Judge Florence Pan – Nominee to the U.S. Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit

In 2021, D.C. Superior Court Judge Florence Pan joined the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia, replacing Judge Ketanji Brown Jackson, who was elevated to the U.S. Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit. With Jackson now joining the Supreme Court, Pan has been tapped to replace her on the appellate bench.

Background

Born in 1966, Florence Yu Pan graduated summa cum laude from the University of Pennsylvania in 1988 and then received her J.D. cum laude from Stanford Law School in 1993.

After graduating, Pan clerked for Judge Michael Mukasey on the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of New York and for Judge Ralph Winter on the U.S. Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit before joining the Department of Justice as a Bristow Fellow in the Office of the Solicitor General. Pan then worked in the Department of Treasury between 1998 and 1999.

In 1999, Pan became a federal prosecutor with the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the District of Columbia. She stayed with the office until her appointment by President Obama to the D.C. Superior Court in 2009.

On April 28, 2016, Pan was nominated by President Barack Obama to become a U.S. District Judge on the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia, replacing Judge Reggie Walton. However, her nomination was not processed by the U.S. Senate, which was then under Republican control, and after President Donald Trump was elected, he nominated Dabney Freidrich to fill the vacancy.

On March 24, 2021, President Biden renominated Pan to the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia, replacing Judge Ketanji Brown Jackson, who was being elevated to the D.C. Circuit. Pan was confirmed 68-30 on September 22, 2021 and has served on the court since.

History of the Seat

The seat Pan has been nominated for will open upon the end of the current Supreme Court term, when Judge Ketanji Jackson will leave her seat on the U.S. Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit to replace Justice Stephen Breyer.

Legal Experience

Pan started her legal career as a clerk to Judge Michael Mukasey on the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of New York and then for Judge Ralph Winter on the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit. Since then, Pan worked for the federal government until her appointment to the D.C. Superior Court, going from the Department of Justice to the Department of the Treasury to the U.S. Attorney’s Office. During her tenure, Pan tried around forty cases, half of which were jury trials.

Among the significant matters that she worked on, Pan argued before the en banc D.C. Circuit in support of the police partially unzipping the jacket of a suspect during a Terry stop. See U.S. v. Askew, 529 F.3d 1119 (D.C. Cir. 2008) (en banc). The D.C. Circuit ruled against her on the issue, finding that the facts surrounding the stop did not create reasonable suspicion for unzipping the jacket. See id.

Pan also argued in front of the D.C. Court of Appeals in defending a conviction against a defendant alleging an insanity defense to killing her child. See McNeil v. United States, 933 A.2d 354 (D.C. 2007). The D.C. Court of Appeals overturned the conviction, finding that the prosecutor below improperly used the defendant’s invocation of her Miranda rights to argue that she was sane. See id. at 369.

Judicial Experience

From 2009 to 2021, Pan has served as a Judge on the D.C. Superior Court. She started her time in the court on a Felony docket, but has since served on the Family, Misdemeanor, and Civil dockets as well.

While serving on the Felony docket, Pan presided over a number of prosecutions of violent offenders, frequently handing out significant sentences, including a 15-year-sentence for a man who assaulted a victim in LeDroit Park, a 12-year-sentence for a man who stabbed the victim in Southeast D.C., and a 60-year-sentence to Antwon Pitt, who sexually assaulted a woman in Southeast D.C. as part of two home invasions. On the civil side, Pan dismissed a lawsuit filed by the Center for Inquiry against Walmart for selling homeopathic medicines.

In her twelve years on the bench, a handful of Pan’s rulings have been reversed by the D.C. Court of Appeals. In two cases, Pan presided over convictions for assault with significant bodily injury that were reversed because the Court of Appeals found insufficient evidence of significant injury. Compare In re D.P., 122 A.3d 903 (D.C. 2015) with Quintanilla v. United States, 62 A.3d 1261 (D.C. 2013). On the civil side, in 2020, the D.C. Court of Appeals reversed Pan’s decision not to award treble damages in a wage-and-hour suit, finding that she had no discretion not to award the damages. Sivaraman v. Guizzetti & Associates., 228 A.3d 1066 (D.C. 2020).

Since September 23, 2021, Pan has been a judge on the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia. Despite her relatively brief tenure on the court, Pan has nonetheless handled a number of prominent cases.

Most notably, Pan has sentenced a number of defendants as part of the January 6 prosecutions. For example, she sentenced James Wayne Entrekin, who plead guilty of entering the Capitol without permission, to 45 days in jail, rejecting a prosecutorial request for 105 days in jail and a defense request for probation. See Marisa Sarnoff, Man Who Dressed as ‘Captain Moroni’ from Mormon Sacred Text on Jan. 6 Tells Judge He Still Believes Election Results Were ‘Tampered’ With, Gets Jail Time, Newstex Blogs, May 6, 2022.

Among other matters, Pan denied an emergency injunction to Philip Morris, who was seeking to challenge an FDA regulation on cigarette warning labels, ruling that there was no imminent harm as the regulation would not kick in for another year. See Lauren Berg, Philip Morris Can’t Block Cig Warning Rule Set For Late 2022, Law360, Oct. 27, 2021. Pan also granted a request by the State of Washington to pause a lawsuit alleging that the state permitted a monopoly on gambling activity in the state. See Humberto J. Rocha, DC Judge Pauses Tribal ‘Monopoly’ Suit for Washington State, Law360, Mar. 17, 2022. She subsequently transferred the lawsuit to the Western District of Washington, ruling that she lacked personal jurisdiction over the state defendants. See Khorri Atkinson, DC Judge Lacks Jurisdiction in Tribal Gambling Monopoly Suit, Law360, Apr. 28, 2022.

Political Activity

Pan made a $500 contribution to the Presidential Campaign of John Kerry in 2004, her only contribution of record. Center for Responsive Politics, https://www.opensecrets.org/donor-lookup/results?name=florence+pan&cycle=&state=&zip=&employ=&cand= (last visited Apr. 1, 2021).

Overall Assessment

Pan’s 68-30 confirmation in 2021 was a landslide by the standards that most Biden Administration nominees have seen. Her nomination to the D.C. Circuit is likely intended to produce a similar comfortable confirmation for a seat that Administration must fill. While Pan is likely to face significantly more opposition for this seat, she will nonetheless likely be confirmed without too much controversy.

139 Comments

  1. Horrible pick. For all the purple & red state picks to either the circuit or district courts so far, the last two DC circuit court picks are worst then any of those. Totally disappointing knowing the great choices that are available. Deepak Gupta, Andrew Manuel Crespo, Christina Rodriguez, Roberto Gonzalez, the list goes on & on. Just plain horrible pick for the second highest court in the land. Any of the Obama picks to the DC circuit would be better for co side ration to the SCOTUS then the two Biden judges once Childs & Pan are confirmed.

