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Thread: United States Courts of Appeals

  1. #41
    Administrator Moh's Avatar
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    McConnell: Blue slips shouldn't 'blackball' circuit court nominees

    BY JORDAIN CARNEY
    THE HILL

    Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.) is weighing in on a looming fight over judicial nominees, saying an obscure Senate rule shouldn't be used to block some judicial nominations.

    “My personal view is that the blue slip, with regard to circuit court appointments, ought to simply be a notification of how you’re going to vote, not the opportunity to blackball,” McConnell told The New York Times.

    The Senate's "blue slip" practice — which isn't a rule but a tradition enforced by the Judiciary Committee chairman — allows home-state senators to sign off on a judicial nominee on actual blue slips of paper before the committee holds a nomination hearing.

    By not returning the paper, the senators can effectively block a nominee.

    McConnell added that he supports continuing the blue slip rule for district court nominees, whose decisions can be overturned by circuit court judges.

    Republicans have talked for months about narrowing the blue slip rule to exclude circuit court judges, who have jurisdiction over several states.

    But the fight is increasingly in the spotlight as Democratic senators are warning they will not return blue slips on a growing number of Trump's court nominees.

    Oregon Democratic Sens. Jeff Merkley and Ron Wyden announced they would try to block Ryan Bounds, nominated for the San Francisco-based 9th Circuit Court of Appeals, “or any other nominee that has not been selected through our judicial process.”

    And Minnesota Sen. Al Franken (D) will oppose David Stras, President Trump’s nominee to serve on the 8th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals.

    Senate Democrats eliminated the 60-vote filibuster for lower-court judicial nominees in 2013, leaving the blue-slip tradition the only way for senators to veto controversial nominees.

    Republicans used blue-slip objections to block several of President Obama’s nominees. But they're now under intense pressure from conservatives to get rid of the precedent so they can place Trump's picks on the courts.

    Republicans did away with the 60-vote procedural threshold for Supreme Court nominees earlier this year.

    Democrats, however, are warning Republicans against eliminating the precedent, noting they could be back in the minority and powerless to block judicial nominations they are opposed to.

    McConnell added he has agreed to meet with Senate Minority Leader Charles Schumer (D-N.Y.) on the issue.

    http://thehill.com/blogs/floor-actio...court-nominees

  2. #42
    Administrator Aaron's Avatar
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    On September 28, 2017, the United States Senate confirmed Trump's nomination of Ralph Erickson to the Eighth Circuit by a vote of 95-1.

    https://www.senate.gov/legislative/L...n=1&vote=00207
    Don't ask questions, just consume product and then get excited for next products.

    "They will hurt you. They will hurt your grandma, these people. The root cause of this is there's no discipline in the homes, they don't go to school, you know, they live off the government, no personal accountability, and they just beat people up for no reason, and it's disgusting." - Former Hamilton County Prosecutor Joe Deters

  3. #43
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    Senate votes to confirm Amy Coney Barrett to 7th Circuit Court of Appeals

    By Ryan Lovelace
    The Washington Examiner

    The Senate voted 55-43 on Tuesday to confirm Amy Coney Barrett to the 7th Circuit Court of Appeals.

    Three Democrats crossed party lines to vote for Barrett: Indiana Sen. Joe Donnelly, Virginia Sen. Tim Kaine and West Virginia Sen. Joe Manchin. Donnelly is running for re-election in Barrett's home state.

    Barrett, a Notre Dame law professor, came under fire from Senate Democrats because of her Catholic faith during Senate Judiciary Committee hearings on her nomination. Democratic Sens. Dianne Feinstein of California and Dick Durbin of Illinois grilled Barrett at the hearings over how she chooses to practice her Catholic faith.

    The questions from Senate Democrats spawned an attack ad from the right-leaning Judicial Crisis Network with funding in the six figures. The moment also led to Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell joining Senate Judiciary Committee Chairman Chuck Grassley and seven of their GOP colleagues to speak in favor of her nomination Monday as the Senate invoked cloture by a 54-42 vote.

