Monday, June 30, 2025

July 2025 Judiciary News

Nominations, Hearings, Confirmations:

ABA:  The Trump administration will not allow the American Bar Association (ABA) to vet judicial nominations using non-public information and interviews.  Previously, presidents W, Trump, and Biden have prevented pre-screening of nominees by the ABA.  The ABA is nonetheless continuing to rate nominees.

6th Circuit:  President Trump announced his first judicial nomination on May 2.  Whitney Hermandorfer clerked for Justices Alito and Barrett at the Supreme Court, and Brett Kavanaugh at the DC Circuit.  She works for the Tennessee AG's office.  Notably, she falls in the Federalist Society mold, not the more Trumpist mold that some pundits have suggested Trump could nominate.

3rd Circuit:  President Trump nominated Emil Bove to the 3rd Circuit, as was previously rumored.  He is being nominated for a seat in New Jersey.  Bove is controversial due to his handling of the decision to drop the prosecution of New York Mayor Eric Adams, which led many of his subordinates to resign.  Ed Whelan has a skeptical take on Bove's nomination, while Josh Blackman has a positive take. Shortly before his Judiciary Committee hearing, a whistleblower alleged that Bove had suggested defying court orders in a meeting, which Bove denies.

Retirements:  Fewer R-appointed judges are taking senior status in Trump's second term compared to previous presidents.  There are only 11 new vacancies between January 1 and June 1.  Josh Blackman considers whether this is due to concern over nominees like Emil Bove or for other reasons.

Federalist Society:  President Trump issued a rant against the Federalist Society and its longtime leader, Leonard Leo.  This was apparently due to a decision by the Court of International Trade striking down his unilateral imposition of tariffs on most other nations.  One of the three judges who issued the ruling, Timothy Reif, was a Trump appointee, though he was a democrat who was not supported by Federalist Society leaders.

Federalist Society:  Notwithstanding his criticism of the Federalist Society, most of President Trump's early judicial nominees have ties to the Federalist Society, and it retains deep ties to the GOP.

ED-KY:  Trump nominee Chad Meredith was almost nominated before.  After being passed over in 2020 at the end of Trump's term, he was almost nominated by President Biden in 2022.  Nominating the conservative Meredith was either a 'good will gesture' or part of a secret deal with Senator Mitch McConnell.  However, Senator Rand Paul objected to the deal, as did leftists, and it never came to pass.

SD-FL:  Judge Ed Artau is being attacked for ruling on a case involving President Trump while he was being considered for a nomination to SD-FL.

Impact:  Russell Wheeler considers how big an impact Trump nominations will have on the judiciary in his second term.  In brief, it will be much less than his first term, due to fewer vacancies, and fewer judges being eligible for senior status.

Nominations:
TBA

The Federal Judiciary:

Trans:  The Supreme Court ruled 6-3 that states can ban transgender medial procedures for children, rejecting a challenge by leftists.

Supreme Court:  The court issued three unanimous decisions yielding conservative outcomes.  The decisions on 'reverse discrimination', religious liberty, and a Mexican lawsuit against US gunmakers, were all written by liberal justices.

Supreme Court:  On the final day of its term, the court issued three 6-3 opinions on the issues of religious liberty in schools, pornography age limits, and limiting nationwide injunctions.

Clerks:  David Lat has an updated list of Supreme Court clerk hiring.  Based on this, he does not believe that any justices will retire this year.

Souter:  Justice David Souter died on May 8 at age 85.  He was appointed to the New Hampshire Supreme Court by John Sununu (R) in 1983.  He was appointed to the 1st Circuit in May 1990 and the US Supreme Court in October 1990, both by George H. W. Bush (R).  He almost immediately betrayed the people who supported him and sided with the left on most controversial cases.  He retired in 2009 at age 69, allowing Barack Obama to pick his successor.

5th Circuit:  Judge John M. Duhé, Jr. died on May 16 at age 92.  He was appointed to WD-LA in 1984 and the 5th Circuit in 1988, both by Reagan.  He took senior status in 1999, and became inactive in 2011.

Vacancy Declarations:  There are now 61 current and future judicial vacancies.  There were no new vacancies over the past two months.

State Supreme Courts:

Alabama:  Justice Jay Mitchell resigned from the Alabama Supreme Court on May 19 to run for Alabama Attorney General.  Mitchell was elected to the court in 2018. The next day, Governor Kay Ivey appointed Judge Bill Lewis to replace Mitchell.  Lewis was appointed by Ivey to the Alabama Court of Civil Appeals in February 2024.

Georgia:  The Georgia Judicial Nominating Commission recommended four candidates to replace Chief Justice Michael Boggs, who resigned on March 31.  They are Magistrate Judge Brian Epps (SD-GA), Georgia Court of Appeals judges Benjamin Land and John Pipkin III, and Judge Paige Whitaker.  Governor Brian Kemp (R) will appoint Boggs' replacement.

Kansas:  The Kansas judicial nominating commission recommended three candidates from 15 applicants to replace Justice Evelyn Wilson, who will retire on July 4.  They are Judge Amy Hanley, Judge Christopher Jayaram, and attorney Larkin Walsh.  Governor Kelly (D) will appoint Wilson's replacement.

North Carolina:  The dispute over the 2024 election for a seat on the North Carolina Supreme Court has ended.  Jefferson Griffin (R) conceded the election to Alison Riggs (D).  Federal judge Richard Myers (ED-NC) had ruled that the election should be certified, ruling that some contested ballots could not be disqualified after election day.

South Dakota:  South Dakota Supreme Court Justice Janine Kern will retire on December 8.  She was appointed in 2014 by Dennis Daugaard.  Her replacement will be appointed by Governor Larry Rhoden.

Utah:  Justice John Pearce will retire on December 1.  He was appointed by Gary Herbert in 2016.  Governor Spencer Cox (R) will get his third appointment to the court.

Numbers and Trivia:

Here are the numbers of senior status declarations/retirements for federal judges (circuit judges) for the first half of 2025.
1 (0) December 2024
8 (0) January/February 2025
7 (2) March/April
0 (0) May/June

Statistics:  Susie Moore of Redstate compiled some statistics on the composition of the federal courts by President who appointed them.  She also examines D-DC, the distribution of cases challenging the Trump administration, and how biased the judges are.

ABA:  Mike Fragoso compiles a list of R-appointed judges who were given a partial NQ (not qualified) rating by the ABA.  Many of them went on to have distinguished careers as judges.

History:

On Ed Whelan's Substack, "Confirmation Tales", recent posts deal with historical Supreme Court nominations.
Friend of Hillary Clinton Tries to Stop Kavanaugh Confirmation to D.C. Circuit
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