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      • The Republicans found a way to get a judge in her 40’s & then another judge in his 30’s available. It’s simply not believable that Democrats can’t find young progressives that would want to be on the DC circuit that can get 50 votes.

        Hell Florence Pan wasn’t even in the top 3 judges on the DC district court to be elevated. A majority of Biden’s other district court nominees that have been confirmed by this senate would have been a better pick then Childs & Pan. Sorry but as good as Biden has been overall, his last two DC circuit picks have been horrible. I could even forgive the picks if they were rushed but we waited almost 10 months for Childs & a few months for Pan.

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      • @Frank

        That’s not completely true. Even before Biden took office he was sent list of potential nominees to various courts in the country from The American Constitution Society, Demand Justice & The People’s Parity Project. Since then Tom Sanez has sent them a list of 7 Hispanic nominees for this very court in the DC circuit.

        Now I will give you Trump didn’t have to worry about getting every GOP vote like Biden can’t afford to lose any Dems, but Manchin has yet to vote against any nominee. There’s just too many better options then Pan. I suspect her husband, who is well connected had something to do with her elevation. The last two DC circuit court picks are probably two of Biden’s three worst picks along with Christine O’Hearn. I was serious when I wrote I’d take any of the four Obama judges in the court, even with their ages over Childs or Pan if Biden was set on elevating a DC circuit judge to the SCOTUS. That’s how bad both picks are.

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      • @Frank
        Terrible argument. A nominee confirmed with only 50 Dem votes (+ VP) is still a duly confirmed and appointed judge. As long as Manchin is good then there’s no need to pander for GOP votes. WH doesn’t rely on applications for circuit court vacancies, let alone the DC Circuit, so they could go with anyone. And don’t tell me that there’s a dearth of qualified younger lawyers up for this job.

        I can easily see Pan retiring from this seat during a GOP presidency.

        There’s no excuse for this one.

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      • @Dequan

        I wouldn’t take Millett right now (born at 1963) over Pan. I think they are pretty similar. I guess you have more of a sure thing in Millett. But the other three Obama nominees are clearly better than Pan.

        I would probably take 30-40% of GWB Circuit Court nominees over Childs. That’s how bad she is.

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    • @Dequan

      Hello, I see you answered my comment from about 2 months ago. it seems to have taken a while for my account to be approved. It said for a while that my comment was pending review.

      Anyway, I’m not overly enthusiastic about Florence Pan either, but I am not not a huge believer that all appointments to the D.C. Circuit just HAVE to be future Supreme Court material. Doesn’t the supreme have enough from this court already?

      As a side note, I was somewhat proud when I heard it was her because she was who I had predicted would be appointed in KBJ’s place back when her nomination was announced in February. I think the fact that she was approved with 68 votes for the district court was too attractive to resist. How many votes do you think she will get this time?

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      • @ Aaron Pachtman

        It is true with (Once KBJ is seated) 5 of the 9 justices nominated from that one court, the DC circuit doesn’t need any more representation on the SCOTUS. But still we can’t deny it’s the second most important court in the country. I just don’t want to see ANY circuit court seats wasted on somebody that is too old to be considered for elevation in a few years, but particularly not on that court.

        Maybe the federal circuit is ok because it’s unlikely a SCOTUS nominee would ever come from there. I was ok with Beth Robinson because even though she was born in 1965, she was clearly the best person from her state for the 2nd circuit. But I just can’t forgive old nominees to the DC circuit. Especially after Trump managed to put nominees in their 40’s & even 30’s on that court.

        As for how many votes I predict she will get, I don’t see another 68. Perhaps high 50’s. I’d be surprised if it’s in the 60’s.

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  2. Look Biden has made some very good Circuit court picks, problem is none of them are for the DC Circuit…

    We could have had Deepak Gupta and Elizabeth Prelogar and instead we got Ms Bad (Pan) and Ms Worse (Childs)….

    If you have this desire to nominate middle age centrists, how about putting them on the Federal Circuit or Court of International Trade….

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  3. Pan is a horrible selection. I’ve said that repeatedly here. I gave it a grade of D-. But at the end of the day, I would likely vote for Pan if I were in the Senate.

    But Pan is solidly center-left and should not be mentioned in the same sentence as J. Michelle Childs, who is clearly a center-right or far right and a patronage selection. Pan is bad, but Childs is worse by orders of magnitude. The Childs nomination is comparable to the George HW Bush nomination of David Souter (who was pushed by his chief of staff John Sununu Sr.). Or perhaps to Bill Clinton appointing Jose Cabranes.

    I would vote HELL NO on J. Michelle Childs and use every obstructionist procedure to prevent her from getting a vote. It would be FAR better to have the seat remain open and risk it being filled by a Fed Soc nutjob than have her on the DC Circuit. In fact, I could go even further and say that I would rather be stabbed in the front by Clarence Thomas than stabbed in the back by J. Michelle Childs.

    Due to Jim Clyburn shoving this pile of crap nominee on Biden, I will be voting for the GOP in my swing district House seat until Jim Clyburn is no longer in leadership.

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    • @Shawn

      The reason we mention Childs & Pan at the same time is neither should be anywhere NEAR the DC circuit. Childs is definitely worse, but that doesn’t excuse Pan as being a horrible pick. I look at it as being asked if I want to be thrown off the top of the Empire State Building (Childs) or being thrown off the top of a building 25 stories high (Pan). Of course being thrown off The Empire State Building is worse, but neither option is acceptable. Maybe if instead of a 25 story building, if it was a 2 story building I would survive. But Pan is not a 2 story building in this analogy. So that’s why We mention them together… Lol

      As for Millett, she’s the only one I would even hesitate to not take over Pan. That’s insane. FOUR Obama appointees & only ONE I may take either of Biden’s appointees over today even with their current ages. And I may flip a coin to decide between Millett & Pan & be ok no matter if it lands on heads or tails. It’s truly a shame because without these two picks, Biden would be doing an outstanding job on the circuit courts overall.

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      • No your analogy is completely wrong. Pan will likely side with liberal side 70-80% of the time like Millett, Childs maybe 30% of the time if we are lucky. There’s a big difference. I strongly dislike the selection of Pan for many reasons, but Childs is *much* worse. She is actually a conservative rather than moderate or center-left. I would rather have Pan than leave the seat empty, while I would unequivocally say the opposite for Childs.

        We effectively have a 6-5 DC Circuit now. Childs is that bad. It’s basically the difference between say Justice Breyer and Chief Justice Roberts.

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      • I guess that’s where we slightly differ. I feel the same about Pan as you do. She’s a bad pick, we had better picks & also younger picks but she is qualified & I would rather have her then the seat remain vacant & filed by a future Republican (Just like Millett).