    "Professor Barrett is a brilliant legal scholar who has earned the respect of colleagues and students from across the political spectrum," Grassley said Monday. "She's also a committed Roman Catholic and has spoken passionately about the role that her faith plays in her life. This isn't inconsistent with being a federal judge."

    Barrett's confirmation Tuesday to the Midwestern federal appeals court makes her the first Hoosier woman on the 7th Circuit Court of Appeals.

    http://www.washingtonexaminer.com/se...rticle/2639163

  4. #44
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    Senate votes to confirm Joan Larsen to 6th Circuit Court of Appeals

    By Ryan Lovelace
    The Washington Examiner

    The Senate confirmed Joan Larsen to the 6th Circuit Court of Appeals on Wednesday in a 60-38 vote.

    Eight Democrats crossed the aisle to vote for the Michigan Supreme Court justice, including both Michigan Sens. Debbie Stabenow and Gary Peters. Stabenow is up for re-election in 2018.

    President Trump previously considered Larsen for the Supreme Court vacancy created by Justice Antonin Scalia's death. She is a former Scalia law clerk and delivered a tribute at a memorial service last year for him that featured several of the high court justices.

    The Judicial Crisis Network, which boosted Justice Neil Gorsuch's high court confirmation, spent $140,000 attacking Michigan's Democratic senators who were considering opposing Larsen's nomination. The Susan B. Anthony List similarly mobilized its group of anti-abortion activists in support of Larsen's nomination.

    Larsen is the second woman confirmed to a Midwestern federal appeals court in as many days this week. Votes on other federal judicial nominees are expected this week.

    http://www.washingtonexaminer.com/se...rticle/2639255

  5. #45
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    Senate votes to confirm Allison Eid to 10th Circuit Court of Appeals

    By Ryan Lovelace
    The Washington Examiner

    The Senate voted 56-41 on Thursday to confirm Allison Eid to the 10th Circuit Court of Appeals, filling the vacancy created by Justice Neil Gorsuch's addition to the Supreme Court.

    Four Democratic senators crossed party lines to support Eid's bid, including Colorado Sen. Michael Bennet, Indiana Sen. Joe Donnelly, North Dakota Sen. Heidi Heitkamp, and West Virginia Sen. Joe Manchin. Donnelly, Heitkamp, and Manchin are all up for re-election in 2018 in states President Trump won in 2016, and Bennet represents Eid's home state.

    California Sen. Dianne Feinstein noted Eid's inclusion on President Trump's Supreme Court shortlists for the vacancy filled by Gorsuch when attacking Eid's nomination. When the Senate Judiciary Committee voted last week to advance Eid's nomination along partisan lines, Feinstein, the committee's top-ranking Democrat, criticized Eid for her similarities to Gorsuch in her legal reasoning.

    Eid, a former Colorado Supreme Court justice, is the third female federal appeals court judge nominated by President Trump that the Senate has confirmed this week. The Senate voted to confirm Amy Coney Barrett to the 7th Circuit Court of Appeals on Tuesday and Joan Larsen to the 6th Circuit Court of Appeals on Wednesday.

    After confirming three federal appeals court nominees this week, the Senate appears poised to vote on 3rd Circuit Court of Appeals nominee Stephanos Bibas before week's end.

    http://www.washingtonexaminer.com/se...rticle/2639408

  6. #46
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    Senate votes to confirm Stephanos Bibas to 3rd Circuit Court of Appeals

    By Ryan Lovelace
    The Washington Examiner

    The Senate voted 53-43 to confirm Stephanos Bibas to the 3rd Circuit Court of Appeals, the second federal appeals court judge nominated by President Trump confirmed on Thursday.

    West Virginia Sen. Joe Manchin, who is up for re-election in 2018 in a state Trump won in 2016, was the only Democrat to cross party lines to vote for Bibas' confirmation.

