November 2020 Judiciary News

ACB > RBG

Supreme Court:

Barrett:  Justice Amy Coney Barrett was confirmed on October 26 by a 52-48 vote.  All Rs except Susan Collins voted yes; all members of the D caucus voted no.  Barrett was sworn in by Justice Thomas the same evening.

Barrett:  Carrie Severino summarizes Day 1, Day 2, and Day 3 of the Judiciary Committee hearings on Judge Barrett.

ABA:  The left-leaning American Bar Association gave Judge Barrett a rating of Well Qualified by a substantial majority, with a minority voting for a rating of qualified.

Barrett:  Both Joe Biden and Kamala Harris declined to criticize Judge Barrett during their debates.

Barrett:  Harsh Voruganti of the Vetting Room has analyzed the split opinions involving Judge Barrett, both when she was in the majority and minority.

Barrett:  Politico writes that Barrett quickly became a consensus candidate due to strong support from Mitch McConnell, Leonard Leo, and Josh Hawley.  Also notable is the Leo helped to keep Neomi Rao off Trump's Supreme Court list.

Barrett:  Leftists have demanded that Justice Barrett recuse herself from a variety of cases, especially potential election litigation.  Carrie Severino and Ed Whelan disagree, pointing out previous cases in which liberal judges did not recuse themselves.

Supreme Court:  Senator Ted Cruz has written a book on the Supreme Court: One Vote Away: How a Single Supreme Court Seat Can Change History.  He revealed that he raised concerns with President Trump about Neil Gorsuch and Brett Kavanaugh.  He instead recommended Senator Mike Lee be appointed.

Supreme Court:  Joshua Wilson asks why there aren’t any evangelicals on the Supreme Court, while there are 6 Catholics.  He mentions that evangelicals are less likely to become lawyers, and less likely to attend top law schools.  One answer the article doesn’t give is that evangelicals are more interested in results than identity politics.

Nominations, Hearings, Confirmations:

Feinstein:  Some leftist groups want Senator Diane Feinstein removed as ranking D on the Senate Judiciary Committee.  Some senators are unhappy with her performance in the ACB hearings, but there doesn't seem to be much support for removing her.

Texas:  Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton was accused of corruption by seven aides, including First Assistant AG Jeff Mateer, who resigned in protest.  Mateer is notable due to his nomination to ED-TX in 2017.  He was not confirmed due to some controversial comments he made that came to light.

New Nominations:
TBD

Senate Judiciary Committee hearings:
TBD

Confirmations:
TBD

The Federal Judiciary:

Judicial winning:  Carrie Severino of the Judicial Crisis Network is writing a series highlighting Trump's conservative judicial appointees.  The series so far includes Kyle Duncan, Amul Thapar, Ken Lee, Lisa Branch, Amy Coney Barrett, Greg Katsas, Justin Walker, Kevin Newsom, Dan Bress, Eric Murphy, Daniel Collins, Patrick Bumatay, Paul Matey, and Jay Richardson.

Misconduct:  Judges accused of misconduct often retire to avoid accountability.  Case in point is Judge Truman A. Morrison III of the DC Superior Court.

1st Circuit:  Judge Juan Torruella died on October 26 at age 87.  He was the first appeals court judge from Puerto Rico.  He was appointed to D-PR by Ford in 1974 and to the 1st Circuit by Reagan in 1984.  He was generally liberal, issuing rulings supporting abortion and gay rights, and obstructing the death penalty.

SD-CA:  Chief Judge Larry Burns will take senior status on January 22, 2021, two days after the winner of the next presidential election is inaugurated.  He was appointed by W in 2003.  In 2012, he wrote a column endorsing an assault weapons ban, so he isn't that conservative.

State Supreme Courts:

Elections:  Check out my preview of state supreme court elections in 2020.

California:  Governor Gavin Newsom appointed Martin Jenkins to the California Supreme Court.  He was appointed to ND-CA by Clinton in 1997, and resigned in 2008.  Governor Schwarzenegger then appointed him to the California Court of Appeals.  He is 66.  The court now has 5 D and 2 R appointees.

Texas:  Governor Greg Abbott appointed Rebeca Huddle to the Texas Supreme Court.  Huddle, 47, is a native of El Paso who was a justice on a Houston-based appeals court.  She replaces Justice Paul Green, who retired in August.

Numbers and Trivia:

Obstruction:  Keith Whittington examines obstruction of circuit court nominees.  Both parties have engaged in this practice and President Obama was not obstructed significantly more than previous presidents.

Supreme Court:  Ilya Shapiro shows that liberal justices of the Supreme Court are more likely to vote as a block than conservative justices.

Roberts Court:  Dan McLaughlin rebuts the claim by Senator Sheldon Whitehouse that the Roberts Court decided 80 cases by a 5-4 margin, and all 80 cases were decided in favor of corporate interests.

Longevity:  Three judges originally appointed by Nixon, Gerald Bard Tjoflat, John Clifford Wallace, and Peter T. Fay, just passed 50 years of service.  They are tied for 26th on the list of longevity of service of federal judges.

Longevity:  ProPublica examines the longevity of current federal judges.  Trump appointees are somewhat younger than those of other presidents.

Courting Change:  Reuters examines the federal appeals courts, including appointing president, circuits, age, race, and sex.

Claims:  President Trump appointed Eleni Roumel as Chief Judge of the Court of Federal Claims on October 19.  Trump appointed her to the court in February 2020.  She was Deputy Counsel to VP Mike Pence 2018-2020.  She replaces Margaret Sweeney, whose term on the court of claims expired on October 24.  Sweeney was appointed to the court by W in 2005 and was named chief by Trump in 2018.

