Judicial System News
Reporting on courts, judges, and the broader legal system. The Daily Signal offers news, analysis, and conservative commentary on judicial issues.
-
- News
Democrats Question Judicial Nominee About Membership in Catholic Association
Two Democrats on the Senate Judiciary Committee are pressing a nominee for the Nebraska federal trial court about his membership in the Knights of Columbus, a fraternal service organization of the Catholic Church. Democratic Sens. Mazie Hirono of Hawaii and Kamala Harris of California submitted written questions in December to Brian Buescher, an Omaha lawyer nominated to the U.S. District Court for…Kevin Daley -
- Opinion
By Democrats’ Own Standard, We Have a Judicial Vacancy Crisis
Words like “crisis” are in the eye of the political beholder. But it’s hard to pick a better one to describe the current state of vacancies in the federal courts. Today, 126 positions on the U.S. District Court and U.S. Court of Appeals are vacant. In fact, we’re in the longest period of triple-digit vacancies…Thomas Jipping -
- News
Flake Continues to Hold Judicial Confirmations Hostage to Vote on Mueller Protection Bill
Retiring Sen. Jeff Flake is staying true to his pledge to not advance judicial nominees in the Senate Judiciary Committee, unless a bill that would prevent President Donald Trump from firing special counsel Robert Mueller gets a Senate vote. “It is not productive,” said Sen. Ted Cruz, R-Texas, per Politico. “One of the greatest substantive…Rachel del Guidice -
- Opinion
Where Trump’s Judicial Picks Stand at the End of This Congress
The 115th Congress is almost finished, with the Senate expected to adjourn by Dec. 14. What does that mean for the process of filling positions in the judicial and executive branches? First, here’s how it usually works. The majority and minority typically agree to confirm a group of nominees in the last few days of…Thomas Jipping -
- Opinion
A New Way of Tracking Trump’s Judicial Nominees
Addressing a convention of labor commissioners in 1889, prominent government statistician Carroll D. Wright reminded his audience that “figures will not lie,” but warned that “liars will figure.” He urged them to “prevent the liar from figuring”—that is, from “perverting the truth, in the interest of some theory he is trying to establish.” To that…Thomas Jipping -
- News
Ruth Bader Ginsburg Calls Congress the ‘Culprit’ in Polarizing Judicial Confirmation Process
Supreme Court Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg points the finger at an increasingly partisan Congress for polarizing the judicial confirmation process. Speaking at the federal courthouse in Washington on Wednesday, Ginsburg said a lack of collegiality and bipartisanship among lawmakers was to blame for polarizing the confirmation process for federal judges, The Washington Post reported. Ginsburg…Tristan Justice -
- Opinion
Why Democratic Senators Won’t Succeed in Attempt to Block Judicial Nominee
Even with just two months left in this Congress, the Senate Judiciary Committee is still holding hearings for judicial nominations. A hearing Wednesday will include Eric Miller, nominated to the U.S. Court of Appeals for the 9th Circuit, even though his home-state senators, Democrats Patty Murray and Maria Cantwell of Washington, oppose him. Murray and…Thomas Jipping -
- Opinion
How the Judicial Confirmation Process Got So Bad
The 50-48 Senate vote to confirm Brett Kavanaugh’s nomination to the Supreme Court was the closest confirmation since 1881, when Justice Stanley Matthews was approved by a vote of 24-23. President Donald Trump may well get another Supreme Court pick before he leaves office and, in the meantime, he can certainly expect aggressive opposition to…Thomas Jipping -
- News
Senate Ramping Up Trump Judicial Confirmations This Week
Since March, Senate Democrats have forced 30 hours of debate on each of five of President Donald Trump’s federal district court judge nominees subsequently approved with at least 95 votes. District court judges—the first jurists to rule on often contentious cases—have been stalled, but Senate Republicans plan this week to keep the Senate in session…Fred Lucas -
- Opinion
In Past Years, Feinstein, Schumer Said Nominee’s Judicial Record Most Important
When President Donald Trump last month announced his nomination of federal Judge Brett Kavanaugh to the U.S. Supreme Court, Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer said that the “American people deserve to know what kind of a justice” Kavanaugh would be. He’s right. How do you measure something like the “kind of a justice” a nominee…Thomas Jipping -