    Bibas' confirmation brings the total number of federal appeals court judges confirmed this week to four, following the Senate's confirmation of Amy Coney Barrett to the 7th Circuit, Joan Larsen to the 6th Circuit, and Allison Eid to the 10th Circuit.

    Before the Senate Judiciary Committee voted to advance Bibas' nomination last week, Illinois Sen. Dick Durbin spoke against him as "outside the mainstream of American legal thinking" because of Bibas' legal writings on enhanced interrogation techniques.

    http://www.washingtonexaminer.com/se...rticle/2639430

  7. #47
    Administrator Aaron's Avatar
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    Good to see these judges getting confirmed faster. If this many Dems oppose these judges, they're good for the Judiciary.
    Don't ask questions, just consume product and then get excited for next products.

    "They will hurt you. They will hurt your grandma, these people. The root cause of this is there's no discipline in the homes, they don't go to school, you know, they live off the government, no personal accountability, and they just beat people up for no reason, and it's disgusting." - Former Hamilton County Prosecutor Joe Deters

  8. #48
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    Harry Pregerson, a judge on the U.S. 9th Circuit Court of Appeals, poses in 2015 in front of photos of the 136 former law clerks who worked for him during his career.


    Harry Pregerson, one of the most liberal federal appeals court judges in the nation, dies at 94

    By Maura Dolan
    The Los Angeles Times

    U.S. 9th Circuit Court of Appeals Judge Harry Pregerson, a Los Angeles-based jurist who embraced the underdog and let his conscience inform his rulings, has died. He was 94.

    Pregerson, who was suffering from respiratory ailments, died Saturday night at his Woodland Hills home surrounded by family, said Sharon Pregerson, his daughter-in-law.

    A few nights earlier, with his health seriously failing, he turned to his wife, Bernardine, and expressed a regret.

    “’The hard thing is that I don’t have strength anymore to help people,’” recounted U.S. District Judge Dean Pregerson, Harry’s son.

    “He was full of love,” Sharon Pregerson said. “He helped so many people. That was his mission. That’s why he got up every morning.”

    Pregerson, born in Los Angeles on Oct. 13, 1923, was one of the most liberal federal appeals court judges in the nation.

    He grew up in East Los Angeles, served as a Marine in World War II and suffered severe wounds in the Battle of Okinawa. He later graduated from UCLA and obtained his law degree from UC Berkeley.

    Dubbed a “thug for the Lord” by one attorney, Pregerson was relentless in his efforts away from the bench to help the poor in Los Angeles.

    He worked to establish several homeless shelters and volunteered at one each Thanksgiving.

    Dr. Katie Rodan, Pregerson’s daughter, said that she nicknamed her dad “the rescue machine” when she was a teenager.

    “He wants to save everyone,” she said in a 2015 interview. “He wants to save the world.”

    On the bench, Pregerson was often controversial. He stirred criticism when he refused to follow a 2003 U.S. Supreme Court ruling upholding California’s tough three-strikes sentencing law. Not long after the court’s decision, Pregerson dissented in rulings that upheld life sentences, some for relatively minor crimes.

    His dissents were seen by some critics as insubordination, but Pregerson was frank about putting his conscience first.

    “My conscience is a product of the Ten Commandments, the Bill of Rights, the Boy Scout Oath and the Marine Corps Hymn,” the Carter appointee said during his Senate confirmation hearing. “If I had to follow my conscience or the law, I would follow my conscience.”

    Pregerson also angered some when he issued an order in 1992 to put a hold on the execution of Robert Alton Harris, who was already strapped inside the gas chamber. The Supreme Court later overturned Pregerson’s decision, and Harris was executed as planned.

    Conservatives railed at him for overturning death sentences and accused him of activism. Some prosecutors said they dreaded appearing before him. Pregerson said he simply believed that many death row inmates had not been given fair trials.