History:

Lincoln:  Kamala Harris misrepresented how President Lincoln handled a Supreme Court vacancy in an election year.  He didn't make a nomination before the election not because "the people should decide" but because the Senate was out of session.  (Also, there was a civil war.)  The seat was filled in the lame duck session after the election.

Resources:
Bench Memos (National Review)
The Vetting Room
Twitter: FedJudges Senate Cloakroom
Senate Judiciary Committee
ABA Judicial Ratings
Wikipedia: Trump Judges US Appeals Courts
Senior Status Spreadsheet
Future Judicial Vacancies
BostonPatriot diaries: History Trump DC-5 6-11 9th
Ballotpedia--State Supreme Court Vacancies Elections
The Supreme Courts
2020: March April May June July August September October Elections

Barrett in the Herald

Thursday's Western Herald features an article profiling Tom Barrett's run for County Commission. The article is straightforward and unbiased. You can leave a comment on the Herald site, if you want.

Barrett served two years in the military right out of high school and four years in the Michigan National Guard. He was stationed in South Korea with the military for a year and a half, then he was deployed to Guantanamo Bay from 2003 to 2004 with the National Guard.

"It was an eye-opening experience," Barrett said of his service. "An experience that I am very proud of, but not one that I would like to see again."

The last message of his campaign is to encourage people, mainly students, to get out and vote, he said."

People have died to secure our right to vote," he said. "It's sad to have half, or less than half, vote. It's too great of a right to pass up and not be involved in."

Barrett is up against two other candidates for the position of Fourth District County Commissioner. The election will take place on Tuesday, Nov. 7, and the voting for precincts four and five will be held at Arcadia Elementary School.

In the meantime, students can find Barrett all around campus and up and down the nearby neighborhoods in an effort promote his campaign and to encourage students to vote."

I'm working hard to get my name out and to get students involved," he said. "You can sit back and do nothing or you can participate and try to change something for the better."

For more information on Barrett's campaign trail, where or how to vote or any questions regarding the commission, contact Tom Barrett at: tom.barrett@wmich.edu or visit his Web site at: votetombarrett.com.

The day before, the Herald featured an article concerning campus politics. The article is not online; the Herald seems to be rather hit-or-miss in this regard.

They profile the College Republicans. The article is unbiased, but it has two errors. They misspell AJ's name, and misdate Pat Buchanan's speech (it was two years ago, not one).

The College Democrats have withered away to nothing, and are now inactive.

The College Greens have "moved their efforts exclusively into" Students Against Sweatshops, one of several affiliated groups that have existed for awhile. Their main goal is imposing a "living wage" on Western. Does this mean that they think that Western is a sweatshop? They refer specifically to CSM, a janitorial company Western contracts with.

But not to worry:

Because Western doesn't pay these employees directly, organizers say that getting CSM to raise their employees wages would not cost students more.

Do people really think this way? Sadly, they do.

Not to belabor the obvious, but where will the money come from to pay janitors more? Will it fall from the sky? If Western demands that CSM pay its employees more, they will raise the price that they charge to Western. That will cost students more.

The next thing you know, these people will want the government to run a coffee mug business.

October 2020 Judiciary News

RBG, RIP.

Supreme Court:

Ginsberg:  Justice Ruth Bader Ginsberg died September 18 at the age of 87.  She was appointed to the DC Circuit by Carter in 1979.  She was elevated to the Supreme Court by Clinton in 1993 at age 60.  She was recommended to Clinton by Senator Orrin Hatch (!) and confirmed 96-3.  The three no votes were Jesse Helms, Don Nickles, and Bob Smith.

Ginsberg:  Despite her support for abortion, Justice Ginsberg acknowledged in 1973 that Roe v Wade was wrongly decided:

“One of the most curious things about Roe is that, behind its own verbal smokescreen, the substantive judgment on which it rests is nowhere to be found.”

Ginsberg:  Supreme Court Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg hired over 100 law clerks, but only one is black (Paul Watford of the 9th Circuit).  Under the theory of 'disparate impact', any racial distribution in hiring different from the surrounding population is proof of racial discrimination.  Ginsberg's hiring discredits this theory.

Barrett:  President Trump announced the nomination of Judge Amy Coney Barrett of the 7th Circuit for the Supreme Court on September 26.  Barrett, age 48, got her JD from Notre Dame and clerked for Judge Laurence Silberman (DC Circuit) and for Justice Scalia at the Supreme Court.  She was a professor at Notre Dame for 15 years, and has been on the 7th Circuit since November 2, 2017.

Barrett:  The AP explains how Barrett rose from law professor to Supreme Court nominee with the help of Don McGahn, the Federalist Society, and the conservative movement.

Barrett:  Ed Whelan has written a series of articles on Judge Barrett's views on abortion, the Second Amendment, textualism and originalism, Title IX protections for accused students, and stare decisis.

McConnell:  Senator Mich McConnell has been accused of hypocrisy for pledging a vote on President Trump's nominee while refusing a vote on Merrick Garland in 2016.  However, McConnell clearly stated then that he was referring to blocking a nominee of the opposite party.

Hypocrisy:  In 2016, more than 350 law professors signed a letter stating that the Senate had a “constitutional duty to give President Barack Obama’s Supreme Court nominee a prompt and fair hearing and a timely vote.”  Surely they will say the same about President Trump's nominee.

Senate:  National Review examines how Senator McConnell rounded up support in the Senate for voting on a Supreme Court nominee prior to the election.

Lagoa:  Barbara Lagoa, the reported runner-up for the nomination, has been a member of the Federalist Society since 1998.  Her rise to prominence coincides with the increasing influence of the Florida Federalist Society over judicial selections in that state.

