Wednesday, July 31, 2024

August 2024 Judiciary News

Supreme Court:

Overview:  The court concluded its term, issuing many ruling that did not fall strictly along ideological lines.  This refutes the left's lies and hysteria about the court.

Presidential immunity:  The court ruled 6-3 that the president has immunity for 'official acts', but does not have immunity for unofficial acts.  Lower courts will have to determine which of President Trump's acts fall into each category.

Chevron deference:  The court overturned Chevron deference, where courts defer to agencies' interpretations of federal regulations, even when those interpretations change radically in new administrations. (See also Ed Whelan.)

Homeless:  A 6-3 ruling overturned a 9th circuit ruling that people have a right to camp in public.  The ruling had made it impossible to remove homeless encampments.

Social media:  The court ruled 6-3 (with liberals in the majority) that the government can pressure social media companies to censor or hide content, so long as the pressure is sufficiently vague.

2nd Amendment:  The court ruled 8-1 that someone subject to a domestic-violence restraining can be prevented from owning a firearm.  The ruling seems likely to be cited by lower courts to justify many other gun control laws.

Legitimacy:  The media is engaging in concern trolling about declining trust in the Supreme Court.  Polling shows that this has occurred entirely among democrats, not Republicans or independents.

Nominations, Hearings, Confirmations:

Vance:  Vice presidential nominee JD Vance and his wife Usha both graduated from Yale Law School.  JD clerked for David Bunning (ED-KY), while Usha clerked for Amul Thapar (ED-KY), Brett Kavanaugh (DC Circuit), and Chief Justice John Roberts.

4th Circuit:  Biden nominated NC solicitor general Ryan Park to the 4th Circuit.  Senators Tillis and Budd are not only opposing the nomination, but say that "the White House has already been informed they do not have the votes for confirmation".

SD-NY:  The Senate Judiciary Committee rejected the nomination of Magistrate Judge Sarah Netburn 11-10 after Senator Jon Ossoff (D-GA) voted no.  Netburn became controversial after Senator Ted Cruz (R) challenged her about a ruling putting a (trans) man in a women's prison.

D-OR:  Carrie Severino exposes the radical record of Mustafa Kasubhai, including support for Marxism and rioters.  In June, a vote to advance his nomination was pulled due to lack of votes.

Kennedy:  Senator John Kennedy (R-LA) grilled nominees Karla Campbell (6th Circuit) and Julia Lipez (1st Circuit) on ties to radical groups and soft-on-crime rulings.

Nominations:
ND-NY: Anthony Brindisi-judge (NY Court of Claims), US House (18-20), state rep (10-18)
MD-PA: Keli Neary-Pennsylvania Deputy Attorney General
ND-GA: Tiffany Johnson-AUSA (ND-GA)

The Federal Judiciary:

Reform:  President Biden endorsed term limits for Supreme Court justices and a binding ethics code.  The term limits proposal would effectively remove justices Thomas, Roberts, and Alito from the court, while the ethics code would subject the justices to endless complaints by activists.

Reform:  Adam White, a member of Biden's commission on court reform, points out many problems with Biden's plan.  He also noted that Biden once criticized similar plans.

2nd Circuit:  David Lat reveals that judge Sarah Merriam was the subject of a complaint due to an ‘overly harsh’ management style.  However, he offers some reasons to doubt the complaint.

Federal Circuit:  The Federal Circuit is seeking to extend the suspension of Judge Pauline Newman due to alleged disability.  Meanwhile, Newman is appealing the dismissal of her suit against the Federal Circuit by Judge Christopher "Casey" Cooper (D-DC).  Critics claim she is unable to fulfill her duties, but supporters say she is being mistreated due to her frequent dissents.

D-AK:  Joshua Kindred resigned suddenly on July 8.  The Judicial Council of the Ninth Circuit reported that Kindred engaged in judicial misconduct, creating a sexually hostile workplace for clerks, by having an inappropriate sexual relationship with a clerk, and lying to investigators.  He was appointed by Trump in 2020.

Vacancy Declarations:  There are now 73 current and future judicial vacancies.  New vacancies over the past two months are listed below.
MD-PA: Christopher Connor (W) 1/17/25 (retired)
D-NM: William Johnson (W) 1/24/25 (senior)
SD-TX: Andrew Hanen (W) 1/2/25 (senior)
D-AK: Joshua Kindred (Trump) 7/8/24 (resigned)
ND-NY: Glenn Suddaby (W) 9/1/24 (senior)

State Supreme Courts:

Maryland:  Governor Wes Moore (D) nominated Prince George’s County Circuit Court judge Peter Killough to the Maryland Supreme Court.  He has been a judge since 2018, and previously worked for the Maryland Attorney General.  The other applicants were judges Krystal Alves, Tiffany Anderson, and William Snoddy.  Justice Michele Hotten was age-limited on April 20.  

Michigan:  Nominees for Michigan Supreme Court will be decided at state conventions on August 24.
Bolden seat:  Former state rep Kyra Bolden (D) was appointed in 2023 to complete the term of Justice Bridget Mary McCormack.  She is running for the partial (4-year) term.  Matt DePerno, a Stop the Steal attorney who lost the 2022 attorney general race by 8.6% and is now facing charges for unlawful access to voting machines, is seeking the R nomination.  Also running are Branch County circuit court judge Patrick William O’Grady and Detroit attorney Alexandria Taylor.
Viviano seat:  Justice David Viviano (R), appointed in 2013, is retiring.  State rep Andrew Fink and Court of Appeals judge Mark Boonstra are seeking the R nomination, and law professor Kimberly Ann Thomas is seeking the D nomination.

Montana:  The primary election for Montana Supreme Court was held on June 4.
Chief:  Broadwater County attorney Cory Swanson (R) and Jerry Lynch (D supported) move on the the general election.  The results were Swanson 46%, Lynch 37%, Doug Marshall 16%.
Sandefur seat:  Flathead County District Court Judge Dan Wilson (R supported) and 7th Judicial District Judge Katherine Bidegaray (D supported) move on the the general election. The results were Bidegaray 48%, Wilson 35%, Jerry O'Neil (R) 17%.

New Jersey:  Justice Lee Solomon will be age-limited on August 17.  He is a Republican appointed in 2014 by Chris Christie (R).  Governor Phil Murphy (D) nominated John Jay Hoffman to the seat.  He is an independent who was acting attorney general of New Jersey under Christie 2013-16.  He has been the general counsel of Rutgers University since then.

History:

On Ed Whelan's Substack, "Confirmation Tales", recent posts deal with George W. Bush's nominations of Sam Alito and lower court judges.
Resources:
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