        You & I oppose Childs for different reasons. I feel Childs will side with liberals more then 65% of the time & in no way do I feel she is a conservative or right wing. She’s not nearly as progressive as I want but I simply don’t agree with your assessment. I strongly disagree with her because in no way should she even be considered for a future SCOTUS vacancy & I don’t think any circuit court, let alone the DC circuit, should be filled by anybody that can’t be considered for the SCOTUS.

        Plus I don’t believe Childs will have opinions that will stand the test of time nor do I believe she will persuade other judges to join her in the same fashion as a justice Kagan. And none of that even mentions her being 55. But we are in complete agreement neither Childs or Pan should be on the DC circuit with the other possibilities available. It’s going to take a few more Rachel Bloomekatz’s to make up for these two picks… Lol

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      • “I feel Childs will side with liberals more then 65% of the time & in no way do I feel she is a conservative or right wing.”

        After Alex Sammon’s expose on Childs’ record, I don’t think this is even a somewhat realistic possibility. I have the same confidence that Childs would side with liberals 65+% of the time as I do for most of the GWB or Trump nominees. Which is basically zero.
        Realistically I don’t expect Childs to side with liberals on anything other than perhaps voting rights, some aspects of government power, and civil rights or social issues. I expect a record not too different than a center-right Republican.

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      • While I in no way am in the business of defending Childs when it comes to her not being nominated to the DC circuit, I will offer the following in defense of me not believing she is a right wing or a conservative…

        1. In 2011, Childs rejected a challenge to South Carolina’s open primary law brought by the Greenville County Republican Party, ruling that the open primary did not violate the First or Fourteenth Amendments.

        2. In November 2014, Childs ruled in favor of two women who sued to have the state recognize their marriage performed in Washington, D.C., finding South Carolina’s failure to recognize their marriage to be unconstitutional.

        3. Childs struck down South Carolina’s absentee ballot witness requirements, finding the requirements to violate voters’ rights given the Covid-19 pandemic.

        So with that said, I still think she’s a horrible choice, just not a right winger… Lol

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      • I didn’t say that Childs is a Clarence Thomas like right-winger. I’m saying she is a center-right conservative like Justice Roberts or Kennedy. There is a difference. I explicitly said that she would likely side with liberals on voting rights and civil rights issues. I have little doubt that she would uphold affirmative action when there is ambiguity, for example.

        But I expect Childs to be harsher than even most conservative judges on criminal justice and basically in tune with them on corporate and labor issues.

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      • Oh ok. I must have misread an earlier comment. I thought you were saying she was a right winger. But in the mold Roberts & Kennedy yea I definitely can see that. It truly angers me that we will have wasted two DC circuit seats. I really wish after she didn’t get the SCOTUS, she would have at least decided to stay home & switch the the 4th circuit. It’s truly ashame.

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    • @Shawn

      Why do think Childs will be center right in the mold of Roberts rather than merely a centrist? Are there some opinions she has written that you can point towards?
      In any event this would be very hard to determine based on the opinions of a district court judge.

      I understand she has spent her career mostly defending management but hasn’t that been the norm even for democratic appointments?

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      • How can Child’s be a center right in the mold of Roberts? She’s not a Republican. She’s a Democrat. Does anyone really believe that a Democratic President would nominate a Republican? It doesn’t make any sense.

        I think when people saw Lindsay Graham and Tim Scott supporting Child’s that’s when people started talking crazy. If Trump were President they wouldn’t have wanted her,

        When Clinton chose Ginsburg in 1993 Republicans were satisfied with her because she wasn’t a true progressive and they had feared someone more liberal.

        All of this commotion over one judge on a court that has 12 judges active and semi-retired is ridiculous.

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      • “I think when people saw Lindsay Graham and Tim Scott supporting Child’s that’s when people started talking crazy. If Trump were President they wouldn’t have wanted her,”

        This is a bunch of bullshit speculation and pure smears from Left-bashing garbage. It’s patronizing and insulting.

        No the real reason is when people actually shined a light on Childs’ background and record and saw it for what it was, a conservative background and record from an unqualified candidate. It has nothing to do with Graham and Scott. Alex Sammon shined a light on her horrendous background as a management lawyer defending corporations engaging in union busting and committing racial and gender discrimination and as a criminal justice hardliner as a judge who makes conservative Republicans look compassionate in comparison.

        Liked by 1 person

      • Hey Shawn, It’s not speculation and it’s not bullshit, It’s some serious shit. Judge Child’s is a Democrat that’s a fact. To say as you said she’s conservative is not only ridiculous; it’s racist

        You obviously don’t know any black people so I can see how come to your conclusions. People like you are worse than republicans, We know why they are racist but it’s ironic how people who claim they are “progressive” by attacking black people.

        Did Judge Childs work for management side law firm ? Yes, so what? Lot’s people have taken jobs like that .However; that was the beginning of her career. We saw the tactic used against Ketanji Jackson because she was black and a public defender that meant she was soft on criminals. That’s nonsense and how the right was endeavoring to use race.

        As for Judge Childs’ qualifications. she was rated “well-qualified”
        by the ABA, It’s a peer assessment that’s worth more than of white 20 something blogger. Before you attack black folks take your hood off and read the ABA peer reviews,

        Liked by 1 person

      • No it’s total bullshit and GFY. And people like you talking down to me and race baiting is exactly why progressives are quite right to withhold their votes for these so-called Democrats. People like you are back stabbers, and I would prefer a far right fascist any day over scumbags like YOU.
        I would rather be stabbed in the front by a fascist than stabbed in the back by so-called Democrats like J. Michelle Childs.

        “Did Judge Childs work for management side law firm ? Yes, so what? Lot’s people have taken jobs like that .However; that was the beginning of her career. ”

        That’s plainly inaccurate. J. Michelle Childs became a law partner after more than a decade of defending union busters and those that commit discrimination. If anyone is a racist against Black people, it is traitors like Childs. Any your dismissal of it should be unacceptable to progressives and really any pro-worker Democrats, who should withhold their vote permanently for “Democrats” like YOU.

        You want my vote, earn it. You want to engage in Left-bashing? Don’t expect me to vote for you. I’m done voting for bogus Democrats like Jim Clyburn. And yes, I won’t waste my vote on a third party or not show up. Rather I will vote GOP to hurt these kinds of “Democrats”.

        If my views are “racist” to you, then I am proud to be a “racist”. Again people like YOU should just GFY.

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  4. @ Shawn

    I respectfully disagree about voting for Republicans….While I totally get the frustration with the Childs nomination, the GOP of 2022 is simply far too dangerous to ever vote for….The GOP is no where near the party I remember from the late 1980’s and early 90’s growing up..