Nominations, Hearings, Confirmations:

Trump list:  President Trump released a list of 20 additions to his list of Supreme Court candidates, along with a statement of purpose.  The additions are:

Circuit Judges: Bridget Bade (9th), Kyle Duncan (5th), James Ho (5th), Gregory Katsas (DC), Barbara Lagoa (11th), Peter Phipps (3rd), Allison Jones Rushing (4th), Lawrence VanDyke (9th)
District Judges: Martha Pacold (ND-IL), Sarah Pitlyk (ED-MO)
State Supreme Court Judges: Carlos Muñiz (FL)
US Senators: Tom Cotton, Ted Cruz, Josh Hawley
DC lawyers: Paul Clement, Steven Engel, Noel Francisco, Christopher Landau, Kate Todd
State Attorney Generals: Daniel Cameron (KY)

Notable omissions include Neomi Rao (DC), Michael Park (2nd), Andy Oldham (5th), Ken Lee (9th)

Future appointments:  Harsh Voruganti of the Vetting Room lists twelve state court judges Donald Trump and Joe Biden might elevate to the Court of Appeals.  The contrast is stark.

Blue slip:  For the past four years, senate Ds have lauded the blue slip, but now that they expect a Biden victory, the far-left group Demand Justice is demanding that Senator Diane Feinstein end it.  Feinstein says she is undecided, apparently meaning that she needs to know the election results before she decides her position on blue slips.

D-NM:  New Mexico's D senators are using the blue slip to hold up district court nominees from their states as a protest of the latest Supreme Court nomination.   It appears that other D senators are doing the same.

MD-FL:  Kathryn Kimball Mizelle, a nominee to MD-FL, is only 33 years old.  She has been attacked for inexperience, and got a NQ/Q rating from the ABA.  Carrie Severino defends her experience, noting she had four clerkships, worked in the Department of Justice, private practice, and taught in law school.

New Nominations:
Supreme Court: Amy Coney Barrett--clerk for Scalia, Judge (7th Circuit)

Senate Judiciary Committee hearings:
October 1 (business): Five district court nominees are likely to be approved.

Confirmations:
TBD

The Federal Judiciary:

Judicial winning:  Carrie Severino of the Judicial Crisis Network is writing a series highlighting Trump's conservative judicial appointees.  The series so far includes Kyle Duncan, Amul Thapar, Ken Lee, Lisa Branch, Amy Coney Barrett, Greg Katsas, Justin Walker, Kevin Newsom, Dan Bress, Eric Murphy, Daniel Collins, Patrick Bumatay, and Paul Matey.

Trump judges:  The far-left People For the American Way released a report, Trump Judges: Even More Extreme than Reagan and Bush Judges.  Music to our ears!

DC Circuit: Carrie Severino writes an 'open letter' to new DC Circuit Judge Justin Walker, detailing the "politicization and bitter infighting" on the circuit.

4th Circuit:  Senior Judge Clyde Hamilton died in early September at age 86.  He was appointed to D-SC by Reagan in 1981 and to the 4th Circuit by HW in 1991.  He took senior status in 1999 and was active until his death.  The 4th Circuit now has only two senior judges.

5th Circuit: Former Judge Robert Manley Parker died on August 27 at age 82.  He was appointed to ED-TX by Carter in 1979 and to the 5th Circuit by Clinton in 1994.  He retired in 2002.

ED-TN:  Judge Pamela Reeves died of cancer on September 10 at age 66.  She was appointed by Obama in 2014.  ED-TN now has two vacancies out of five judgeships.

State Supreme Courts:

Florida:  The Florida Supreme Court issued a 5-0 ruling that Governor DeSantis must appoint a judge from the existing list of qualified judges submitted by the Judicial Nominating Commission in January.  They previously ruled that his appointment of Renatha Francis to the court was not allowed by the law, since she did not have ten years of legal experience by the deadline to make the appointment.  The suit was filed by state rep Geraldine Thompson, a black D who wanted one of the more liberal black applicants screened out by the Commission to be appointed.  While she initially wanted a new list drawn up, the court allowed her to amend her complaint to demand a judge from the existing list.  Governor DeSantis waited a few hours after the court's deadline of September 14 at Noon to announce his choice.

Florida:  Governor DeSantis appointed Jamie Grosshans to the Florida Supreme Court.  She is a judge of the Fifth District Court of Appeal, appointed by Rick Scott in 2018. Grosshans, age 42, is a member of the Federalist Society, Orlando Christian Legal Society, and Alliance Defending Freedom.

Kansas:  Eleven lawyers have applied for the seat on the Kansas Supreme Court vacated by retiring Justice Carol Beier.

Massachusetts:  Massachusetts Supreme Judicial Court Chief Justice Ralph Gants died at age 65.  He was appointed to the court by Governor DeVal Patrick in 2009.  Another seat will open December 1 when Justice Barbara Lenk is age-limited.  When those seats are filled, all seven justices will be appointees of left-leaning Republican Governor Charlie Baker.

Numbers and Trivia:

Clerks:  John Doe has a list of judges for whom Trump's judicial nominees have clerked.  Justice Thomas leads the pack.

D-KS:  Judge Wesley Brown was the oldest judge to ever hear cases.  Brown heard cases until shortly before his death in 2012 at age 104.  He was appointed by Kennedy in 1962 and took senior status in 1979.

Asian Judges: Wikipedia has a list of Asian judges, but does not separate out federal judges.  These are Asian judges that Trump has appointed:
6th Circuit: Amul Thapar
5th Circuit: James Ho
6th Circuit: John Nalbandian
DC Circuit: Neomi Rao
2nd Circuit: Michael Park
9th Circuit: Kenneth Lee
9th Circuit: Patrick Bumatay
ND-TX: Karen Scholer
D-HI: Jill Otake
WD-PA: Nicholas Ranjan
ND-IL: Martha Pacold
SD-FL: Anuraag Singhal
ED-NY:  Diane Gujarati

There are a few more who have been nominated (corrections welcome):
CD-CA:  Steve Kim
ED-NY:  Saritha Komatireddy

History:

Supreme Court:  Dan McLaughlin shows that historical precedent supports a President and Senate of the same party filling a Supreme Court vacancy at any time, including a lame duck session.  This article led National Review's list of top stories for a week after RBG's death.

