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- News
Judicial Watch Sues State Department, USAID for Documents on Funding to Soros’ Foreign Campaigns
Judicial Watch filed a lawsuit against the Department of State and the U.S. Agency for International Development for records on funding awarded to George Soros’ Open Society Foundation-Albania, the conservative nonprofit watchdog announced Wednesday. The suit was filed May 26 after both government agencies failed to respond to Judicial Watch’s Freedom of Information Act requests. The…Ethan Barton -
- Opinion
Judges Who Fret Over Trump’s Motives Are Ignoring US Judicial History
President Donald Trump’s revised executive order on immigration is back in court, and therefore back in the news. On Monday, a three-judge panel of the 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals heard arguments on the order’s constitutionality. Opponents of the order claim that it violates the Establishment Clause by setting up a ban on Muslim…Carson Holloway -
- News
Younger Judicial Nominees Give Trump Chance for Legacy in Courts
President Donald Trump will begin to leave his mark on the lower courts of the federal judiciary with 10 nominees named Monday, many of them judges still in their 40s. “The president followed the principles that were used to guide that list to select the additional eight individuals,” @PressSec says. Shortly after 7:30 p.m. Monday,…Fred Lucas -
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Judge Warns 9th Circuit’s Use of Trump Campaign Pledge ‘Judicial Psychoanalysis’
A federal judge is raising an alarm about “judicial psychoanalysis” resulting from the 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals ruling on President Donald Trump’s executive order on “extreme vetting.” Last week, the 9th Circuit voted against rehearing the case that a three-judge panel had previously ruled on in affirming the federal district judge’s temporary restraining…Fred Lucas -
- Opinion
Court Ruling Against Trump’s Executive Order Shows the Worst of Judicial Activism
A three-judge panel of the 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals has repeated the mistakes made by the district court judge who stayed President Donald Trump’s executive order temporarily suspending visas from seven terrorist havens. Both the judge in Washington state and the San Francisco-based circuit court have now refused to recognize the authority of Congress…Hans von Spakovsky -
- Opinion
Neil Gorsuch Is Trump’s Best Revenge for Judicial Activism
We do not yet know whether the Trump administration will appeal Thursday’s setback in the 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals to the Supreme Court. Regardless, the challenge to President Donald Trump’s immigration order is but one of what will surely be a long series of pitched legal battles—many reaching the high court—as progressives pursue…Curt Levey -
- News
So Much for the GOP Blockade: Obama Tops Bush on Judicial Confirmations
Recent stories in Politico and The Washington Post paint a picture of unprecedented obstruction by Senate Republicans of President Barack Obama’s judicial nominees. “Trump set to reshape judiciary after GOP blockade,” blared Politico’s Burgess Everett on Dec. 16. Nine days later, it was The Post’s turn. “Trump to inherit more than 100 court vacancies, plans…Robert B. Bluey -
- News
7 Big Judicial Setbacks to Obama’s Executive Overreach
Much of President Barack Obama’s executive action legacy will be decided by the courts after he leaves office, but he had a rough judicial record while serving. Though Obama has frequently touted his pen and phone policymaking, these actions on immigration, environmental policy, and presidential appointees have often been swatted away by the Supreme Court….Fred Lucas -
- Opinion
How a President’s Bad Judicial Appointments Threaten Your Liberty
When Americans cast their ballots for the next president this November, they will not only select the next commander in chief and primary enforcer of the law, they will help select a new Supreme Court justice and countless other lower court judges. Selecting judges is not an ancillary responsibility—it is a central and critical duty,…Tiffany Bates -
- News
7 Weeks Before Election, Republicans Help Advance Another Obama Judicial Nominee
As President Barack Obama’s time in office nears its end, the Senate Judiciary Committee has advanced another one of his judicial nominees toward a lifetime post. She may not get to the finish line, though. While the Senate has entered that part of the political calendar when confirmations traditionally halt, the Judiciary Committee on Thursday voted…Philip Wegmann -
