# Joseph Bataillon
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{{Short description|American judge (born 1949)}}
{{BLP sources|date=January 2024}}
{{Infobox officeholder
| name = Joseph Bataillon
| image = Joseph F. Bataillon District Judge.jpg
| alt =
| caption =
| office = [Senior Judge](/source/Senior_status) of the [United States District Court for the District of Nebraska](/source/United_States_District_Court_for_the_District_of_Nebraska)
| term_start = October 3, 2014
| term_end =
| office1 = Chief Judge of the [United States District Court for the District of Nebraska](/source/United_States_District_Court_for_the_District_of_Nebraska)
| term_start1 = 2004
| term_end1 = 2011
| predecessor1 = [Richard G. Kopf](/source/Richard_G._Kopf)
| successor1 = [Laurie Smith Camp](/source/Laurie_Smith_Camp)
| office2 = Judge of the [United States District Court for the District of Nebraska](/source/United_States_District_Court_for_the_District_of_Nebraska)
| term_start2 = September 18, 1997
| term_end2 = October 3, 2014
| appointer2 = [Bill Clinton](/source/List_of_federal_judges_appointed_by_Bill_Clinton)
| predecessor2 = [Lyle Elmer Strom](/source/Lyle_Elmer_Strom)
| successor2 = [Robert F. Rossiter Jr.](/source/Robert_F._Rossiter_Jr.)
| pronunciation =
| birth_name = Joseph Francis Bataillon[[https://babel.hathitrust.org/cgi/pt?id=pur1.32754067979942&view=1up&seq=917 Confirmation hearings on federal appointments: hearings before the Committee on the Judiciary, United States Senate, One Hundred Fifth Congress, first session, on confirmation of appointees to the federal judiciary.]]
| birth_date = {{Birth date and age|1949|10|03}}
| birth_place = [Omaha, Nebraska](/source/Omaha%2C_Nebraska), U.S.
| death_date =
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| education = [Creighton University](/source/Creighton_University) ([BA](/source/Bachelor_of_Arts), [JD](/source/Juris_Doctor))
| footnotes =
}}
'''Joseph Francis Bataillon''' (born October 3, 1949) is a [senior](/source/Senior_status) [United States district judge](/source/United_States_federal_judge) of the [United States District Court for the District of Nebraska](/source/United_States_District_Court_for_the_District_of_Nebraska).
==Education and career==
Bataillon was born in [Omaha, Nebraska](/source/Omaha%2C_Nebraska). He received a [Bachelor of Arts](/source/Bachelor_of_Arts) degree from [Creighton University](/source/Creighton_University) in 1971 and a [Juris Doctor](/source/Juris_Doctor) from [Creighton University School of Law](/source/Creighton_University_School_of_Law) in 1974. Bataillon was a deputy [public defender](/source/public_defender) for [Douglas County, Nebraska](/source/Douglas_County%2C_Nebraska) from 1974 to 1980. He was in private practice in Omaha from 1980 to 1997.
===Federal judicial service===
On January 7, 1997, Bataillon was nominated by President [Bill Clinton](/source/Bill_Clinton) to a seat on the [United States District Court for the District of Nebraska](/source/United_States_District_Court_for_the_District_of_Nebraska) vacated by Judge [Lyle Elmer Strom](/source/Lyle_Elmer_Strom). Bataillon was confirmed by the [United States Senate](/source/United_States_Senate) on September 11, 1997, and received his commission on September 18, 1997. He served as chief judge from 2004 to 2011. He assumed [senior status](/source/senior_status) on October 3, 2014.
===Notable case===
In 2003-05, Bataillon heard ''[Citizens for Equal Protection v. Bruning](/source/Citizens_for_Equal_Protection_v._Bruning)'', a federal constitutional challenge to a voter initiative constitutional amendment that prohibited Nebraska from recognizing same-sex marriages or unions known as [Nebraska Initiative Measure 416](/source/Nebraska_Initiative_Measure_416_(2000)). In November 2005, Bataillon ruled that Initiative Measure 416 was unconstitutional under the [Equal Protection Clause](/source/Equal_Protection_Clause), the [First Amendment](/source/First_Amendment_to_the_United_States_Constitution), and the [Contract Clause](/source/Contract_Clause)'s prohibition on [bills of attainder](/source/bill_of_attainder). In so doing, Bataillon became the first judge in the U.S. to invalidate a state marriage amendment defining marriage as between a man and a woman on federal constitutional grounds.
In July 2006, the [United States Court of Appeals for the Eighth Circuit](/source/United_States_Court_of_Appeals_for_the_Eighth_Circuit) reversed Bataillon's decision on all three arguments and held that "laws limiting the state-recognized institution of marriage to heterosexual couples ... do not violate the Constitution of the United States."
In 2015, the Eighth Circuit's ruling was invalidated by the [United States Supreme Court](/source/United_States_Supreme_Court)'s decision in ''[Obergefell v. Hodges](/source/Obergefell_v._Hodges)''.
==Personal life==
Bataillon is married to Pam Bataillon, who ran for [lieutenant governor of Nebraska in 1998](/source/1998_Nebraska_gubernatorial_election).[{{cite news|title=Pam Bataillon Campaigns|newspaper=Omaha World-Herald|date=May 8, 1998|page=22|access-date=June 22, 2023|url=https://www.newspapers.com/image/892237740/}}][{{cite news|title=Pam Bataillon Entering Race|newspaper=Omaha World-Herald|date=February 23, 1998|page=9|access-date=June 22, 2023|url=https://www.newspapers.com/image/892060626/}}]
==References==
{{Reflist}}
==Sources==
*{{FJC Bio|nid=1390431}}
{{s-start}}
{{s-legal}}
{{s-bef|before=[Lyle Elmer Strom](/source/Lyle_Elmer_Strom)}}
{{s-ttl|title={{nowrap|Judge of the [United States District Court for the District of Nebraska](/source/United_States_District_Court_for_the_District_of_Nebraska)}}|years=1997–2014}}
{{s-aft|after=[Robert F. Rossiter Jr.](/source/Robert_F._Rossiter_Jr.)}}
{{s-bef|before=[Richard G. Kopf](/source/Richard_G._Kopf)}}
{{s-ttl|title={{nowrap|Chief Judge of the [United States District Court for the District of Nebraska](/source/United_States_District_Court_for_the_District_of_Nebraska)}}|years=2004–2011}}
{{s-aft|after=[Laurie Smith Camp](/source/Laurie_Smith_Camp)}}
{{s-end}}
{{United States 8th Circuit senior district judges}}
{{authority control}}
{{DEFAULTSORT:Bataillon, Joseph}}
Category:1949 births
Category:Living people
Category:20th-century American judges
Category:20th-century American lawyers
Category:21st-century American judges
Category:Creighton University alumni
Category:Judges of the United States District Court for the District of Nebraska
Category:Lawyers from Omaha, Nebraska
Category:United States district court judges appointed by Bill Clinton
Category:Creighton University School of Law alumni
Category:Public defenders
---
Adapted from the Wikipedia article [Joseph Bataillon](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Joseph_Bataillon) by Wikipedia contributors ([contributor history](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Joseph_Bataillon?action=history)). Available under [Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International](https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/). Changes may have been made.