Resources:
Bench Memos (National Review)
The Vetting Room
FedJudges (Twitter)
Senate Cloakroom (Twitter)
Senate Judiciary Committee
ABA Judicial Ratings
Wikipedia-Trump Judges
Wikipedia-US Appeals Courts
Senior Status Spreadsheet
Future Judicial Vacancies
BostonPatriot diaries: History Trump DC-5 6-11 9th
Ballotpedia-State Supreme Court Vacancies
The Supreme Courts
2020: March April May June July August September

WMU College Republican Tom Barrett Runs for County Commission

I want to take this opportunity to formally introduce myself to the Kalamazoo County Republican Party. My name is Tom Barrett, and I am the new Chairman of the WMU College Republicans. Many of you are familiar with us for bringing many fine speakers to campus.

We are looking forward to electing a great slate of Republicans in November. I hope to be one of those candidates. I am on the ballot, running for the 4th district County Commission seat. I am the only Republican candidate in this district, so I will be focusing most of my efforts and resources on the general election in November. I will need help, but with the dedication of our great volunteer base, I am sure we can win back this seat.

Before I came to Western, I was an active duty soldier in the United States Army, and I still serve in the Michigan Army National Guard. This experience taught me leadership and responsibility, and I hope to put these skills to good use on the County Board next year.

The 4th district has many student residents. I have a plan in place to earn the support of both students and permanent residents of the community. I would greatly appreciate and put to good use any help that you could provide. I am running this race to win it. This county can do better, and this race offers us our best chance of winning back any seat in Kalamazoo County.

My campaign committee address is: Friends of Tom Barrett, P.O. Box 19252, Kalamazoo, 49019. I also invite you to look at my updated website, http://www.votetombarrett.com/. Please feel free to contact me with whatever comments or advice you have. My email address is tom.barrett@wmich.edu. I look forward to another great year working together to get all of our Republican candidates elected. Thank you very much.

Tom Barrett

Barrett, Allen Wed

Two former leaders of the of the WMU College Republicans tied the knot on Saturday.

Tom Barrett returned safely from his deployment in Iraq a couple weeks ago. He was Chairman during the 2006-07 school year. The group was named best in the nation by the College Republican National Committee during his tenure.

Ashley Allen was Chairman of the group during the 2005-06 school year. During her tenure, the group brought Ann Coulter to campus. Coulter spoke before an audience of about 2500 people.

Previous:
Tom Barrett Overseas
Tom Barrett Deployed

Tom Barrett for State Representative

Tom Barrett, former chairman of the WMU College Republicans, is running for state representative.  He is running in the 71st district (Eaton County).  This district usually elects Republicans, but democrat Theresa Abed defeated incumbent Deb Shaughnessy in 2012.  I would consider the race a tossup.  Tom is a solid conservative and strong candidate who deserves our support.

TomforMichigan.com

TOM BARRETT FOR STATE REPRESENTATIVE

Tom Barrett for State House

Here is Tom Barrett's announcement that he is running for state house in the 71st district.



Previous: Tom Barrett for State Representative

Tom Barrett Overseas

Tom Barrett, the former Chairman of the WMU College Republicans has completed his training in Texas and has been deployed to the Middle East. He is a Sergeant in the Army and continues to serve his country.

Tom is a great conservative and a great American. Please keep him in your thoughts and prayers.

Previous: Tom Barrett Deployed

Tom Barrett Deployed

Sergeant Tom Barrett, the immediate past Chairman of the WMU College Republicans is being deployed overseas. His Army National Guard unit is being called up. They will go to Texas for several months of training before being deployed to the Middle East.

Tom Barrett previously served our country overseas in South Korea and Guantanamo Bay, Cuba.

Tom is an outstanding American and conservative. Please pray for his safe return and success for his mission.

Front Page!

Check out the front page of wmich.edu immediately to see a picture of Ann Coulter! (UPDATE: It's been changed to the Republican elephant logo.) The attached article from WMU News is announcing the WMU College Republicans award as the best college Republican chapter in the nation.

Western wasn't as enthusiastic about Coulter when we brought her.

I also like how the article points out that the "Best Chapter" award is given to "only one chapter annually." It makes me think of those schools where seventeen different people are named valedictorian.

-----------------------------

WMU College Republicans are nation's best

Jan. 21, 2007

KALAMAZOO--Political activism by members of Western Michigan University's chapter of the College Republicans has garnered that group the designation of the nation's "Best Chapter" in 2006 from the College Republican National Committee.

The award, given by the CRNC to only one chapter annually, was presented to the WMU group on Jan. 13 at the Michigan Republican Party State committee meeting in Lansing. Dan Carlson, chairman of the Michigan Federation of College Republicans, presented the award.

WMU's chapter was chosen from more than 1,700 college chapters nationwide.

According to Carlson, the WMU College Republicans was selected as a result of the chapter's strong efforts for a number of years.

"They have excelled at campus activism and serving the needs of the Republican Party in general," Carlson says. "The award is a national recognition of the hard work of the WMUCR and the great leadership they have had on their campus."

Carlson cited such chapter activities as hosting speakers Pat Buchanan and Ann Coulter and leading large numbers of chapter members into the field to work on Republican campaigns during the 2006 election.

In addition, two of the chapter's members, chairman Tom Barrett and Brandon Moore, ran for seats on the Kalamazoo County Commission.

"Tom Barrett's leadership and activities this year helped put WMU in the national spotlight," says Carlson. "College Republicans at their best are active on campus recruiting future Republicans while simultaneously helping out Republican campaigns. Working on both projects is a difficult task for clubs, but the WMU CRs were able to excel at both. Nobody deserves it more."