    In any event, and on to a brighter subject, hopefully the Bloomekatz confirmation will take place in the next nomination hearing and she can begin the road leading to her confirmation on the 6th Circuit

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    • I wish Schumer & Durbin would announce the Bloomekatz nomination will be treated just like KBJ. Hearing, next week hold over vote on a Monday, followed by a SJC vote to floor the following Monday, followed by a cloture (Discharge if needed) vote that same Monday night. She should be confirmed within 30 – 35 days. She’s THAT great. She needs to be on the bench yesterday. And I think it would send a message to Republicans they are not playing games when it comes to any SCOTUS vacancy or any solid circuit court nominee.

      Liked by 1 person

      • And many progressives would rather be stabbed in the front by a fascist than stabbed in the back by a Left-bashing “Democrat”.
        Until Democratic leaders fully understand that, there will be a considerable number of progressives are not going to vote for you. You are not going to scare people to vote for you in this manner.

        I would literally vote for Marjorie Taylor Greene over Kevin Collins and it is not even close.

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    • “While I totally get the frustration with the Childs nomination”

      With all due respect, frankly I don’t think you really do. The party hacks have been trying this tack of personally attacking and blaming progressives 90% of the time and then trying to scare people into voting for trash hacks like Jim Clyburn and his minions.

      I blame the DNC for the 2016 debacle (and I proudly voted for Hillary Clinton, whom I think would have a been a fantastic President.)
      The DNC chose to repeatedly and continually attack Sanders and his supporters internally even after the primary was clearly over. Hillary was going to win the primary easily and the DNC should have just worked on preparing for the general election rather than unnecessarily putting its thumb on a scale and just bashing Sanders. Seriously It’s not rocket science that if you engage in Left-bashing, then the Left is going to respond in kind and vote for someone else. Hillary Clinton herself did not do this. But a great number of her surrogates did. Joe Biden to his credit never let his campaign engage in this kind of garbage, which is why a big the Left stuck with him.

      A lot of progressives, including myself, would rather be stabbed in the front than in the back. You’re not going to scare me anymore into supporting assholes like Conor Lamb, Andrew Cuomo, Kurt Schrader, Henry Cuellar, or any of the other hack candidates who are bashing progressives. The Left-bashing wing of the Democrats are back stabbers, and I would vote for Marjorie Taylor Greene before I would vote for any of these people. If I see bashing of Bernie Sanders or AOC or the Squad or whomever from a Democratic candidate, I support the GOP candidate. Period.

      Repeatedly saying that people are “wasting their vote” by staying home or voting third party and then again blaming progressives again when their shit candidates lose. Guess what, I agree that doing so is wasting my vote. That’s why when the Democrat sucks or engages in left bashing, going forward I will vote GOP to stop them. Disagree on issues, it is a big tent party. But start bashing progressives and I vote GOP.

      Liked by 1 person

      • It’s easy to be a tough guy on here, I bet you wouldn’t say it to my face. Like I said these so called “progressives” like Bernie Sanders who runs in a Democratic primary but who isn’t a Democrat. What do you expect? The man served 8 terms in the House and did not befriend one black person. It was Clyburn who supported Biden not Sanders so that’s why people are sore.

        You and your ilk are entitled to vote for whomever you want to. Please name one of these so called “regressives” who have any accomplishments other than winning a seat in an easy district.

        The truth is these folks haven’t done dick and all they do complain. I wish someone would give a name of someone who would replace
        Biden but it’s not gonna happen. It’s just gutless punks.

        Liked by 1 person

      • A few observations from me…

        I absolutely love this site. The opinions are varied & great to hear input from many different sides. I think we need to remember civility & respect each other’s opinions. We don’t want the editors of this page to begin to restrict the page in any way & I’m concerned if people start to disrespect each other, that could be the result. I’m sure many of the conversations we have on this site are some of the same conversations that go on in The White House regarding judicial nominations. Let’s just give out opinions & respect one another even in disagreement. I think for the most part that has been done.

        Second, in regards to judge Childs being treated unfairly. I have been on the record as believing she is a horrible candidate for the DC circuit. I have given my reasons & think I’ve been pretty fair to her by even defending her at times when I thought some have been unfair to her. Honestly if she was nominated to the 4th circuit in her home state I would probably be fine with her nomination, just not the DC circuit.

        Last, I know many are ok with the Childs & Pan nominations because they do no harm & ate virtually guaranteed 51 votes. My only push back against that theory is Childs was nominated the same day as Abudu & Pan the same day as Bloomekatz. So to say we can only nominate centrist to get 51 votes when on the same day we get your? Progressive nominees to the circuit courts counters that theory.

        Anyway I will end where I started. I love this site & look forward to all of your thoughts & I thank the editors for their hard work & great job.

        Liked by 1 person

      • @Kevin Collins.

        Absolutely I would say it to your face. And yes, I would have much preferred Elizabeth Warren.

        @Dequan

        There’s no civility possible when people who say things like this are not BANNED from this site.

        “Before you attack black folks *take your hood off*”

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  5. The Biden Administration decided on a strategy of “Do No Harm.” I think Pan’s nomination is in part a response to Biden’s falling poll numbers. She’s certainly a safe and uncontroversial nominee.

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  7. @ Shawn

    I think one of the big issues about the 2016 primary were the superdelegates who pledged to vote for HRC regardless of how the popular vote went..So even if the voters chose Bernie Sanders, the superdelegates, made up of senators, governors, and other politicians pledged their support to HRC…..I think the superdelegates process has since changed…..In 2020. Democrats did not have anywhere near the infighting that took place in 2016..

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    • Rick, TBH I just don’t think the superdelegates were the big deal because Sanders didn’t come close to winning the pledged delegates anyway. But it did give the impression that the entire process was rigged.
      The same thing happened in 2008, superdelegates heavily went for Hillary, but when Obama started actually winning states and led in the pledged delegate count, the superdelegates came aboard.

      It was more just the lack of respect and the DNC leak revelation demonstrating that lack of respect, aided by the Russians. Sanders supporters were actually starting to get behind Hillary by mid-August. Then came that DNC leak, and a good portion of his supporters basically vowed to never vote for her. A quarter of Sanders supporters either voted for Trump, third party, or sat out the election.
      It’s so sad because the sentiments demonstrated in those DNC leaks were unnecessary and it deprived us of an excellent President (I actually think Hillary would have been MUCH better as President than Biden.)

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  9. I normally like to talk about judges but I’ll be blunt.
    As someone who is a member of a minority community (LGBT) whose rights are going to be under attack from the hacks put on the courts under Trump, the fact someone is on here talking about how they’ll vote Republican out of spite makes my blood boil.
    If nothing else, it’s laughable to hear someone complain about being stabbed in the back while they freely admit they will vote for people who will hurt reproductive,LGBT, voting rights, civil rights and more because someone said something they didn’t like.
    If you wonder why some of us give “progressives” the side eye, crap like that is why.
    If nothing else, don’t complain about J.Michelle Childs when you’re voting for people who will put people that are far worse on the courts.

