Judiciary Watch

White House announces renomination of 51 judges

President Trump announced yesterday his intent to renominate 51 judicial nominees whose nominations expired at the end of 2018.  They include 9 picks for circuit court vacancies, including Neomi J. Rao, who has been selected to fill Justice Brett Kavanaugh’s vacancy on the D.C. Circuit Court of Appeals.  Rao clerked for Justice Clarence Thomas and currently works in the White House budget office.  She has been criticized by liberal groups for controversial writings from when she was in college. The list also includes 2 nominees to the 2d Circuit, 1 each to the 3d and 4th Circuits, 2 to the 6th Circuit, and 2 to the 9th Circuit.

Pence casts tie-breaking vote to confirm Kobes to 8th Circuit

The Senate yesterday voted to confirm Jonathan A. Kobes to the U.S. Court of Appeals for the 8th Circuit by a 50 to 50 vote, with Vice President Pence breaking the tie.  Kobes is the second Trump appointment to the 8th Circuit to receive a “not qualified” rating from the A.B.A.  The ratings committee cited a lack of experience and a lack of “evidence of his ability to fulfill the scholarly writing required of a United States circuit court judge.”  Kobes is currently general counsel to Sen. Mike Rounds (R – South Dakota) and is a graduate of Harvard Law School.

Judge orders White House to restore Jim Acosta's press pass

Judge Timothy Kelly, a Trump appointee, ordered the administration to temporarily restore the press credentials of Jim Acosta, a CNN reporter who was banned from the White House.  Kelly’s decision was based on a 1977 ruling from the D.C. Circuit Court of Appeals, which said the White House must give due process when revoking press credentials. 

Kavanaugh nomination advances to final vote

The Senate today voted 51 to 49 to move forward on the nomination of Hon. Brett M. Kavanaugh to the United States Supreme Court.  This vote, known as cloture, limits further debate on the nomination and likely moves it to a final vote this weekend.

Senate Judiciary Committee advances Kavanaugh nomination, Flake requests weeklong FBI investigation

The Senate Judiciary Committee today voted along party lines to advance the nomination of Hon. Brett M. Kavanaugh to the full Senate.  Sen. Jeff Flake, the only swing vote among Republicans on the committee, said he would be reluctant to vote yes on the floor without a weeklong investigation by the FBI into current allegations of sexual assault and misconduct by Kavanaugh.  The vote came just one day after a public hearing in which a woman testified that she had been sexually assaulted by Kavanuagh when the two were in high school.  Two other women have also come forward with accusations of sexual misconduct by Kavanaugh in high school and college, but neither woman was called to testify. Kavanaugh denied the accusations.   The ABA, which previously had endorsed Kavanaugh, has also requested that the vote be delayed until the FBI could conduct an investigation of the charges.

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.