Madison Project Michigan Endorsements (Round 1)

The Madison Project Michigan has just issued its first round of endorsements.

Our values are Pro-Life, Pro-Family, Limited Government, Defenders of Religious Freedom. We only endorse candidates who clearly demonstrate their conservatism. We evaluate every House and Senate race in Michigan, and our endorsements are only extended to key competitive races which have a strong conservative candidate with the ability to win.

The Madison Project Michigan PAC raises money for conservative candidates through our network of grassroots conservatives. We provide our members with campaign profiles of selected candidates, and contributions to the PAC are used to support those candidates.

Please DONATE to the Madison Project Michigan PAC to help us elect solid conservatives in Michigan.

ENDORSED CANDIDATES (more endorsements will follow soon):

Senate District 7 Patrick Colbeck, Republican - Canton              
Senator Patrick Colbeck is a leading conservative voice in the Michigan state senate.  He was first elected in 2010, defeating several more established politicians.  He immediately became a champion for Right to Work, building a coalition that eventually saw the bill passed and signed into law in 2012.  He also led the effort to stop Medicaid expansion in Michigan and has been a reliable vote for conservative causes.  He faces a primary challenge, but his main battle will be in the general election.  He is being targeted by democrats and unions, and his opponent will be democrat State rep. Dian Slavens.

House District 42 Lana Theis, Republican -  Brighton                
Lana Theis is Brighton Township Treasurer and former Chairwoman of the Livingston GOP.  She has been a leading advocate for conservative causes for many years, including limiting government's power to raise taxes.  She is solely endorsed by Michigan Right to Life.  She faces a primary that includes a liberal "Republican" who endorsed Obama and raising taxes.  The district is safely Republican.
 
House District 43 Jose Aliaga, Republican - Clarkston                 
Jose Aliaga is an Independence Township Trustee who is also a teacher.  He has advocated for conservative causes in both Independence Township and across the state.  He faces a competitive primary in a safely Republican district.

House District 44 Jim Runestad, Republican - Waterford         
Jim Runestad is an Oakland County Commissioner and small business owner.  He led the effort to mandate E-verify for county contractors, to ensure that these jobs go to American citizens.  He has also advocated for fiscal responsibility and civil liberties on the county commission.  He faces a competitive primary in this safely Republican district.

House District  47  Wendy Day, Republican - Howell                 
Wendy Day is a former Howell School Board Trustee who fought to bring transparency and fiscal accountability to the district.  She also ran the Tea Party group Common Sense in Government which helped to eliminate the illegal SEIU ripoff of home health care workers. She faces a competitive primary in this safely Republican district.  (Note that Phil Campbell is also an acceptable candidate in this race.)

House District 61 Phil Stinchcomb, Republican - Portage       
Phil Stinchcomb has been a Kalamazoo County Commissioner since 2010.  He is a sales representative selling steel to manufacturers.  He has been a leading advocate for property tax reform and fair valuation of housing.  He faces a competitive primary in this fairly Republican house district.  See Phil's Announcement Video here.

House District 71 Tom Barrett, Republican - Potterville               
Tom Barrett is a US Army veteran who has served three tours overseas, including one in Iraq.  He is a longtime conservative activist who has fought for many conservative causes and candidates across the state.  He is not opposed in the primary.  He is challenging liberal democrat State rep Theresa Abed in the general election in this highly competitive district.

House District 80 Cindy Gamrat, Republican - Plainwell            
Cindy Gamrat is a Registered Nurse and homeschool mom.  She is also the founder of the Plainwell Patriots TEA Party group. She has advocated for many conservative causes across the state.  Cindy faces a competitive primary in this safely Republican district.

House District  98  Gary Glenn, Republican - Midland               
Gary Glenn is a longtime conservative activist in Michigan.  He is President of the American Family Association of Michigan.  He was the author of the Michigan Marriage Amendment passed by public vote in 2004.  He was a leader of the Michigan Freedom to Work Coalition which helped to pass Michigan's Right to Work law in 2012.  He faces a competitive primary in this safely Republican district.

Lessons from the Primary Election

They don't call it the establishment for nothing  Establishment candidates won many races.  They have the inside track on fundraising, endorsements, and organization.  Notably, several winning conservatives, including Lana Theis, Jim Runestad, Jason Sheppard, and Triston Cole had substantial establishment support.

Be the establishment  One answer to this is to become the establishment.  Lana Theis and Triston Cole are both former county party chairs.  It takes time to build political connections, but it pays off eventually.

Experience counts  Elected experience is valuable for winning candidates.  Lana Theis, Jim Runestad, Jason Sheppard, and Gary Glenn have all been elected to local office.

If at first you don't succeed  Tom Barrett, Todd Courser, and Triston Cole have all lost elections before, but gained valuable experience in the process.  This time, they won their primaries.  Candidates who lost this time should look for opportunities to run again in the future.

Build a brand  Lana Theis, Gary Glenn, Cindy Gamrat, and Todd Courser are known across Michigan for advocating conservative causes.  This provides a larger fundraising base to tap when you run for office.

Don't Ignore Social Issues  In recent years, conservatives have shifted much more emphasis to fiscal issues.  While these issues are vitally important, conservative candidates should not ignore social issues.  Notably, three conservative victors, Todd Courser, Gary Glenn, and Lee Chatfield, are all known as strong defenders of traditional marriage.

Don't split the vote  In several districts (45, 47, 58, 73, 104), several conservative candidates split the vote and allowed a more moderate candidate to win.  Conservatives who care more about the cause than themselves should meet and agree on one candidate to support.