    Liked by 1 person

    • @Zack

      Trump put 54 judges on the circuit courts. Only one was openly gay & none, zero, zilch were black. Trust me, I think both the Childs & Pan nominations were horrible, but even the announcements made on the days both of them were announced were better then any of the 54 Trump put on the bench. I would take Abudu, Bloomekatz & Pryor despite Childs & Pan also being announced the same day over anybody a second Trump or first DeSantis presidency would nominate.

      Democrats aren’t perfect, we all know that. I have been pretty open about some of my frustrations with them. But there are only two viable parties in this country right now. With the exception of a few like Liz Cheney, Adam Kingzinger, Lisa Murkowski, Susan Collins & Mitt Romney, I can’t even consider voting for most other Republicans. The choices couldn’t be different & the consequences couldn’t be clearer.

      Liked by 1 person

      • Indeed and even if Black judges had been put on the circuit courts under Trump, look at past ones like Clarence Thomas and Janice Brown to see how well that would go.
        Also applies to the gay judge put on the 9th Circuit under Trump.
        Patrick Bumatay is well outside the mainstream of where most LGBT Americans are at and is just as bad as any of the White judges when it comes to being a fair jurist.
        He is a hack and not one celebrated by anyone worth their salt.
        It goes to a belief of mine.
        Judicial diversity matters but that means nothing if the person is a horrible human being.
        IMO, sans a couple, no one Biden has put forward is someone we have to worry about going out of their way to be cruel.
        Never the case with Republican nominees.

        Liked by 1 person

      • @Ryan Joshi

        If Katie Porter or someone who is a solid progressive was the Democratic candidate in my district I would make an exception and vote for them.
        But if it is an establishment type or worse a Left-basher like Conor Lamb or Abigail Spanberger sort, I will vote GOP. I don’t have a problem with moderates, just the Left-bashing back stabbers (whether they are moderates or establishment liberals).

        Like

    • Thank You! I am not from the LGBT community. I am an older member of the African American community. We got hit by the Shelby County case in 2013. There’s no doubt Obergefell will overturned as soon as a case comes through the pipeline. I wouldn’t wish this on anyone. But my issue with a few people here extends beyond judges. The Republicans don’t care about people.

      We just had another mass shooting in Uvalde. It was almost 10 years ago since Sandy Hook and those kids were even younger. The Republicans have blocked any kind of sensible gun control laws. It’s despicable.

      In 2008 Heller case , Justice Scalia re-wrote the 2nd Amendment making it difficult for any government entity to restrict gun laws. The Republican establishment has made a court that will in short order put us back in the Nineteenth Century.

      It’s disheartening to hear people casually talk about voting for Republicans because people in a party they don’t belong to do things they don’t like. After the events that have transpired in the past few weeks they ought to ashamed of themselves,
      c

      Liked by 1 person

    • Frankly I could care less it makes your “blood boil”. That’s your problem. Perhaps you should go to anger management.

      “If you wonder why some of us give “progressives” the side eye, crap like that is why.”

      And that’s exactly why progressives should give the side eye at the ballot box to left-bashing back stabbing Democrat. You are not f-ing entitled to my vote! I don’t understand why left-bashers like you can spit on my face and then expect me to vote for your shitty candidates. To be blunt, I won’t.

      Like

    • I will add that I have noticed that user GloFish seemed to leave just before user Zach showed up here. GloFish made a disgusting comment in late December 2021 suggesting that Biden’s primary qualification for judges was being a black woman. After being called out on that comment, GloFish disappeared and Zach showed up 3 days later.

      It is worth noting that both GloFish and Zach have been propping up white men as nominees repeatedly as possible nominees. Some of them excellent ones like John Rappoport and Jeffrey Fisher, some of them horrible ones like Michael Mongan and Jesse Furman.

      Like

  10. I’ve also noticed that in 2021, a lot of the hearings had 6 nominees, sometimes all judicial nominees (usually 1 circuit court nominee & 5 district court nominees). They have considerably slowed down this year. Of course a lot of that is due to Biden failing to nominate people.

    Like

  11. It’s impressive how horrible the nominees are for DC COA . It has nothing to do with race/ethnicity. Biden was able to nominate phenomenal people of color to the other appeal courts… who were young, progressive and at least noticeably left of center.

    For the DC Court of Appeals, Biden picked two people who will be OVER 55 years of age when they join the court. Just think about that. A Trump judge on the court was confirmed in his mid 30’s. He could be on the court for close to as many years as Childs and Pan combined. Another Trump judge is not yet in her 50’s.

    Both Childs and Pan have zero progressive or left of center backgrounds. One comes from big law firms and traditional government settings and the other has worked most of her life as an assistant us attorney. Workwise, there’s nothing out of the ordinary or even a trace of non traditional in their backgrounds. Other than nominating a Republican, Biden nominated some of the the oldest, most conservative Dem. Truly disappointing.

    Liked by 2 people

    • Also for Childs, the whole nomination was so orchestrated and so forced. It was either her or no else for that seat . That makes me livid . If it was for someone liberal, fine, but she has literally shown she will slow walk rulings to make LGBT people wait for rights far longer than should.

      Liked by 1 person

    • Since when does ideology trump real experience? I am glad that the people screening judges for Biden are choosing people who have paid their dues.

      It’s insulting for trial judge with years of experience to be leap frogged by 30 something little or no experience handling cases.

      This notion that DC Circuit is superior to the other circuits is nonsense. In fact, aside from the Federal Circuit it should be the last appeals court to look for justices. The numbered circuit have a better mix of cases and cover multiple states.

      So, I am satisfied that the administration is stacking the DC C
      ourt with political hacks. Let’s get people on there who know what they are doing,

      Like

      • I believe the issue with this is we are assuming somebody in their 40’s or late 30’s would not be qualified if they leap frogged a district court judge in their 50’s. I just don’t buy into that notion. If we keep putting the same people into the judiciary then we will keep getting the same results. I am happy when non judges with backgrounds as federal defenders, working with The Innocence Project, union organizers, in state government for liberal administrations, state supreme court justices, The American Constitution Society, The NAACP & The SLPC are nominated. I’m not saying district court judges shouldn’t be elevated. They should just be young & progressive enough to make the time spent on backfilling their position worth it in my view.

        Liked by 2 people

      • Spot-on Kevin Collins! Finally someone speaking my language. I too am so sick and tired of witnessing all of these experienced seasoned judges with brilliant legal minds (who have certainly paid their dues) get overlooked for very young inexperienced nominees who have certainly not paid their dues and get handed these coveted lifetime appointments. And it is my hope for this very reason that someone as brilliant highly regarded and experienced as Judge George Hanks gets the nomination for the 5th Circuit in Texas. And please check this fine gentleman’s resume before you sound off, because he most certainly will garner bipartisan support because of his unassailable qualifications.

