Monday, August 01, 2022

August 2022 Judiciary News

Breyer tired.

Supreme Court:

Overview:  Carrie Severino gives an overview of the Supreme Court for the past year, which included many victories for constitutionalists.

Alito:  Justice Altio gave a speech scorning criticism of his ruling in Dobbs v. Jackson Women’s Health from foreign leaders.  Their countries have abortion laws that would have been illegal under Roe v Wade.

Barrett:  Dan McLaughin debunks a smear of Justice Amy Coney Barrett by progressive hack Mark Joseph Stern, who laughably claims that she is "in Over Her Head,” and "has floundered on the intellectual sidelines".

Leak:  So far, no information has been released about the investigation into the leak of the draft opinion in Dobbs v. Jackson Women’s Health.

Leftism:  Gerard Baker debunks the left's hyperbolic rhetoric about the Supreme Court 'declaring war' on American, governing, or Earth itself.

Popularity:  Ramesh Ponnuru argues that the Supreme Court giving up its own power will not generate a political backlash.

Polling:  A new poll indicates that abortion is more unpopular when the baby is closer to birth.  Some people's opinions on abortion are inconsistent with support for Roe, indicating that they don't understand what it did.

Nominations, Hearings, Confirmations:

9th Circuit:  Biden nominee Roopali Desai serves on the board of Just Communities Arizona (JCA), a group that seeks "a world in which prisons and jails are unnecessary."  It also supports defunding the police, the BDS movement, and mourned the execution of a man who raped and murdered a child.  Her record includes a long list of leftist activism.

ED-KY:  President Biden will not nominate conservative Chad Meredith for a future vacancy.  Reportedly, he would have been nominated as a favor to Senator Mitch McConnell, but was scuttled when Senator Rand Paul would not return a blue slip.  Paul complained that he was not consulted about the deal.  Given that both Biden and Paul seem to be acting against interest, it is easy to suspect that there is more to the story that has not been reported.

Nominations:
1st Circuit:  Julie Rikelman-clerk for Morton Greenberg (3rd Circuit), abortion lawyer
2nd Circuit: Maria Araújo Kahn-clerk for Peter Dorsey (D-CT), Connecticut Supreme Court
D-MA: Myong Joun-Boston Municipal Court
D-MA: Julia Kobick-clerk for Michael Chagares (3rd Circuit), Ruth Bader Ginsburg, MA AG lawyer
SD-OH: Jeffery Hopkins-clerk for Alan Norris (6th Circuit), US Bankruptcy Court (SD-OH)
ND-CA: Rita Lin-clerk for Sandra Lynch (1st Circuit), Superior Court of San Francisco County
ND-CA: Araceli Martinez-Olguin-clerk for David Briones (WD-TX), National Immigration Law Center
ED-CA: Daniel Calabretta-clerk for William Fletcher (9th Circuit), John Paul Stevens, Superior Court of Sacramento County
D-DC:  Todd Edelman-clerk for William Bryant (D-DC), Superior Court of DC

The Federal Judiciary:

Retirements:  Thomas Berry argues that judges should not be able to pick their successors by conditioning their retirements on the selection of a particular candidate.  He suggests several proposals to address this issue.

11th Circuit:  There will be another investigation of Chief Judge Bill Pryor's hiring of a clerk accused of sending racist texts.  Her employer, Turning Point USA, refuted the allegations, and a previous investigation cleared her and Pryor.

SD-TX:  Judge Lynn Hughes has been admonished by the 5th Circuit after banning a female litigator from his courtroom for life.  He has faced allegations of sexism before due to several previous incidents.

Vacancy Declarations:  There are now 119 current and future judicial vacancies.  New vacancies over the past month are listed below.
SD-CA: Gonzalo Curiel (Obama) 3/20/23 (senior)
SD-FL: Marcia Cooke (W) 7/15 (senior)
D-CO: Raymond Moore (Obama) 6/20/23 (senior)

State Supreme Courts:

States:  The fight over abortion is now in state courts.  Many liberal judges have enjoined restrictions on abortion for no legitimate reason.

Alaska:  Chief Justice Daniel Winfree will be age-limited by February 2023.  Seven lawyers have applied to fill the vacancy.  The applicants will be narrowed by the Alaska Judicial Council, and the appointment will be made by governor Mike Dunleavy.  One of the applicants is Judge Paul Roetman, a conservative who was controversially excluded from consideration for the previous vacancy.

California:  Chief Justice Tani Gorre Cantil-Sakauye will not seek reelection, and will retire in November.  She is 62, and was appointed by governor Arnold Schwarzenegger in 2010.  Governor Gavin Newsom will make his third appointment to the court.

Iowa:  Governor Kim Reynolds appointed Iowa Court of Appeals Judge David May to the Iowa Supreme Court.  He was appointed to the district court 2016 and to the Court of Appeals in 2019.  He replaces Brent Appel, the last D-appointed justice, who was age-limited.  

New York:  New York Court of Appeals Chief Judge Janet DiFiore will retire on August 31.  She was appointed by Andrew Cuomo in 2016.  She was facing an ethics investigation when she announced her retirement.  She is part of a group of four 'conservative' (non-leftist would be a more accurate term) judges (along with Cannatarro, Garcia, and Singas) on the court.  Governor Kathy Hochul will get her second appointment to the court.

Elections:

Tennessee:  On August 4, all five justices of the Tennessee Supreme Court face a retention election.  They are Jeff Bivins, Sarah Campbell, Sharon Lee, Holly Kirby, and Roger A. Page.  Only Lee was appointed by a D governor.

Washington:  On August 2, there is a nonpartisan primary for the Washington Supreme Court.  Justices Mary Yu, G. Helen Whitener, Barbara Madsen are all unopposed for renomination.

Numbers and Trivia:

Retirements:  Harsh Voruganti of the Vetting Room shows that young judges are more likely to leave the bench early, and gives some reasons why.

History:

Conservatism:  Josh Blackman reviews the history of 60 years of Supreme Court appointments by R presidents, and how conservatives finally won after decades of failures.

Resources:
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