Money doesn't buy elections  Self-funding candidates have a bad electoral track record.  Notably, Paul Mitchell and Brian Ellis, who both spent millions of their own money trying to get elected to Congress, lost handily.  Self-funder David Trott did win, but that had more to do with Kerry Bentivolio's weak campaign.

Money is essential  This does not contradict the previous point.  Money does not guarantee victory, but it is essential to get your message out.  This is particularly true in local elections, which are often decided by name recognition.

Look at how much winning conservative candidates raised.  Lana Theis raised 80K.  Jim Runestad raised 82K.  Jason Sheppard raised 36K.  Tom Barrett raised 55K.  Cindy Gamrat raised 39K.  Gary Glenn raised 171K.  Triston Cole raised 37K.  The only Republican to defeat a state house incumbent, Lee Chatfield, raised 74K.

The candidate who raised the most money won in 18 of 21 primaries in open Republican seats.  With one exception, the lowest amount raised by any successful Republican primary winner in a winnable district was Todd Courser's 27K.  A Republican candidate for state house who isn't willing to raise (or self-fund) at least $30,000 is usually only going to waste everyone's time.

Exceptions are exceptional  There is one huge exception to the above points.  In district 59, Aaron Miller, a 27-year-old Christian conservative teacher with little political experience who raised only 11K won with 38% of the vote in a four-candidate field.  So it is possible for a candidate who works hard to catch on with voters without the usual advantages.  But it definitely isn't the way to bet, and it shouldn't be an excuse to ignore the usual path to victory.

Michigan 2022 Election Results

The candidate names and percentages were copied from a post by Republican Michigander. 

Governor: Whitmer 54.47%, Dixon 43.94% For comparison, Whitmer won by 9.5% in 2018.  In retrospect, this was never close.  Dixon, tried, but she was a weak candidate. 

SOS: Benson 55.86%, Karamo 41.93% Karamo was a disaster. 

Attorney General: Nessel 53.15%, DePerno 44.55% Nessel was the weakest of the three D incumbents.

Congress.  The congressional delegation will be 6R, 7D.  The current delegation is 7R, 7D.  A gerrymandered map helped Ds win districts 3 and 8.

1. 60-37 for Jack Bergman 

2. 64-34 for John Moolenaar 

3. John Gibbs 41.94% Hillary Scholten 54.84% This seat was gerrymandered to elect a D.  Gibbs was a very weak candidate who won thanks to Trump's endorsement.  Peter Meijer might have kept it close, but it still would have been tough. 

4. Bill Huizenga 54.59% Joseph Alfonso 42.23% 

5. 63-35 for Tim Walberg 

6. 34-66 for Debbie Dingell 

7. Tom Barrett 46.38% Elissa Slotkin 51.67% Barrett ran a good campaign, but it wasn't enough to overcome the drag at the top of the ticket. 

8. Paul Junge 42.83% Dan Kildee 53.09% This is still a D district, though moving right. 

9. 64-33 for Lisa McClain 

10. John James 48.80% Carl Marlinga 48.31% This was unexpectedly tight, perhaps due to infighting in Macomb County. 

11. 39-61 for Haley Stevens 

12. 26-71 for Rashida Tlaib 

13. 24-71 for Shri Thanedar 

State Senate.  The senate will be 18R, 20D.  This is the first D majority since 1983.  The current delegation is 22-16.  A gerrymandered map helped Ds win extra districts in Lansing, Ann Arbor, and the tri-cities areas.

4. Houston James 44.66% Darrin Camilerri 55.34%  Downriver may realign some day, but not yet.

9. Mike Webber 50.35%, Padma Kuppa 49.65% (795 vote margin) Finally, a close win.

11. Mike MacDonald 47.32% Veronica Klinefelt 52.68% Loss in a gerrymandered district.

12. Pam Hornberger 49.87% Kevin Hertel 50.13% (313 vote margin) Surprise loss in a district won by Trump.

13. Jason Rhines 42.83% Rosemary Bayer 57.17%

14. Tim Golding 44.11% Sue Shink 55.89%

28. Daylen Howard 41.95% Sam Singh 55.81%

30. Mark Huizenga 49.19%, David LaGrand 48.87% (405 vote margin)  Close win in Grand Rapids, which is trending D.

32. Jon Bumstead 52.83%, Terry Sabo 47.17%

35. Annette Glenn 46.63% Kristin McDonald Rivet 53.37%  Tough loss in a gerrymandered district.

37. John Damoose 55.33%, Barbara Conley 42.94% 

State House.  The house will be 54R, 56D.  This is the first D majority since 2010.  In 2020, the elected delegation was 58R, 52D.  A gerrymandered map helped Ds win extra districts in Lansing, Ann Arbor, and Grand Rapids.

20. Albert Mansour 43.36% Noah Arbit 56.64% 

21. David Staudt 42.27% Kelly Breen 56.43%

22. Cathryn Neracher 45.75% Matt Kolezar 54.25%

27. Bob Howey 49.22% Jamie Churches 50.78% (640 vote margin)

28. Jamie Thompson 50.99%, Robert Kull 49.01% (745 vote margin)

29. James DeSana 51.48%, Alex Garza 48.52% This was the only defeat of a D incumbent.

31. Dale Biniecki 47.74% Reggie Miller 52.26%

The four Wayne/Monroe districts (27, 28, 29, 31) split 2R, 2D.  The attempted gerrymander didn't completely work here.

38. Kevin Whiteford 49.48% Joey Andrews 50.52% (398 vote margin)  Whiteford overperformed, but the absurd lakeshore gerrymander did its job.

40. Kelly Sackett 41.37% Christine Morse 58.63% Kalamazoo's suburbs continue to move left.

42. Matt Hall 54.99% Justin Mendoza 45.01%  Hall will be the house minority leader.

44. Dave Morgan 47.75% Jim Haadsma 52.25%  A third loss for Morgan, who got 48-49% in the previous two elections.  Perhaps Rs should run a different candidate here?