        Like

  13. As a “check all the boxes” person, I am deeply invested in a federal judiciary that fulfills its proper constitutional role, lest I, and others like me, suffer grievous harms from laws and practices. So you can forgive me for not taking some apologists on here seriously.
    Those who think that this is the best we can get.
    Those who think that there’s no difference between a qualified nominee in their 30s and a qualified nominee near 60s.
    Those who think that all Dems need to do is vote a little more, when politicians and the courts are literally making that less possible.
    Those who, following this White House’s lead, have no sense of urgency.

    As much as the results may harm me, after the midterms I am not above coming right back on here to say “I TOLD YOU SO!”

    When it comes to senate races, no one has explained to me what it is about:
    a president as deeply unpopular as Biden
    base voter disillusion
    barriers to voting
    high inflation
    high gas prices
    commodity shortages
    food shortages
    senate malapportionment
    historical trends, etc.

    that inspire them with confidence of a Democratic majority. They can only point to ONE thing: candidate quality. Well, “candidate quality” has an herculean task with surmounting all these electoral mountains.

    Absent the coming of Super Candidate Quality (with that big S on its chest) all I want is for us to nominee, hear, confirm, and appoint judges at breakneck speed, while we still can.

    Look! Up in the sky! It’s a bird! It’s a plane! It’s…

    Liked by 1 person

  14. I know some people were questioning Doris Pryor because she was only a federal defender for one year. I did some more research. She founded the REACH program,[3] a re-entry program that guides and supports former offenders who are at greater risk of returning to prison. I actually really like this pick, particularly from a red state.

    Liked by 1 person

  18. Biden has to go with a Hispanic nominee for this vacancy, simple as that.
    Also, it’s nice that she’s doing this but Judith Rogers should have done this much, much earlier.
    I have to believe there have been candidates vetted for this seat so we better see one ASAP.

    Liked by 1 person

    • @Zack

      I 100% agree with everything you said. This has to be a Hispanic nominee. There should be plenty of candidates vetted. I’ve noticed articles stating multiple candidates were being vetted for courts with only one vacancy. The 6th circuit had 2 & the 2nd circuit had 3 being vetted. I would assume the same for the DC circuit.

      Judge Brown really should have announced she was taking senior status earlier even if she was going to wait for September to actually step down. But I’m happy either way she is finally doing it. This is truly a gift to Biden to get a chance to make up for back to back disastrous picks to that court. If he can book end the two horrible picks with KBJ & a Christina Rodriguez or Andrew Crespo, that will go a long way to make up for Childs & Pan.

      Like

      • I agree.
        This will likely be Biden’s last chance to appoint someone to the D.C. Circuit because in the small chance we keep the Senate, sans death there is no way George Sr. Judge Karen Henderson is going to let Biden pick her replacement.
        If nothing else, it would be nice if the final pick to the D.C. Circuit is not only Latino but also in their 40’s.
        We don’t need another nominee in their late 50’s.

        Like

  19. You all are too funny. Let’s just hope that the most experienced & well-qualified person is selected regardless of age, gender, & race, and if that happens to be an Hispanic woman or an African-American man than so be it.

    Like

  20. I also don’t know why Rogers waited this long to announce that she’s taking senior status, as I am very concerned that Biden may not get around to filling this seat at the pace he is going. If they leave this seat unfilled, it would be the biggest judicial nominations-related failure of the entire administration – waiting for after the midterms (though I also hope the Dems keep the Senate, the odds are not in our favor given the national environment) is far too big a risk, and it’s not even like the administration has to negotiate with any home state senators.

    I do wonder if Biden will fill this seat with a Hispanic nominee – there’s certainly more pressure from him to do so, but it doesn’t seem like MALDEF’s advocacy is having much of an effect on this administration. If he does pick a Hispanic nominee, I agree with somebody above who said it will be someone who is currently in DC. I haven’t gone back and checked, but my guess is that the majority of Democratic nominees to the DC Circuit were working in DC at the time of their nomination – Childs was a special case because of Clyburn, and I cannot think of any other cases in recent history.

    @Dequan that’s why I don’t think Rodriguez or Crespo (both great candidates) are likely picks for this seat even if Biden chooses a Hispanic nominee. They’re more likely to get the CA2 and CA1 nods, respectively (Rodriguez seems likely, Crespo less so).

    Does anyone know of any obvious Hispanic candidates with current DC ties? If we’re focusing on likely candidates (rather than our own dream candidates), I have a feeling Hispanic DC lawyers is a better place to start.

    Liked by 2 people

    • Also, there was some commentary about Childs being like Roberts or Kennedy – I think Childs was a horrible candidate for the DC Circuit, but those fears are understandable but ultimately overblown. Her background just suggests that she is not as sympathetic to the rights of criminal defendants as we would like (which is unfortunately pretty common among Dem nominees – Owens and Rawlinson on the 9th and Lynch on the 1st are three of many examples). The criminal docket for the DC Circuit is tiny anyways, so I would actually prefer law-and-order types to be on this court rather than one of the numbered circuits where their punitive views could do more harm.

      The other issue was that she’s not particularly friendly to workers’ rights, but Clyburn (as much as I detest him for his ham-fisted attempts to get Childs onto SCOTUS) was correct in pointing out that she worked at the South Carolina Department of Labor. With the DC circuit, and the few labor/employment issues that come up will likely involve the NLRB/administrative law – and Childs’ experience at the SC DoL suggests that she would be more sympathetic to the NLRB than the Republicans on the court are. My issue is that Childs is no expert on administrative law (for example, Jennifer Nou would have been a better fit), but I can’t see her being reflectively hostile to labor the way Roberts is.

      If we’re making SCOTUS comparisons, Childs will likely be more of a Kagan than anything else – not a great candidate and a waste of a seat, but she really only seems conservative in comparison to KBJ. Can’t believe I actually defended Childs, but she’s certainly not a reason to start voting Republican.

      Like

      • This sounds much more reasonable than what has been said in the past about judge Childs. I still don’t see why people are horrified because Clyburn asked Biden to consider Childs’ to the Supreme Court. There’s nothing wrong with that. It’s not usual for politicians to ask the Whitehouse to consider a someone not on their list.

        When Justice White retired in 1993 , President Clinton considered well over a dozen potential nominees. It was Senator Daniel Patrick Moynihan of New York who suggested Ruth Bader Ginsburg. He didn’t know her.

        It’s safe to assume that the Whitehouse was aware of Judge Rogers’ intent to take senior status. Having said that I don’t care who they choose so long as the nominee is qualified and fair. That’s it. To choose someone based on their race for this particular court is redundant.