    “You read the record in these cases, and you see what happened and how defendants’ rights are not observed,” he said.

    Pregerson also was viewed by some as a federalist, a label most often worn by conservatives and libertarians.

    He favored restraints on the power of the federal government and wrote a decision saying federal authorities lacked authority to interfere with state medical marijuana laws. The U.S. Supreme Court later overturned the decision.

    “His was a jurisprudence that was really based on the recognition of the dignity of every person,” said UC Berkeley Law School Dean Erwin Chemerinsky.

    “For him the law was much less about abstractions and much more about what it would mean in people’s lives,” Chemerinsky said.

    Pregerson took senior status in 2015 at the age of 92 after 36 years on the 9th Circuit. The move reduced his workload, but he made it reluctantly, at his wife’s urging. “You know, at 92 you are not 82,” the judge said in an interview at the time. “You slow down a bit and need a little more rest.”

    The injuries he suffered in the war also were hobbling him. He needed two ski poles to help him walk.

    He told The Times he viewed the bench as a way to improve the lives of others.

    “I looked upon being a judge as a chance to help as many people as I could through the law,” he said. “And it has given me that opportunity, no doubt about that.”

    A public square, a freeway interchange and a child-care center in L.A. bear Pregerson’s name.

    In response to a lawsuit when he was a lower court judge, Pregerson prevented construction of the 105 Freeway until construction jobs were set aside for women and minorities and a training program was in place to give them the needed skills.

    The settlement he helped write also ensured that affordable housing was built for residents displaced by the project.

    Civil rights lawyer Paul L. Hoffman, who teaches international human rights law at UC Irvine and Harvard University, called Pregerson “one of a kind.”

    “He was so committed to social justice,” Hoffman said.

    Christopher David Ruiz Cameron, a law professor at Southwestern Law School and a trustee of the Mexican American Bar Foundation, said Pregerson lived most of his life on the Westside and in the West Valley, “but his soul remained in the working-class Mexican American community of East L.A. where he grew up.”

    “Harry never forgot his roots,” Cameron said. “He identified with the struggles of Chicanos and practically considered himself one of us.”

    The son of Ukrainian Jewish immigrants, Pregerson made his home in Woodland Hills, where he and Bernardine raised their two children, Katie and Dean.

    Two years before taking a reduced workload, the elder Pregerson lost his grandson, David, Dean’s son, in a hit-and-run. The elder Pregerson said the family would never get over it. He recalled that his father, a postal worker who fought in the trenches in World War I, told him life was a battlefield.

    “You never know when you will get hit,” the judge said.

    Pregerson remained close to his adult children and grandchildren throughout his life.

    When Rodan was 12, her mother decided she was bored at home and wanted to go back to school full time to receive a graduate degree in microbiology. She expected the judge to assume the domestic duties, Rodan recalled.

    “He was a typical 1960s man,” she said. “He came home late from work and expected to have the dinner on the table.”

    Suddenly, he was taking her to ballet and running errands. But he couldn’t cook, and she said they ate dinner at restaurants. She called those years “a gift.”

    “He told me, ‘When you grow up, be your own boss and make your own money. Don’t rely on a man to support you. You don’t know what life is going to deal you.’”

    Rodan, a dermatologist, took his advice and started highly successful skin care companies.

    Besides his wife and two children, Pregerson is survived by son-in-law Amnon Rodan, daughter-in-law Sharon, four grandchildren and two great-grandchildren.

    http://www.latimes.com/local/obituar...nap-story.html

  9. #49
    Senior Member CnCP Legend FFM's Avatar
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    I'm beginning to believe that Jimmy Carter will outlive all of his circuit court judges.

  10. #50
    Moderator Dave from Florida's Avatar
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    I recall Pregerson repeatedly blocking the Robert Harris execution in California in 1992. SCOTUS vacated 4 Ninth circuit stays all the way to 6am into the next morning.

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