46. Kathy Schmaltz 54.37% Maurice Imhoff 45.63%  Imhoff was disowned by the Ds, but still was competitive.

48. Jason Woolford 45.80% Jennifer Conlin 53.08% Weak candidate in a swing district.

49. Ann Bollin 55.78%, Christina Kafkakis 44.22%

51. Matt Maddock 57.94%, Sarah May Seward 42.06%

54. Donni Steele 51.17% Shadia Martini 48.83% Rs had the right candidate in a district drawn well for the GOP.

55. Mark Tisdel 51.80% Patricia Bernard 48.20%

56. Mark Gunn 42.07% Sharon MacDonell 57.93%

57. Thomas Kuhn 52.64% Aisha Farooqi 47.36% 

58. Michelle Smith 48.67% Nate Shannon 51.33% Smith should try again here.

61. Mike Aiello 47.98% Denise Mentzer 52.02% This area is moving right.

62. Alicia St Germaine 53.42% Michael Brooks 46.58% 

68. David Martin 54.73% Cheri Hardmon 45.27% Nice margin in a district that would have been close to safe D a decade ago.

69. Jesse Couch 41.04% Jasper Martus 56.31% Surprisingly close in a district that is moving right.

71. Brian BeGole 57.74% Mark Zacharda 42.26%

73. Norm Shinkle 42.67% Julie Brixie 57.33%

76. Jeremy Whittum 44.78% Angela Witwer 55.22%  Whittum barely raised any money.

80. Jeffrey Johnson 43.70% Phil Skaggs 56.30%

81. Lynn Afendoulis 44.33% Rachel Hood 55.67%

83. Lisa DeKryger 44.64% John Fitzgerald 52.76%

84. Mike Malinowski 44.45% Carol Glanville 55.55%

The Grand Rapids area is gerrymandered to have 5 D districts, instead of the 2-3 D districts a fair map would have.  Note that the R percentages in 80, 81, 83, and 84 are all 43-44%--drawn to be just out of reach.

86. Nancy DeBoer 56.19% Larry Jackson 43.81%

88. Greg VanWoerkom 56.17% Christine Baker 41.87%

92. Jerry Neyer 55.49% Anthony Feig 42.45%

96. Timothy Beson 55.32% Kim Coonan 44.68%

103. Jack O’Malley 48.47% Betsy Coffia 49.84%  (765 vote margin)  This was the only loss by an R incumbent.  The seat was gerrymandered to elect a D.

107. Neal Friske 56.59% Jodi Decker 43.41%

109. Melody Wagner 47.02% Jenn Hill 52.98% This district is drifting right, but not quite there yet.  Considering this is Wagner's fourth loss, perhaps a new candidate would help.

Supreme Court:  34% Bernstein (D), 24% Zahra (R), 22% Bolden (D), 13% Hudson  The two incumbents win reelection.  Ds hold a 4-3 majority on the court.
State Board of Education:  Ds took both slots, with a 74K vote margin between the second and third candidates.
University of Michigan:  Ds took both slots, with a 52K vote margin between the second and third candidates.
Michigan State:  Ds took both slots, with a 11K vote margin between the second and third candidates.
Wayne State:  Ds took both slots, with a 64K vote margin between the second and third candidates.

My ratings turned out to be pretty accurate, though slightly too R.  Every race I had at safe for a party was won by that party.  The only lean race I missed was senate 12. For congress, the tossups had margins of -5 and -10.  For senate, the tossups had margins of -5 and -7.  The lean Ds had margins of -10 to -14, and the lean Rs had margins of -0.3 to 6.
Rs lost all tossups except house 28 and 29.  My state house tossups had margins from -11 to 3.  My lean R races had margins from 2 to 13.  My lean D races had margins from -4 to -17.  The closest margins in race I had at safe were 12 (senate 37) and 10 (house 42).  My lean ratings for Congress had margins of 6, 16, 3.6.

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:

Blogs: Bench Memos (NR) The Vetting Room How Appealing

Twitter: FedJudges Senate Cloakroom

Podcasts: Advisory Opinions Law Talk
Senate Judiciary Committee 
ABA Judicial Ratings 2021-2022
Wikipedia: US Appeals Courts Trump Judges Biden Judges
Senior Status Spreadsheet
Future Judicial Vacancies
BostonPatriot diaries: History Trump DC-5 6-11 9th
Ballotpedia: State Supreme Court Vacancies 2022 Elections 2022
The Supreme Courts
2020: March April May June July August September October Elections November December

2021: January February March April May June July August September October November December

2022: January February March April May June July

Ashcroft in the Herald

The Herald reports on our John Ashcroft event:

John Ashcroft, former United States attorney general and a proponent of the controversial U.S. Patriot Act, will give a speech on leadership and politics Tuesday, March 13.

The WMU College Republicans are hosting the event. The College Republicans hope to attract 2,000 people - the number of people who attended last year's Ann Coulter speech, according to Tom Barrett, chairman of the College Republicans.

"A lot of people demonize him, and it will be good to hear his point of view," Barrett, senior majoring in political science said.

WMU COLLEGE REPUBLICANS ARE BEST IN NATION

WMU COLLEGE REPUBLICANS ARE BEST IN NATION

Best Chapter in the country award goes to Western’s College Republicans

12/13/2006, Kalamazoo, MI — The College Republicans at Western Michigan University were awarded the “Best Chapter” award for 2006 by the College Republican National Committee. The award was presented in Lansing on Saturday to Chairman Tom Barrett.