        Like

    • Also, there was some commentary about Childs being like Roberts or Kennedy – I think Childs was a horrible candidate for the DC Circuit, but those fears are understandable but ultimately overblown. Her background just suggests that she is not as sympathetic to the rights of criminal defendants as we would like (which is unfortunately pretty common among Dem nominees – Owens and Rawlinson on the 9th and Lynch on the 1st are three of many examples). The criminal docket for the DC Circuit is tiny anyways, so I would actually prefer law-and-order types to be on this court rather than one of the numbered circuits where their punitive views could do more harm.

      The other issue was that she’s not particularly friendly to workers’ rights, but Clyburn (as much as I detest him for his ham-fisted attempts to get Childs onto SCOTUS) was correct in pointing out that she worked at the South Carolina Department of Labor. With the DC circuit, and the few labor/employment issues that come up will likely involve the NLRB/administrative law – and Childs’ experience at the SC DoL suggests that she would be more sympathetic to the NLRB than the Republicans on the court are. My issue is that Childs is no expert on administrative law (for example, Jennifer Nou would have been a better fit), but I can’t see her being reflectively hostile to labor the way Roberts is.

      If we’re making SCOTUS comparisons, Childs will likely be more of a Kagan than anything else – not a great candidate and a waste of a seat, but she really only seems conservative in comparison to KBJ. Can’t believe I actually defended Childs, but she’s certainly not a reason to start voting Republican.

      Like

      • @Hank

        I know the feeling. The other day I was semi defending Childs from accusations of her being a conservative right winger on this site myself. I hate doing that because I believe she’s a horrible candidate (Second worst Biden nominee in my opinion after O’Hearn). But I want to be fair as to why I think she’s horrible & some of the points you brought up are more of the reasons, not that she’s basically a Republican in which the seat would be better left vacant or it’s good enough to start voting for Republicans.

        It’s also ironic you wrote Jennifer Nou would have been a better choice for the DC circuit, especially in light of her not getting the 7th circuit nomination. I actually thought to myself the other day (Albeit I did not write it on this site) Nou would have been light years better of a choice, except I was thinking her instead of Pan, not Childs as you mentioned.

        For all of the accolades this administration deserves for increasing professional diversity onto the courts, they have lacked law professors. That’s actually surprising to me as I would think that’s a background that would be sought out.

        Like

      • I fundamentally disagree with basically every word you have written here. Florence Pan is another Kagan, yes. J. Michelle Childs is MUCH more conservative than that.

        And nominating J. Michelle Childs to the DC Circuit is a stab in the back and justifies voting GOP for the House. Joe Biden promised criminal justice reform and to be the strongest pro-union President, so this is an appointment that is a stab in the back. While I think he’s been a terrible President so far, but for now I would still vote for him again because of his appointment of KBJ. Had he put Childs on SCOTUS, I would vote for Trump over Biden, no question.

        Nominating a criminal justice hardliner in 1995 is more acceptable than doing so in 2021. Bill Clinton campaigned as a criminal justice hardliner in an era that tough-on-crime was far more popular (and justified) and so are getting what he promised.

        The SC Dept of Labor is a joke, even under a very conservative Democratic governor. The Governor, Jim Hodges, makes Joe Manchin look like a strong progressive in comparison. Hodges regularly made trips to Bob Jones U during his campaigns and won largely because of a backlash to the GOP Gov of SC changing the state flag from the KKKonfederacy. Serving in SC DoL that administration is not evidence of any sort of pro-labor tilt.

        Like

    • I think Roberto Gonzalez would be a likely candidate if Biden picked a Hispanic currently working in DC. He worked in the Obama administration as well. I believe he was born around 1977 so she shouldn’t be an issue.

      Nicholas Miranda could be another name & he was born around 1983. Neither are as progressive as Crespo but both acceptable.

      I’m not familiar with all of the Hispanics in the Obama administration under the age of 50 that still live in the DC area but I’m sure there are some good picks there. And of course I would pay top dollar to get the Sanez list of 7 Hispanics he sent to Biden last year as I’m sure there are some good names on that.

      Like

      • @Frank

        I know moving a magistrate judge to a circuit court seat is rare but have been done a handful of times like Biden just did with Doris Pryor. I doubt moving a judge on the DC Superior court to a circuit court has ever been done. Remember Florence Pan was on that court, Yet Biden put her on the DC district court first. I just don’t see a direct move from the Superior court so I didn’t even consider those judges. Particularly to the DC circuit.

        @Kevin Collins

        I too suspect the White House was aware of Judge Rogers’ intent to take senior status. I still think the Childs & Pan nominations were horrible, but if they knew there was another vacancy coming & have a young progressive in the wing, it will make it a little less worse. Let’s see & hope they don’t screw this big gift up.

        Like

      • Judge Rodgers came directly from the DC Court of Appeals. That’s the highest local DC court. We were discussing if there were any viable judges on the DC Superior Court. That’s the court I was saying I don’t believe a judge will ever go directly from to the DC circuit.

        The DC Court of Appeals has 8 judges, 6 of which have been nominated by Democrats. None of them are Hispanic. There is a pending nominee, Tovah R. Calderon who I believe is Hispanic. She was born c. 1973 so I guess she could be on the list of possibilities but I doubt she will get serious consideration over some of the names that have been floated.

        Like

  22. I have to believe the WH knew this vacancy was coming so perhaps we will see a nominee for this seat in the next batch(which IMO will be coming next week.) or shortly after.
    I don’t expect this vacancy to be one that gets unfilled (those will be on the 5th and 10th.)

    Like

    • I’d be really surprised if Ana Reyes is the nominee. If The White House really knew in advance about Rodgers stepping down, I don’t think they would have announced Reyes 15 days ago for the district court. I truly think they have already vetted somebody they have in mind for this spot.

      Like

      • I remember a couple times during the Trump administration he announced a district court nominee then elevated them to a circuit court seat before they were confirmed. Off the top of my head I remember 1 of his 10 nominees to the 9th circuit occurred that way.

        Like

      • Yeah, they actually did that with Patrick Bumatay twice. He was originally picked for the Ninth Circuit, then when his nomination expired he got switched to S.D. Cal. instead, then another seat on the Ninth opened up and he was nominated and confirmed to that one.

        Liked by 1 person

  24. Complete speculation here, but I think that only one of the following is likely:
    The White House had prior knowledge of Judge Rodgers’ intention to step down and has another non-Ana Reyes nominee teed up (hopefully Hispanic).
    OR
    The White House didn’t have much prior knowledge of the coming vacancy and may consider nominating Ana Reyes to that seat.

    This admin is not as focus on judges like Don McGahn was and not as freewheeling as other Trump advisors. The various Bumatay nominations is an example of how freewheeling they were, thinking that most of their nominees were fungible. They knew that there was no way Bumatay would be confirmed to a district court in California w/o the two Dem senators’ blue slip.

