Born in Boston, Higginson graduated from the Groton School in Groton, Massachusetts in 1979. He then attended Harvard University and graduated summa cum laude from Harvard College in 1983, where he concentrated in Government and English. After earning an The Master of Philosophy from the University of Cambridge the following year, he enrolled in Yale Law School, where from he graduated with a law degree in 1987.
During his time at Yale, he served as Editor-in-Chief of the Yale Law Journal. From 1987 until 1988, Higginson served as a law clerk for Judge Patricia Wald on the United States Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit. He then served as a clerk for Associate Justice Byron White on the United States Supreme Court from 1988 until 1989.
Higginson became an assistant United States Attorney in 1989, working in the criminal division for the District of Massachusetts.
In 1993, he shifted to working in the Eastern District of Louisiana, and he became chief of appeals in 1995. From 2004 to 2011, he worked part-time as a prosecutor, continuing to supervise the appellate section.
In 2004, he became a full-time faculty member at Loyola University New Orleans College of Law. He taught criminal procedure, constitutional law and evidence.
On May 5, 2011, President Obama announced his intent to nominate Higginson to a seat on the United States Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit and submitted the nomination to the Senate on May 9, 2011.
Senator. Mary Landrieu had recommended Higginson to Obama for the vacancy in November 2010. The Senate confirmed Higginson"s nomination by a vote of 88–0 on October 31, 2011, and he was sworn into office on November 2, 2011.
He fills the seat that had been held by Judge Jacques L. Wiener, Junior., who took senior status in 2010.
Higginson is married to Collette Creppell, who is the former director of the New Orleans City Planning Commission and the former university architect and director of campus planning for Tulane University, and current principal and director of urban strategies at Eskew+Dumez+Ripple. The couple has three children and lives in New Orleans.
Higginson is an elected member of the American Law Institute.
