Steve Dillard

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Stephen "Steve" Louis A. Dillard (born November 13, 1969 in Nashville, Tennessee) is a federalist and Roman Catholic. Dillard is the founder/creator of the weblog Southern Appeal, which he started while he was serving as a law clerk to Judge Daniel A. Manion of the Seventh Circuit, U.S. Court of Appeals in 2002. Dillard initially blogged under the pseudonym “feddie” (shorthand for "Federalist") in order to comply with the ethics required of federal judicial law clerks and to ensure that Dillard's views weren’t imputed to his judge or the Court. After Dillard completed his clerkship he revealed his identity to the blogosphere. According to Dillard, it was by no means an Article III Groupie moment, but the annoucement was mentioned by several bloggers.

Beyond blogging activities, Mr. Dillard is an appellate lawyer in Macon, Georgia with the law firm of James, Bates, Pope & Spivey LLP. Dillard has been a member of the Georgia State Bar since 1996. Dillard has contributed essays to several legal encyclopedias on the lives of the following legal luminaries: Justice Antonin Scalia, Justice Joseph Story, Judge/Solicitor General Kenneth Starr, and Judge/Attorney General Griffin Bell, as well as penning entries on landmark Supreme Court decisions. He is a frequent lecturer at law schools throughout the country, having given speeches to Federalist Society student chapters at the University of Notre Dame, South Carolina, Samford University (Cumberland School of Law), Mercer University (Walter F. George School of Law), and Mississippi College School of Law. Dillard is also the "legal arm" of the "Kenny B. and Jami G." morning show on Newstalk 940 WMAC (and a frequent co-host), having served in that capacity since 1998. Dillard hit the national airwaves during the Harriet Miers debacle when he was interviewed on NPR's "All Things Considered" for a segment entitled, "Life in the Blogosphere's Right Lane." Dillard also blogs at Confirm Them and The Coalition for Darfur.

Mr. Dillard has been married to the former Krista McDaniel of Macon, Georgia for over 12 years, and they have three children. He is a graduate of Samford University and the Mississippi College School of Law (cum laude).

Steve Dillard announced on December 22, 2006, that he was ending Southern Appeal for personal and professional reasons.