Senate Judiciary Committee Update

On party-line votes of 12-10, the judiciary committee approved the nominations of Judge Anna St. John to the Fifth Circuit Court and Gregory Cook to the District Court for the Northern District of Alabama. These nominees, opposed by Courts Matter Illinois, now await action by the full Senate. 

The next hearing is scheduled for September 30 on the following nominees: Brad Kelley and Peter Mansfield to the District Court for the Eastern District of Louisiana; Robert Long to the District Court for the Middle District of Florida; Samuel Adkisson to the District Court for the Eastern District of Tennessee; and Jesus Osete to the District Court for the Western District of Missouri. In addition Judge Lee Rudofsky, nominated to the Eighth Circuit Court, is expected to appear. 

As of now, a mark-up is planned for November 10 to include: Daniel Ballou to the District Court for the Eastern District of Kentucky; Richard Bennett to the District Court for the Southern District of Texas; Courtney Coker to the District Court for the Northern District of Texas; Trevor Pemberton to the District Court for the Northern District of Oklahoma; Zachary West to the District Court for the Eastern District of Oklahoma; and Kyle Reardon to the District Court for the District of Alaska. 

ACS Presents Webinar Oct. 5: Protecting Voters & Our Votes

Join the American Constitution Society on Monday, October 5, from 2:00–3:00 p.m. ET for an important conversation with two state attorneys general on democracy’s frontlines who are working to ensure that the will of the people prevails.

Featured Speakers
Nick Brown, Washington State Attorney General
Peter F. Neronha, Rhode Island Attorney General

Moderated by
Dahlia Lithwick, Senior Editor, Slate

This FREE virtual event will examine:

• The status of legal challenges to federal actions affecting voting rights and election administration

• State-level threats and obstacles that attorneys general are working to address

• How advocates and members of the public can help protect voters and their votes

Register here to attend this FREE virtual event.

Supreme Court Hearings Conclude for 2025-26 Term; Read Our SCOTUS Term Wrap Up

Weekly Wrap Up: September 28

“Democracy dies in darkness,” the Washington Post’s slogan, was adopted in 2017. The phrase reportedly comes from a federal court opinion written by the late Judge Damon Keith, who had been nominated to the Sixth Circuit Court by President Carter. In the case, Keith wrote that “democracies die behind closed doors” as he ruled that the government’s blanket policy of closing certain post-9/11 deportation hearings to the press and others were unconstitutional.

Last week, another federal judge — nominated by President Trump, Judge Timothy Kelly of the District Court for the District of the District of Columbia — is holding the line against “darkness.” Earlier in the week, after President Trump banished CNN, MS Now, and Politico, they brought suit, and Judge Kelly ordered them reinstated because their press passes were pulled without due process and for questionable reasons. 

At first the administration defied the court order but, as of this writing, the outlets have been allowed back in the White House. 

The dramatic escalation of threats to the free press is deeply troubling. Thankfully, the federal judiciary is still (often) holding the line when it comes to protecting key constitutional rights and freedoms. 

Courts do matter, and the judges who serve on those courts in lifetime seats are being called on day after day to uphold those protections. That’s why it is alarming that the Senate is moving ahead in confirming judicial nominees who have evidenced extreme views and bias and were seemingly chosen for their partisan loyalties rather than their independence. 

Thus is the case in the Senate confirming Angela Colmenero to the District Court for the Southern District of Texas (50-47). Currently, 56 of President Trump’s second-term nominees have been confirmed, and the list of those making their way through the process is extremely concerning. 

Headlines