Judiciary Watch

Senate confirms Quattlebaum and Richardson to 4th Circuit

The Senate yesterday confirmed Hon. A. Marvin Quattlebaum, Jr. and Julius Ness Richardson to the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fourth Circuit.  Quattlebaum was confirmed to the U.S. District Court for the District of South Carolina in March and prior to taking the bench was a partner with Nelson Mullins Riley & Scarborough, LLP in Greenville, SC.  Richardson has been an Assistant U.S. Attorney in South Carolina since 2009.  In 2017 he was lead counsel in the prosecution of Dylann Roof, who was sentenced to death for killing nine worshipers during Bible study at Mother Emanuel AME Church in Charleston.

Senate confirms Brett Cagle to 11th Circuit

The Senate yesterday confirmed Britt Cagle Grant to the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Eleventh Circuit by a 52 to 46 vote.  Cagle is a 2007 graduate of Stanford Law School and clerked for Supreme Court nominee Hon. Brett M. Kavanaugh.  Grant was in private practice with Kirkland & Ellis for four years prior to moving to the Office of the Georgia Attorney General.  In 2017, she was appointed to the Georgia Supreme Court and was also named by President Trump as a potential nominee to the U.S. Supreme Court.

White House withdraws Ryan Bounds nomination

The White House has withdrawn the nomination of Ryan Bounds, currently an assistant U.S. Attorney in Oregon, to serve on the U.S. Court of Appeals for the 9th Circuit.  In a party-line vote on Wednesday, the Senate ended debate on Bounds’ nomination, with a confirmation vote expected Thursday.  But Sen. Mitch McConnell (R-Ky) announced the decision to withdraw the nomination after Republicans realized they did not have the votes to confirm.  Bounds had been widely criticized for articles he wrote as an undergraduate at Stanford disparaging multiculturalism and campus groups concerned with racism.  Neither of Oregon’s Democratic senators supported Bounds' nomination.

Andrew S. Oldham confirmed to 5th Circuit Court of Appeals

The Senate yesterday confirmed Andrew S. Oldham to the U.S. Court of Appeals for the 5^th Circuit by a 50 to 49 vote.  Oldham is a 2005 graduate of Harvard Law School and clerked for Justice Samuel Alito.  He was Deputy Solicitor General in Texas from 2012 to 2015 and General Counsel in the Governor’s Office prior to his appointment.  At 39, Oldham is the youngest Trump appointee to the circuit courts of appeals.

Majority of Republicans oppose Trump pick for the 9th Circuit

The Senate yesterday voted 72 to 27 to confirm Mark Jeremy Bennett to the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit.  All 27 opposed to his confirmation were Republicans, who cited Bennett’s views on gun rights and the First Amendment.  Bennett has been critical of the Citizens United decision and has supported a limited interpretation of the Second Amendment.  Bennett is a 1979 graduate of Cornell Law School, former law clerk to Hon. Samuel P. King in the U.S. District Court for Hawaii, and served as Attorney General for Hawaii from 2003 to 2010.  He was in private practice with the Honolulu firm Starn, O’Toole, Marcus and Fisher for 8 years prior to his confirmation and during this time also served as a Special Deputy Attorney General.

Kavanaugh is Trump's pick for Supreme Court

President Trump on Monday night named Hon. Brett M. Kavanaugh as his nominee to fill Justice Kennedy’s seat on the Supreme Court.  Kavanaugh’s confirmation could shore up the court’s ideologically conservative slant for years to come and potentially threatens dozens of precedents, including Roe v. Wade.  The focus of what is sure to be a fierce confirmation battle will include Kavanaugh’s long trail of legal opinions on the Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia as well as his work with independent counsel Kenneth Starr on grounds for impeaching President Clinton.

Trump to announce Supreme Court nominee Monday night

President Trump’s Supreme Court pick is scheduled to be announced at 9:00 p.m. tonight.  Over the weekend there was speculation that there was renewed interest in Hon. Thomas M. Hardiman of the Third Circuit Court of Appeals, in addition to the other three judges still in contention.  Hardiman served on the bench with Trump’s sister, Hon. Maryanne Trump Barry.  He got good marks from lawyers interviewed for the Almanac of the Federal Judiciary, who called him “one of the best” and a “practical, no nonsense guy.”

Trump SCOTUS picks narrows to three

President Trump will announce his choice to replace Justice Kennedy, who announced his retirement last week, on Monday July 9th.  He is said to still be considering three candidates, with Hon. Brett M. Kavanaugh of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia widely considered the front-runner.  The other two are Hon. Raymond M. Kethledge of the 6th Circuit Court of Appeals and Hon. Amy Coney Barrett of the 7th Circuit.

Kavanaugh is a 1990 graduate of Yale Law School and former clerk to Justice Kennedy. He was appointed to the bench by President George W. Bush.  Lawyers interviewed for the Almanac of the Federal Judiciary describe Kavanaugh as “very smart, but very conservative.”  Kethledge is also a former Kennedy clerk and was appointed by President George W. Bush.  Lawyers described him as “a brilliant jurist” and as “conservative” but generally fair.  Barrett was appointed to the 7th Circuit by President Trump last year.  She spent most of her career teaching and writing about the law, focusing primarily on constitutional interpretation, statutory interpretation, and the power conferred upon federal courts by Article III.

Kennedy announces retirement

Justice Kennedy announced his retirement from the U.S. Supreme Court today. Kennedy, 81 and a moderate conservative on the court, has long been considered the swing vote in many divided cases. A conservative Trump appointee would solidify the court's 5-member conservative majority. 

Senate confirms 2 to federal courts in Kentucky and Texas

The Senate yesterday confirmed Robert E. Wier to the federal bench in the Eastern District of Kentucky by a 95 to 0 vote and Fernando Rodriguez, Jr. to the Southern District of Texas by a 96 to 0 vote. Wier has been a U.S. Magistrate Judge since 2006 and prior to taking the bench was in private practice in Lexington.  Rodriguez was with the Dallas office of Baker Botts from 1998 to 2009.  Prior to taking the bench, he was a Field Office Director for the International Justice Mission in Bolivia and the Dominican Republic, helping to combat sexual abuse of children and sex trafficking.