Sunday, August 31, 2025

September 2025 Judiciary News

Nominations, Hearings, Confirmations:

Nominations:  Michael Fragoso compares the first 8 months of judicial nominations for President Trump to that of previous presidents.  Compared to his first term, Trump's nominees have similar credentials, but are more likely to have backgrounds in Republican politics.  He also argues that conservative judges have little reason to worry about the quality of their successors.

Nominations:  Joan Biskupic observers that Trump's nominees largely resemble those in his first term.  She speculates that this may lead more R-appointed judges to retire.

3rd Circuit:  The senate confirmed Emil Bove to the 3rd Circuit by a 50-49 vote.  Republican senators Collins and Murkowski voted no.  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.  Shortly before his Judiciary Committee hearing, a whistleblower alleged that Bove had suggested defying court orders in a meeting, which Bove denies.

3rd Circuit:  Jennifer Mascott did not apply for the 3rd Circuit seat she is nominated for, only having expressed interest in some appointment by Trump.  She has received some criticism for thin ties to the state of Delaware.

7th Circuit:  President Trump nominated Rebecca Taibleson to the seat on the 7th Circuit to be vacated by Diane Sykes.  Taibleson clerked for Brett Kavanaugh (DC Circuit) and Scalia, and works as an AUSA (ED-WI).  She was one of five candidates recommended by a judicial nominating commission established by senators Johnson (R) and Baldwin (D).  It isn't known yet whether Baldwin will give a blue slip for Taibleson.

Blue Slip:  President Trump issued a post attacking Senate Judiciary Committee chairman Charles Grassley (R-IA) and demanding the end of the blue slip tradition which allows senators to veto district judges and US attorneys in their states.  Grassley responded that he was offended by the comments and reiterating his support for the blue slip.

Blue Slip:  President Trump threatened to sue over the blue slip tradition.  It isn't clear who exactly he would sue, and such a suit is widely seen as without merit.  Michael Fragoso argues that it does not make strategic sense to eliminate the blue slip.

Tillis:  Since Senator Thom Tillis (R-NC) announced his retirement, will he oppose any Trump judicial nominees?  He opposed Trump's first nominee for US Attorney for DC, but supported Emil Bove for the 3rd Circuit.

Nominations:
TBA

The Federal Judiciary:

Supreme Court:  David Lat summarizes the latest term of the Supreme Court.  He notes that the number of unanimous cases was about average, and some splits were not on the usual ideological lines.  He notes that the First, Fourth, Ninth, and Tenth Circuits were all reversed 100% of the time, with the 4th being the most reversed among them.

Supreme Court:  Carrie Severino summarizes the latest term of the Supreme Court.  She considers it one of the best terms in the court's history, with numerous wins for conservative and originalist causes.

Clerks:  David Lat has an update on Supreme Court clerk hiring, including demographics and feeder judges.

Kagan:  Justice Kagan has correctly decried threats against judges, but ignored similar threats against conservative colleagues in the past.

Court packing:  Parker Thayer notes that leftist groups that advocated expanding the Supreme Court have all mysteriously gone silent about the issue.  In most cases, this occurred around July 2024.

Judgeships:  The U.S. Judicial Conference is recommending that a future vacancy on the 10th Circuit, SD-WV, ED-MI, or D-WY not be filled.  It does not seem likely that President Trump will agree to this.

Retirements:  Far fewer judges are retiring in Trump's second term compared to this point under the previous four presidents.

Federal Circuit:  The DC Circuit rejected a suit against the Federal Circuit's "temporary" suspension of Judge Pauline Newman due to alleged disability.  However, it opened the door to rehearing the issue en banc.  Critics claim she is unable to fulfill her duties, but supporters say she is being mistreated due to her frequent dissents.  The Federal Circuit suspended Newman for a third straight year.

D-NJ:  Judge Julien Neals withdrew a decision after the revelation that "his opinion contained numerous errors, including made-up quotes and misstated case outcomes".  The ruling was apparently generated by AI and posted without being vetted.  Neals was the first judge appointed by President Biden.

SD-MS:  In another order seemingly generated by AI, Judge Henry Wingate "listed non-parties as plaintiffs, misquoted both the complaint and the challenged legislation, and cited a non-existent case."  Wingate, who is black, was appointed by Reagan in 1985.  He has previously been reprimanded by the 5th Circuit for failing to rule in a timely manner.

Vacancy Declarations:  There are now 60 current and future judicial vacancies.  New vacancies over the past two months are listed below.
Court of International Trade:  Stephen Vaden (Trump) 7/7/25 (resigned)
D-MT: Susan Watters (Obama) 6/8/26 (senior)
ND-TX: David Godbey (W) 9/17/25 (senior)
ED-PA: Mitchell Goldberg (W) 9/19/25 (retired)

State Supreme Courts:

Georgia:  Governor Brian Kemp (R) appointed Benjamin Land to the Georgia Supreme Court seat vacated by Michael Boggs on March 31.  Land was one of four finalists for the positions.  He was appointed to the Georgia Court of Appeals by Kemp in 2022.

Kansas:  Governor Laura Kelly appointed Larkin Walsh to the Kansas Supreme Court.  She works in private practice.  She clerked for Judge Carlos Murguia (D-KS), who resigned due to a sexual harassment scandal, and worked for liberal Kansas Supreme Court Justice Carol Beier.  Walsh was one of 15 applicants and one of three finalists for the position.  She replaces Justice Evelyn Wilson, who retired on July 4 due to her diagnosis with Lou Gehrig’s disease.  

Nebraska:  Nebraska Supreme Court Justice Lindsey Miller-Lerman will retire on October 31.  She represents District 2 (part of Douglas County).  She is the only democrat on the court, and was appointed by Ben Nelson (D) in 1998.  Governor Jim Pillen will appoint her replacement.

New Hampshire:  Governor Kelly Ayotte (R) nominated Bryan Gould to the NH Supreme Court.  He is a veteran GOP attorney who was previously special counsel to Governor Craig Benson (R).  At age 66, he could serve at most 4 years on the court.  He must be confirmed by the Executive Council.

South Carolina:  Justice John Few's term ends in 2026, and he is seeking reappointment by the legislature.  Although this normally occurs without opposition, Few is facing three challengers for his seat.  In 2023, Few ruled against a ban on abortion before upholding a revised version of the law.

Vermont:  Justice William Cohen will retire on December 27.  He was appointed by Phil Scott (R) in 2019.  Governor Scott will appoint his replacement.

West Virginia:  Governor Patrick Morrisey (R) appointed Tom Ewing to the West Virginia Supreme Court.  Ewing is a Fayette County judge, who was appointed in 2019 by Jim Justice.  He was one of 15 applicants and four finalists for the position.  He replaces Justice Beth Walker (R), who retired on June 27.

West Virginia:  WV Supreme Court Justice Tim Armstead (R) died from cancer on August 26.  He was appointed by Jim Justice in 2018.  He was previously a state rep (1998-2018) and speaker of the house (15-18).  Governor Patrick Morrisey (R) will appoint a replacement.

Numbers and Trivia:

Very few Trump judicial nominees are elected officials (excluding state judges).  There were only two in Trump's first term.
Mark Norris (TN state senate, 2000-2018)
Chad Kenney (Delaware County Sheriff, 1998-2003)

Trump has nominated two elected officials so far in his second term.
Bill Mercer (MT state house, 2018-P)
Robert Chamberlin (MS state senate, 1999-2004)

History:

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

Resources:
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