- Opinion
What Brett Kavanaugh’s Previous Hearings Tell Us About His Judicial Philosophy
Hours after President Donald Trump announced his nomination of Judge Brett Kavanaugh to the Supreme Court, Senate Minority Leader Charles Schumer, D-N.Y., said: “The American people deserve to know what kind of a Justice President Trump’s nominee would be.” He’s right—and the answer to that question is readily available in Kavanaugh’s record. Each nominee has…Scott French -
- Opinion
What Brett Kavanaugh’s Speeches Tell Us About His Judicial Approach
As the Senate begins the confirmation process for Supreme Court nominee Brett Kavanaugh, senators must evaluate Kavanaugh’s qualifications to determine what kind of justice his will be.. Some parts of his record, such as his service in the executive branch, are not relevant to that question, while other parts, especially his judicial opinions and many…Dominic Bayer -
- Opinion
17% of Judicial Positions Are Now Vacant
As Sen. Bob Dole once said, the judges a president appoints may be his most profound legacy. Federal judges have become increasingly powerful, much more so than America’s Founders intended. For our system of government to work as designed and to produce the liberty it promises, presidents must appoint the right kind of judges. President…Thomas Jipping -
- Opinion
Senators Need to Stop Asking Judicial Nominees Their Personal Views
On Thursday, in the Senate Judiciary Committee’s business meeting, Chairman Charles Grassley, R-Iowa, addressed efforts to force judicial nominees to express personal views on issues or cases in their confirmation hearings. Senators routinely press nominees, for example, to say whether particular Supreme Court precedents, such as Brown v. Board of Education or Roe v. Wade, were correctly decided….Thomas Jipping -
- News
6 More Judicial Nominees Advance in Trump Bid to Reshape Judiciary
President Donald Trump is completing a strong week, and is set to kick off a strong next week, in his push to reshape the federal courts, with Senate Republicans forcing votes on six more of his judicial nominees. Despite the Democrat minority in the Senate using procedures to delay many confirmation votes, Senate Majority Leader…Fred Lucas -
- Opinion
Bungling Judicial Precedent, Federal Court Upholds AR-15 Ban
Last week, a federal judge for the District Court for Massachusetts granted a motion to dismiss a lawsuit challenging the state’s prohibition of so-called “assault weapons,” such as the AR-15 semi-automatic rifle. Judge William Young held that the AR-15 and similar weapons aren’t protected by the Second Amendment, because they were originally designed for military…Amy Swearer -
- News
Judicial Picks Key to Deregulation, Reining in Bureaucracy, White House Counsel Says
Selecting federal judges and limiting government are the “flip side of the same coin,” White House counsel Don McGahn told conservative activists gathered outside Washington. McGahn spoke Thursday at the annual Conservative Political Action Conference in an interview conducted by Hillsdale College President Larry Arnn. As White House counsel, McGahn is the chief legal adviser…Fred Lucas -
- Opinion
Meet These 2 Trump Judicial Nominees Who Just Fielded Questions in the Senate
This week, the Senate Judiciary Committee considered two of President Donald Trump’s best nominations to date—Kyle Duncan for the 5th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals, and David Stras for the 8th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals. Committee Chairman Charles Grassley, R-Iowa, scheduled the hearing over the protest of Sen. Al Franken, D-Minn., who refused to…Elizabeth Slattery -
- Opinion
Podcast: The Move That Will Get Judicial Nominees Confirmed Faster
Sen. Chuck Grassley, R-Iowa, announced he won’t hold up two judicial nominees any more because of “blue slips.” We explain. Plus: drama at the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau, and Prince Harry’s engagement to American actress Meghan Markle.Katrina Trinko -
- Opinion
This Senator Is Putting an End to Democrat Stonewalling on Judicial Picks
Don’t say we didn’t warn you, Sen. Chuck Grassley, R-Iowa, told Democrats at a rocky Senate Judiciary meeting last week. When Democrats blew up the 225-year-old judicial confirmation rules in 2013, Grassley said they’d regret it. Now, four years later, the left is finding out just how right he was. Sure, clearing the way for…Tony Perkins