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news
University Presidents Defend Trump Judicial Nominee Questioned About ‘Dogma’
Two presidents of prestigious educational institutions have come to the defense of a Catholic nominee for an appeals court after she was questioned by a United States senator about her faith during a Senate confirmation hearing. In two separate letters, the Rev. John I. Jenkins, president of the University of Notre Dame, and Christopher L…. -
opinion
How to Stop Democrats From Stonewalling Judicial Nominees
Oregon’s two Democratic senators, Ron Wyden and Jeff Merkley, have announced they will seek to block the confirmation of 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals nominee Ryan Bounds. Last week, the senators announced they will not return blue slips to Senate Judiciary Chairman Charles Grassley, R-Iowa, for Bounds, whom President Donald Trump nominated to a… -
opinion
Al Franken Obstructs Judicial Nominee Because He’s ‘in the Mold’ of Thomas and Scalia
Sen. Al Franken, D-Minn., seems determined to block a judicial nominee from his home state. On Tuesday, Franken announced his intent to obstruct Minnesota Supreme Court Justice David Stras, the president’s nominee to the 8th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals, by refusing to return Stras’ blue slip. Why jam up the confirmation of a well-respected state… -
opinion
2 Democrat Senators Show Hostility to Religion in Questions for Judicial Nominee
“Do you consider yourself an orthodox Catholic?” is an unusual and inappropriate question for a senator to ask a judicial nominee. In fact, the Constitution forbids it. But that didn’t stop Sen. Dick Durbin, D-Ill., from probing Notre Dame Law professor Amy Coney Barrett about her faith. Sen. Dianne Feinstein. D-Calif., also chided Barrett for… -
news
Conservatives Push for Democrats to Stop Obstructing Trump Judicial Nominees
Conservatives are launching a campaign to put pressure on Democrats and counter what they view as the obstruction of President Donald Trump’s judicial nominees. “This is an issue that has energized the American people in a unique way last November,” Carrie Severino, chief counsel and policy director of the Judicial Crisis Network, told The Daily… -
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… -
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… -
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,… -
news
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… -
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… -
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… -
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… -
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…. -
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,… -
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… -
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… -
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… -
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… -
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… -
news
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…
