Senate Judiciary Committee Schedule

We expect a mark up on November 13 on Justice William Crain to the District Court for the Eastern District of Louisiana and Alexander Van Hook to the District Court for the Western District of Louisiana. Justice Crain, who is currently on the Louisiana Supreme Court, has a very extreme record. During his campaign for election to the Supreme Court, he ran as the most conservative candidate in the race and touted his anti-abortion and pro-gun views. Three new nominees may appear at a hearing as early as November 19. They are: Nicholas Ganjei to the District Court for the Southern District of Texas; David Clay Fowlkes to the District Court for the Western District of Arkansas; and Aaron Peterson to the District Court for the District of Alaska. Nicholas Ganjei is a former staffer to Sen. Ted Cruz (R-TX) and has a long history of involvement in far-right organizations and institutions. 

Supreme Court Shadow Docket Update

Breaking...

(USA Today) Supreme Court rejects challenge to landmark same-sex marriage decision

The high court rejected an appeal from Kim Davis, the former county clerk who refused to issue same-sex marriage licenses. Davis asked the court to overturn Obergefell v. Hodges.

Weekly Update

Last week saw the confirmation of two nominees to Circuit Courts of Appeal: Joshua Dunlap (52-46) to the First Circuit and Eric Tung (52-45) to the Ninth Circuit Court. That’s 19 confirmations with 20 more nominees waiting in the wings. Also, voters spoke out through the ballot box in several state and local races. Of course, Election Day is only one (albeit important) way to speak out. Reaching out to our elected lawmakers is another. Take Action! Call your senators through the Capitol Switchboard 202-224-3121 and urge them to oppose judicial nominees with extreme records who have shown that they will be neither fair nor independent. With the government shutdown, this is not the time for business as usual. 

Lower courts were active as well, ruling on cases challenging the administration’s actions and policies. Here are some highlights:

- Judge John McConnell, an Obama nominee to the District Court for the District of Rhode Island who was one of two judges who ordered the administration to pay SNAP benefits from emergency funds during the shutdown, countered President Trump’s offer to pay partial benefits on a short-term basis by ordering the administration to fully cover the benefits. The administration has asked the First Circuit Court of Appeals to issue an emergency stay. 

- The Sixth Circuit Court of Appeals sided with a parents group and ruled that an Ohio school district could not require students to use their peers’ preferred pronouns, a rule that was meant to avoid bullying and discrimination. Judge Eric Murphy, a Trump nominee, wrote the majority opinion while Judge Jane Stranch, an Obama nominee, in her dissent pointed to the rise in bullying and suicide impacting transgender students. The court’s vote was along “party lines.”

- Judge Robert Gettleman, nominated to the District Court for the Northern District of Illinois by Clinton, ordered ICE to improve conditions at a suburban Chicago detention center which he characterized as “unnecessarily cruel.” Detainees must be given clean bedding, hygiene products, medication, and quarters must be regularly cleaned according to the order. 

- If social media is any indication, the most highly visible action in federal court was the ‘innocent’ verdict in the case of “Sandwich Guy,” the DC man who threw his sub at a Customs and Border Patrol Officer who was part of President Trump’s crack down on DC. The defendant, Sean Dunn, became an instant ‘hero’ whose silhouette was plastered all over DC. Trump-nominated Judge Carl Nichols of the District Court for the District of Columbia presided over the jury trial deliberating over the misdemeanor assault. 

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