Wednesday, July 01, 2026

July 2026 Judiciary News

Nominations, Hearings, Confirmations:

Red states:  There are still 13 vacant district court seats without nominees in red states (two R senators), including three in Texas, two in OK and LA, and one each in AK, FL, MO, NC, ND, and TN.  

Calendar:  Bloomberg notes that the time to confirm nominations before the end of the year is quickly narrowing.

Calendar: Ed Whelan breaks down the judicial confirmation calendar.

Blue/purple states:  President Trump nominated two judges from blue (Michigan) and purple (Pennsylvania) states.  Both received blue slips from D senators will return blue slips, though this was not clear at the time of their nominations.

Blue Slip:  Michael Fragoso discusses the state of blue slip, and whether compromise is possible between senators and the White House.

Federalist Society:  Although President Trump has criticized the Federalist Society, most of his judicial nominees still have ties to the organization.

Trump nominees:  Michael Fragoso analyzes the qualifications of circuit court nominees in Trump's second term, and how they compare to nominees in his first term, and those of other presidents.

5th Circuit:  Kurt Engelhardt will take senior status.  He was appointed to ED-LA by W in 2001 and to the 5th Circuit by Trump in 2018.  Bloomberg listed several possible candidates for the seat; Anna St. John was later nominated.

ED-PA:  Senator John Fetterman (D-PA) is the first D senator to return a blue slip for a Trump nominee in his second term.  He did so for nominee Antonio “Tony” Pozos, but has not yet decided whether to vote for him.

Nominations:
5th Circuit:  Anna St. John-clerk for Rhesa Barksdale (5th Circuit), Judge (ED-LA), President of the Hamilton Lincoln Law Institute and Center for Class Action Fairness
ND-AL:  Gregory Cook-Judge (Alabama Supreme Court)

The Federal Judiciary:

At the end of the term, the Supreme Court issued rulings in several major cases, including gun ownership for drug users, asylum, refugees, concealed carry, independent agencies, transgender sports, and birthright citizenship.

Supreme Court:  Carrie Severino documents the left's extreme rhetoric against the Supreme Court, and violent threats against the court.

Temporary Judgeships:  Mike Fragoso examines a case concerning the constitutionality of temporary judgeships.

9th Circuit:  Judge Ryan Nelson smashed the glasses of a man in an altercation over a parking space.  He faces misdemeanor charges and a misconduct complaint.

Federal Circuit:  The US Supreme Court rejected a suit against the Federal Circuit's "temporary" suspension of Judge Pauline Newman, age 99, due to alleged disability.  Critics claim she is unable to fulfill her duties, but supporters say she is being mistreated due to her frequent dissents.  The Federal Circuit has suspended Newman for a three straight years.

ND-GA:  The 11th Circuit reprimanded judge Eleanor Ross for having sex in her office during work hours.  Her identity was kept secret in the report, but was later identified due to details in that report.

ED-MI:  Judge Thomas Ludington was sentenced to 6 months probation.  He pled no contest to operating while intoxicated after he crashed his car due to being 'super drunk' last fall.  He also faces  a misconduct complaint.

Vacancy Declarations:  There are now 40 current and future judicial vacancies.  New vacancies over the past two months are listed below.
WD-MO: David Kays (W) 5/11/27 (senior)
ED-WA: Thomas Rice (Obama) 12/26 (senior)
5th Circuit: Kurt Engelhardt (Trump) 12/31/26 (senior)

State Supreme Courts:

Connecticut:  Justice Joan K. Alexander will retire on August 1.  She was appointed by Ned Lamont (D) in 2022.  He nominated Melanie Cradle to replace Alexander.  She was nominated to the Superior Court by Dannel Malloy in 2013 and to the Appellate Court by Lamont in 2020.

Delaware:  Governor Matt Meyer nominated Morgan Zurn to the Delaware Supreme Court.  She clerked for Richard Andrews (D-DE), and has been a judge for the Delaware Court of Chancery since 2018.  Justice Karen Valihura (R) did not seek reappointment, and her term ends on July 25.

Georgia:  Three seats on the Georgia Supreme Court were elected on May 19.  Ben Land was reelected unopposed.  Two conservative incumbents won over D-backed challengers.  The results were
Charlie Bethel 51.2%, Miracle Rankin 48.8%
Sarah Hawkins Warren 61.3%, Jen Jordan 38.7%

Minnesota:  Governor Tim Walz (D) appointed Justice Theodora Gaïtas to replace Chief Justice Natalie Hudson, who will retire on September 30.  Gaïtas was appointed to the court by Walz in 2024.  Walz also appointed Ramsey County District Court Judge Reynaldo Aligada Jr. to replace Gaïtas.

Rhode Island: The Rhode Island Judicial Nominating Commission has selected five finalists for the vacancy created by the retirement of Justice Maureen McKenna Goldberg.  The candidates include former House Speaker K. Joseph Shekarchi, which has raised controversy about whether he would violate a rule prohibiting legislators from immediately accepting a job with another state agency.  Rhode Island is the only state with lifetime tenure for Supreme Court judges.

Utah:  Utah Supreme Court Chief Justice Matthew Durrant will retire on August 31.  He was appointed to the court in 2000 by Michael Leavitt (R) and became chief in 2012.  Meanwhile, Justice Diana Hagen resigned following allegations of an affair with an attorney with business before the court.  She was appointed to the court by Spencer Cox (R) in 2022.

Utah:  Governor Spencer Cox appointed Jay Jorgensen and Stephen Dent to two new seats on the Utah Supreme Court.  Jorgensen clerked for Samuel Alito (3rd Circuit) and Chief Justice William Rehnquist.  He also worked for Wal-Mart and is currently senior counsel for the LDS church.  Dent clerked for  Robert Shelby (D-UT) and Scott Matheson (10th Circuit).  He is an AUSA (D-UT).  They were chosen from 12 finalists for the positions.

West Virginia:  Two seats on the West Virginia Supreme Court were elected on May 12.  Two recent appointees of Governor Patrick Morrisey were defeated for election.  Gerald Titus lost 26-31 to Kirk Kirkpatrick.  Tom Ewing lost 42-58 to Delegate Bill Flanigan (R).

History:

On Ed Whelan's Substack, "Confirmation Tales", recent posts deal with Barack Obama's Supreme Court nomination of Sonia Sotomayor.
Lame Duck:  Mike Fragoso explains what happened in the 2024 lame duck session, which ended with a deal to confirm district court judges, while leaving open four appeals court seats.

Resources:
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