The Western Right: October 2024 Judiciary News

Nominations, Hearings, Confirmations:

Biden nominees: Democrats are hoping that the Biden administration will surpass the 234 judges appointed by President Trump. Biden could reach 241 judges if all his nominees are confirmed. However, some nominees like Adeel Mangi and Sarah Netburn may not have the votes to be confirmed. Also, Biden will not reach the 54 appeals court judges appointed by Trump.

Harris: Carrie Severino reviews Senator Kamala Harris' absurd attacks on Trump's judicial nominees, including attacking Catholics' memberships in the Knights of Columbus.

4th Circuit: Carrie Severino lays out the extreme record of NC solicitor general Ryan Park. His nomination is stalled, as 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".

Nominations:
TBA

The Federal Judiciary:

Judgeships: The Senate unanimously passed a bill to create 66 more federal judgeships. The House has yet to take up the bill. A breakdown of where and when the judgeships would be created is in this table.

Retirement: This NBC News article frets that more federal judges aren't retiring.

Reform: Justice Kagan has endorsed President Biden's "ethics reform" plan for the Supreme Court. 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.

Threats: Carrie Severino notes the threats from the left against conservative justices. The mainstream media gives little attention to these threats.

5th Circuit: Carrie Severino disputes leftist claims that the conservative 5th Circuit has an unusually high reversal rate compared to other circuit courts.

Federal Circuit: The Federal Circuit has extended the suspension of Judge Pauline Newman for another year 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.

D-AK: The US Judicial Conference has recommended impeaching former judge Joshua Kindred despite the fact that he has already resigned due to a sex scandal. It is disputed whether officials can be impeached if they have already left office, but impeachment could be used to bar Kindred from holding future office. This seems largely symbolic, as a US Senate that voted to bar him from office would be unlikely to confirm him to office.

WD-TX: Josh Blackman details questionable behavior by Judge David Ezra regarding a case on securing Texas' border. Ezra was appointed to D-HI in 1988, but since taking senior status in 2012 has been assigned to WD-TX.

Vacancy Declarations: There are now 66 current and future judicial vacancies. New vacancies over the past two months are listed below.

D-KS: Daniel Crabtree (Obama) 8/11/25 (senior)

ED-LA: Lance Africk (W) 10/1/2024 (senior)

SD-TX: Lee Rosenthal (HW) 12/1/2024 (senior)

State Supreme Courts:

Alaska: Chief Justice Peter Maassen will be age-limited on January 14, 2025. He was appointed to the court in 2012, and became chief in 2023. Seven candidates have applied for the position, all female.

Arizona: Justice Robert Brutinel will retire on October 31. He is 66 and was appointed by Jan Brewer (R) in 2010. Gov. Katie Hobbs (D) will appoint his replacement.

Connecticut: Governor Ned Lamont (D) has nominated Justice Raheem Mullins to replace Chief Justice Richard Robinson, who retired on September 6. Mullins was nominated by Dannel Malloy (D) in 2017. No nominee has been announced to replace Mullins.

Michigan: Nominees for Michigan Supreme Court were 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. Branch County circuit court judge Patrick William O’Grady won the R nomination.
Viviano seat: Justice David Viviano (R), appointed in 2013, is retiring. State rep Andrew Fink won the R nomination. Law professor Kimberly Ann Thomas is the D nominee.

Montana: The Montana Supreme Court is attempting to punish AG Austin Knudsen for representing the legislature in its investigation into misconduct in the judiciary.

Nebraska: Chief Justice Michael Heavican will retire on October 31. He was appointed by Dave Heineman (R) in 2006. Governor Jim Pillen (R) will get his first appointment to the court.

New Hampshire: Justice Hantz Marconi was placed on administrative leave in late July. Her husband Geno Marconi has been on leave from the New Hampshire Port Authority since April. No explanation has been given for the leave.

Numbers and Trivia:

5th Circuit: As of October 4, the new chief judge of the 5th Circuit will be Jennifer Elrod, who was appointed by W in 2007. She replaces Priscilla Richman, who was appointed by W in 2005. The Presidents who appointed chief judges of the 13 appeals courts are W (2, 3, 5, 6, 7, 8, 10, 11, Fed), and Obama (1, 4, 9, DC).

History:

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

New Republican Senator Pushes Terrible Appellate Pick

George W. Bush Boots American Bar Association

Left's Big Fight Against Nomination of Michael McConnell Fizzles

Terrence Boyle's Fourth Circuit Nomination Stalls for Record Time

Senate Democrats Target Miguel Estrada
Filibusters and Cloture
What Senate Democrats Blew Up in 2003

Resources:

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

Twitter: FedJudges Senate Cloakroom