.S. Judicial Conference forwarded a recommendation of impeachment to the House of Representatives. The House impeached Nixon in 1989 on two articles related to the perjury charges and one general article concerning Nixon’s alleged profiting from an oil and gas investment with a company while hearing two civil cases involving the company. In the Senate, the case was reviewed by a special trial committee empaneled under Rule XI. The full Senate took up consideration of the case in November 1989. Nixon was convicted of the two articles alleging perjury and acquitted on the third article.

Resources

The following materials link to fuller bibliographic information in the Library of Congress Online Catalog. Links to additional online content are provided when available.

Journal of the House of Representatives
Call Number: KF46 .A22
Published/Created: 1789-
101st Cong., 1st Sess. (1989) - Proceedings concerning the adoption of the articles of impeachment are published on pages 350-52 (available at HathiTrust External).
Journal of the Senate of the United States of America
Call Number: KF45 .A22
Published/Created: 1789-
101st Cong., 1st Sess. (1989) - Proceedings for the trial appear on pages 974-91. Note that there was a closed door session on November 2 (available at HathiTrust External).
Congressional Record
Call Number: KF35
Published/Created: 1874-
135 Cong. Rec. (1988) - The House debate and vote on the articles of impeachment are published on pages 8814-24 of volume 135. Preliminary matters concerning the investigation in the House can be located in volume 134. The vote on the articles in the Senate is published in volume 135 on pages 27,101-05 (available at govinfo (v. 135, House debate) and govinfo (v. 135, Senate vote)).
Proceedings of the United States Senate in the Impeachment Trial of Walter L. Nixon, Jr...S. Doc. No. 101-22 by U.S. Senate
Call Number: KF8782.N58 N583 1989
Published/Created: 1989
Contains the text of the proceedings in the Senate, the preliminary proceedings including the articles of impeachment, post-trial submissions, and statements by senators for the record. The foreword provides a useful description of the Senate prints and documents published as a result of Nixon’s impeachment and trial. If using the Serial Set, the associated volume is 13,918.
United States Congressional Serial Set
Call Number: KF12 .U5
Published/Created: 1817-
- U.S. House of Representatives, Impeachment of Walter L. Nixon, Jr., H.R. Rep. No. 101-36 (1989) - Recommends the passage of H.R. Res. 87, the articles of impeachment against Judge Nixon. Summarizes the evidence examined by the Committee on the Judiciary in its review of the Nixon case. Includes information about prior impeachments of members of the federal judiciary. Found in volume 13,950 (available at HathiTrust External).
- U.S. Senate, Impeachment of Walter L. Nixon, Jr., S. Doc. No. 101-17 (1989) - Contains the amended articles of impeachment, Nixon’s answer, and the House’s reply to Nixon’s answer (referred to as a replication). Supersedes S. Doc. 101-8. Found in volume 19,915 (available at HathiTrust External).
Report of the Senate Impeachment Trial Committee on the Articles against Judge Walter L. Nixon, Jr.: Hearings before the Senate Impeachment Trial Committee by U.S. Senate
Call Number: KF26.5 .I367 1989
Published/Created: 1989
Contains the records of the proceedings of the Committee and filings made to it, testimony by witnesses, exhibits introduced into evidence, the hearings of the Subcommittee in the House of Representatives, and the criminal trial and post-conviction proceedings (available at HathiTrust External).
Judge Walter L. Nixon, Jr., Impeachment Inquiry: Hearings before the Subcommittee on Civil and Constitutional Rights of the Committee on the Judiciary by U.S. House of Representatives
Call Number: KF27 .J847 1988b
Published/Created: 1988
Contains the text of the testimony of witnesses before the Committee. The appendix contains the text of exhibits submitted at the hearing and materials from the criminal trial (available at HathiTrust External).
Judge Walter L. Nixon, Jr., Impeachment Inquiry: Hearing before the Subcommittee on Civil and Constitutional Rights of the Committee on the Judiciary, House of Representatives by U.S. House of Representatives
Call Number: KF27 .J847 1989a
Published/Created: 1989
Reviews Nixon’s involvement in an oil and gas lease, which did not result in a charge of impeachment. Includes testimony and exhibits (available at HathiTrust External).
Report of the Impeachment Trial Committee on the Articles against Judge Walter L. Nixon, Jr., S. Rep. No. 101-164 by U.S. Senate
Call Number: KF8782.N58 N584 1989
Published/Created: 1989
Reviews the articles of impeachment against Nixon and the supporting evidence. Prints the votes of the trial committee on the articles. If using the Serial Set, the associated volume is 13,927 (available at HathiTrust External).
Judge Walter L. Nixon, Jr., Impeachment Inquiry Transcript of Proceedings U.S.A. v. Walter L. Nixon, Jr., Crim. Action No. H85-00012(L) by U.S. House of Representatives
Call Number: KF8782.N58 N58 1989
Published/Created: 1989
Contains the transcript and exhibits from the Nixon criminal trial (available at HathiTrust External).
Subcommittee Markup of House Resolution 87, Impeachment of Judge Walter L. Nixon, Jr. by U.S. House of Representatives
Published/Created: 1989
Contains the transcript of the markup session of the Subcommittee on Civil and Constitutional Rights concerning H.R. Res. 87 (available at HathiTrust External).

Federal Impeachment

Walter L. Nixon

Featured Link

Resources