- News
How the GOP Senate Is Boosting Obama’s Judicial Legacy
Republican senators consistently accuse President Barack Obama of refusing to follow the law and exceeding his constitutional powers. Yet they’ve been unwilling to draw the line when it comes to giving Obama’s judicial nominees lifetime appointments to the federal bench. So far in 2016, the Republican-led Senate has confirmed nine Obama judges. And that number…Robert B. Bluey -
- News
Senate Confirms Obama Judicial Nominee Opposed by Maryland Police Unions
The Senate confirmed Paula Xinis for a federal judgeship in Maryland by a vote of 53-34, over the protests of major state police unions and outside conservative groups. Xinis, a partner and senior trial attorney at the Baltimore law firm representing the family of Freddie Gray, will serve in what is in effect a lifetime…Philip Wegmann -
- News
Flashback to 1992: When Democrats Halted a Republican President’s Judicial Nominees
If Senate Democrats get their way, Republicans won’t follow their example. That is, Senate Republicans in 2016 won’t act as Democrats did when they blocked court confirmations in 1992. Twenty-four years ago looked a lot like the inverse of today. On the eve of a presidential election, there was a Republican in the White House and…Philip Wegmann -
- News
After Facing Questions on Abortion, 2 Obama Judicial Nominees Fail to Advance
The Senate Judiciary Committee is holding up two of President Barack Obama’s judicial nominees for federal judgeships in Pennsylvania. Robert Colville and John Younge, both nominated for lifetime judicial positions, did not receive a vote at Thursday’s committee meeting. Judiciary Chairman Chuck Grassley, R-Iowa, said the move was meant to give senators more time to review “their records…Philip Wegmann -
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Obama Judicial Nominee Who Accused Reagan of ‘Bigotry’ Faces Confirmation Vote
President Obama’s nominee for a federal judgeship in Minnesota accused the Reagan administration of “bigotry” in her writing for the prestigious UCLA Law Review in 1989. Minnesota Supreme Court Justice Wilhelmina Wright, who is expected to win Senate confirmation to federal District Court in her state next Tuesday, wrote the accusation shortly before graduating Harvard Law…Philip Wegmann -
- Opinion
What the Constitution Tells Us About How Senators Should Consider Obama’s Judicial Nominees
What exactly is the Senate’s role of “Advice and Consent” when it comes to the nominations made by a president? It’s a topic of perpetual debate in Washington. One wrong-headed argument holds the role to be quite modest: Senators should defer to a president’s choices except in extreme circumstances. That position is advanced far too often by…Hans von Spakovsky -
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Senator Reveals Full Scope of Democrats’ ‘Manufactured’ Judicial Confirmation Crisis
Republican Sen. Chuck Grassley of Iowa is pushing back on Democratic charges that the GOP-led Senate has dropped the ball on judicial confirmations under President Barack Obama. Grassley took to the Senate floor Monday after his colleagues confirmed the 314th judicial nominee since the president took office, noting that by this time in 2007, under…Natalie Johnson -
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Ted Cruz: ‘Tragic’ Supreme Court Decisions Are ‘Judicial Activism’
DES MOINES, Iowa—At a campaign appearance here, Sen. Ted Cruz on Saturday railed against two “tragic” Supreme Court decisions, criticizing the verdicts as “judicial activism.” “Both decisions were judicial activism, plain and simple,” said Cruz, referring to the Supreme Court’s decisions to legalize gay marriage and allow nationwide health care subsidies under Obamacare. “Even in…Leah Jessen -
- Opinion
Judicial Activism From Supreme Court on Marriage. Here’s How to Respond.
Today is a significant setback for all Americans who believe in the Constitution, the rule of law, democratic self-government, and marriage as the union of one man and one woman. The U.S. Supreme Court got it wrong: It should not have mandated all 50 states to redefine marriage. This is judicial activism: nothing in the…Ryan T. Anderson -
- Opinion
Judicial Activism on Marriage, Like Abortion, Can Cause Harms
Forty-two years ago, in Roe v. Wade and Doe v. Bolton, the Supreme Court tried to settle the abortion debate by declaring the Constitution somehow creates a right to abortion in all 50 states. There is nothing in the Constitution that requires abortion in all 50 states, and that’s why Roe is rightly viewed as an activist decision, as explained in this…Ryan T. Anderson