WMU’s College Republicans have been active for many years on campus hosting speakers such as Pat Buchanan and Ann Coulter, as well as influencing elections in the local community through volunteer activism. Thousands of hours were logged by College Republicans from WMU in the last election calling voters, knocking on doors, placing yard signs, and other work on various campaign activities. Many members worked on campaigns as staff members, while two members even ran for office themselves. Several College Republicans ran for precinct delegate positions and five have been selected to serve on the executive committee of the Kalamazoo County Republican Party.

“I was honored to accept such a high award on behalf of the Western Michigan University College Republicans,” said Chairman Tom Barrett. “We have put in countless hours of work on campaigns, hosting speakers, and spreading our message on campus. It is so rewarding to see this work pay off with being chosen as the best chapter in the entire country,” he added. Public Relations Vice Chairman Megan Buwalda said, “I always knew that our group was strong, but it was such a wonderful surprise to be chosen for this award.”

To be chosen groups must demonstrate activism on campus as well as involvement in electoral politics.

###

September 2022 Judiciary News

Time for some judiciary news.

Nominations, Hearings, Confirmations:

9th Circuit:  Biden nominee Roopali Desai was confirmed by a surprisingly large 67-29 vote.  This seems to be a sop to Senator Kyrsten Sinema, who lobbied for the appointment.  Desai has a long record of leftist activism.

Nominations:

9th Circuit:  Anthony Johnstone-clerk for Sidney Thomas (9th Circuit), law professor (U Montana)

ED-NY:  Orelia Merchant-NY AG office

ED-NY:  Ramon Reyes-clerk for David Trager (ED-NY), Magistrate Judge (ED-NY)

SD-NY:  Arun Subramanian-clerk for Gerard Lynch (SD-NY), Dennis Jacobs (2nd Circuit), Ginsberg, private practice

ED-MI:  Jonathan Grey-clerk for Louis Sands (MD-GA), Damon Keith (6th Circuit), Magistrate Judge (ED-MI)

CD-IL:  Colleen Lawless-Seventh Judicial Circuit (IL)

ND-CA:  P. Casey Pitts-clerk for Stephen Reinhardt (9th Circuit), private practice

ED-WA:  Charnelle Marie Bjelkengren-Washington State Superior Court

D-CO:  Gordon Gallagher-Magistrate Judge (D-CO)

The Federal Judiciary:

Security:  Attorney General Merrick Garland has refused to enforce the law against protests in front of Supreme Court justices houses, despite public support for enforcing the law.

Affirmative action:  The cases challenging affirmative action policies at University of North Carolina and Harvard will be argued on October 31, shortly before the November election.  Justice Jackson is recused from the latter case.

Alito:  Ed Whelan dismantles Margaret Talbot's article in the New Yorker accusing Justice Alito of various perfidies.

Barrett:  Carrie Severino profiles Justice Barrett's commitment to the rule of law and the Constitution.

Commission:  Some members of President Biden’s commission on the Supreme Court are disappointed he hasn't embraced the report, or even mentioned it.

ND-NY:  Judge David Hurd has withdrawn his senior status declaration.  President Biden nominated Jorge Alberto Rodriguez, who works for the NY attorney general in Albany, to the seat.  He has promised to move to Utica if confirmed.  Hurd insisted that his successor live and work in Utica.

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)
D-CT: Stefan Underhill (Clinton) 11/1 (senior)
SD-TX: Micaela Alvarez (W) 6/8/23 (senior)

State Supreme Courts:

California:  Governor Gavin Newsom nominated Associate Justice Patricia Guerrero to replace retiring Chief Justice Tani Gorre Cantil-Sakauye.  He also nominated Judge Kelli Evans to replace Guerrero on the court.  Evans, age 53, was appointed by Newsom to the Alameda County Superior Court in 2021, and previously was his chief deputy legal affairs secretary.  This is Newsom's third appointment to the court.

Florida:  Governor Ron DeSantis appointed Judge Renatha Francis to the Florida Supreme Court.  She fills the seat of retiring Justice Alan Lawson.  DeSantis tried to appoint Francis to the court in 2020, but was blocked by the court due to Francis not having 10 years of experience.  This is DeSantis' fourth appointee on the court.

Montana:  The Montana Supreme Court struck down an initiative passed by the legislature to elect the court via districts rather than statewide.  The 5-2 ruling was the latest strike by the liberal court against reforms passed by the conservative legislature.

Nevada:  Nevada Supreme Court Justice Abbi Silver will retire on September 29.  She ran unopposed for her seat in 2018.  The governor will appoint a replacement from three candidates nominated by the Judicial Selection Commission.

New Jersey:  Chief Justice Stuart Rabner named Superior Court Judges Clarkson Fisher Jr., Jack Sabatino, and Douglas Fasciale to temporarily serve on the New Jersey Supreme Court.  The vacancies are part of a long-running dispute between the legislature and Governor Phil Murphy.

North Carolina:  The North Carolina Supreme Court issued a crazy ruling purporting to overturn two constitutional amendments passed by the voters in 2018.  The amendments on voter ID and income tax limitation were put on the ballot by the legislature.  The court claimed that because the map used to elect the legislature was allegedly gerrymandered, the amendments were illegitimate.

Tennessee:  On August 4, all five justices of the Tennessee Supreme Court were retained with between 71% and 74% of the vote.

Resources:

Blogs: Bench Memos (NR) The Vetting Room How Appealing

Twitter: FedJudges Senate Cloakroom

Podcasts: Advisory Opinions Law Talk
Senate Judiciary Committee 
ABA Judicial Ratings 2021-2022
Wikipedia: US Appeals Courts Trump Judges Biden Judges
Senior Status Spreadsheet
Future Judicial Vacancies
BostonPatriot diaries: History Trump DC-5 6-11 9th
Ballotpedia: State Supreme Court Vacancies 2022 Elections 2022
The Supreme Courts
2020: March April May June July August September October Elections November December

2021: January February March April May June July August September October November December

2022: January February March April May June July August