Samuel Ray Cummings

Samuel Ray Cummings (born October 18, 1944)^[1] is a senior United States district judge of the United States District Court for the Northern District of Texas.

Samuel Ray Cummings
Senior Judge of the United States District Court for the Northern District of Texas
Incumbent
Assumed office December 31, 2014
Judge of the United States District Court for the Northern District of Texas
In office December 9, 1987 – December 31, 2014
Appointed by	Ronald Reagan
Preceded by	Halbert Owen Woodward
Succeeded by	James Wesley Hendrix
Personal details
Born	Samuel Ray Commings (1944-10-18) October 18, 1944 (age 80) Lubbock, Texas, U.S.
Education	Texas Tech University (BBA) Baylor University (JD)

Education and career

Cummings was born in Lubbock, Texas. He received a Bachelor of Business Administration from Texas Tech University in 1967 and a Juris Doctor from Baylor Law School in 1970. He was in private practice in Amarillo, Texas from 1970 to 1987.^[2]

Federal judicial service

On July 31, 1987, Cummings was nominated by President Ronald Reagan to a seat on the United States District Court for the Northern District of Texas vacated by Judge Halbert Owen Woodward. Cummings was confirmed by the United States Senate on December 8, 1987, and received his commission on December 9, 1987. He assumed senior status on December 31, 2014.^[2]

Notable cases

On November 16, 2016, Cummings issued a permanent nationwide injunction blocking President Barack Obama's "Persuader Rule", finding, that its attempt to require an employer's attorney to publicly disclose advise provided to persuade against unionization violated the First Amendment to the United States Constitution.^[3]