    Also, sorry to be a naysayer, but this is the Biden WH we are talking about. How often do we come on here and say “surely they’ll do this or they’ll do that” only for it not to be so?? So don’t hold your breath thinking that this new DC Circuit will be filled quickly, or even competently. If this seat is wasted, then this White House is truly incompetent.

    Last thing, DC may not have senators but Dem Admins usually differ to Del. Eleanor Holmes Norton on all courts (but especially local DC ones). And Norton is a big Jia Cobb booster, which, of course, won’t fly with Saenz.

    Like

    • @Gavi

      Very good thoughts. Just think, Thomas Griffin announced he too was stepping down on September 1st around this time of the year. Trump & McConnell had a 30-something year old conservative nominated & confirmed over a month before Griffith stepped down. I wouldn’t bet two nickels the Rodgers seat will have a confirmed nominee before September. Hell I would be satisfied if we have a replacement before the midterms.

      Like

    • It doesn’t have to be a dc district judge. it can very well be a district judge from Maryland, Virginia or South Carolina or anywhere else..

      I didn’t agree with it but George Bush circumvented California Senators by nominating Janice Rogers Brown from the California Supreme Court..

      Like

    • And while we are on the subject of courts with no home state senators, Democratic administrations seem to defer in PR to the elected Resident Commissioner (and as she is caucusing with the Republican, we quite possibly won’t see any nominees there, even as she is on the more moderate spectrum of the party).

      Like

  25. The reality is there is simply no way we are going to fill all the empty district court seats by the end of this year.
    Might be able to do most of the vacant Circuit court seats though.
    Have to wait and see.

    Like

    • I agree exactly with what the comments in the Tweet says. Prioritize filling every circuit court vacancy before the midterms. There will probably be none filled by a Republican senate in the last 2 years of Biden’s term. We have a decent chance of filling some district court seats with at least Stephen H. Locher type nominees.

      The moment any circuit court nominee is sent over for a FBI check they should jump to the front of the line for vetting. We can save the Secretary of Dining Rooms & other non lifetime positions for a later time.

      Like

      • I definitely agree. We are rapidly running out of time though, is it realistic for us to fill all of the remaining seats? In addition to the nominees already announced (11) we still have the following seats without nominees:

        DC Circuit
        First Circuit
        First Circuit
        Second Circuit
        Third Circuit
        Third Circuit
        Fourth Circuit
        Fourth Circuit
        Fifth Circuit
        Fifth Circuit
        Ninth Circuit
        Ninth Circuit
        Tenth Circuit

        Assuming we stick to 2 nominees per hearing that means at least 8 more hearings to get through the 3 that were just announced plus the 13 unnamed nominees above. With the current calendar that would put the last round going before SJC in mid November and probably too late to be confirmed by the full senate. Durbin and Schumer would be well advised to have 3 nominees in a few of these hearings and/or hold hearings during the August recess.

        Like

      • I’ve been critics of Durbin over the past year & a half but he’s actually exceeded my expectations. I truly thought he was going to give in to a second hearing for Nusrat Choudhury but he didn’t. I thought there might be some Republican tactics that would at least delay KBJ getting voted to the floor but Durbin scheduled back to back votes in a Monday no less.

        I will say this. With Schumer being able to confirm judges in quick succession & Durbin playing hardball as SJC chairman, this is purely in Biden to fill these seats. I’m now confident that if he rolled out a big package or had a nominee for every circuit court vacancy before the August recess begun, I think Durbin & Schumer would get them confirmed.

        My biggest fear is Biden will leave some seats on the playing field without a nominee before the recess. Any nominees announced after the start of August will be difficult to confirm. Of course this could all be alleviated with a nice size package next week with maybe 4 circuit court nominees followed by another package at the end of June or by the July 4th week.

        Liked by 1 person

      • No, we don’t. There is no realistic way the vacancies will be filled the way this Senate operates. There will be at least a dozen circuit seats left vacant- from circuit seats in red states like KS to ones in deep blue seats like MA. There is no excuse for it. I hope senators had a lovely week off though.

        As of June 1 in their presidency, Trump had 21 court of appeal judges confirmed. Biden has 16. Tired of the excuses when Senators have vacations every month and when nominees like Andre Mathis have been waiting 8 months and counting. I don’t care about covid either. There has been plenty of times where Mathis could have been confirmed. Plenty of random nominees for random positions that no has ever heard of have been confirmed in that time along exact party line votes with zero Republican support.

        It comes down to the fact that Democratic Party leadership does not view the judiciary as life or death the way Republicans do. The urgency is simply not there. Yes, I will continue voting Democratic and will never ever vote Republican but that doesn’t mean the Democratic party can’t be criticized.

        Liked by 2 people

      • @Delco

        I agree with just about everything you said. The only thing I would say different is if Biden sent us nominees for every circuit court vacancy, Durbin & Schumer could (And I emphasize the word COULD) confirm them all. I am in no way saying I would bet money on they will, but hear me out.

        Durbin has shown he is willing to play hardball with the Republicans. So there is a chance he would schedule a hearing during the August recess just like Republicans did under Trump. Also Grassley has gone on record as saying he doesn’t believe in boycotting his committees. That is honestly my biggest fear as the midterms grow closer. He could of course always be a hypocrite & go back on his word but lets hope not. And then of course we have Graham who despite his idiotic display during the KBJ hearings, has actually been a pretty good ally otherwise on the SJC.

        So as long as all of the above holds, we should have little problem holding hearings & advancing nominees to the floor. Which leads me to Schumer. Now we all know we are frustrated with his pace, particularly with circuit court nominees. But even still, if Schumer were to vote for cloture for two circuit court nominees on a Thursday, he could vote to confirm them the following Monday. Honestly if could vote for cloture on three on a Thursday & confirm all three the following Monday. So in a span of two & a half weeks, theoretically he could confirm six. And that’s not even including confirming any during the week.

        I say all that just to say I think the biggest obstacle for the rest of the year will be Biden actually giving us nominees. If he gave us nominees for all current vacant circuit court seats before August, I can see them all getting confirmed. Now any seats that open up from the end of this month going forward I would say most likely will not be filled before the end of the year for sure.

        Liked by 1 person

  26. So do those 7 sentencing commission nominees need to have a regular hearing like a judicial nominee?…….

    For those sentencing commission nominees, after they introduce themselves along with any family or friends, their question round should be limited to 2 minutes, then all seven can have their hearing done in minutes…..WHY do sentencing commission nominees have to have a formal hearing

    Like

    • I’m not familiar with the precedent for the sentencing commission. It does bring up a relevant subject, however. I wonder how hard it is to switch jurisdictions for certain positions. I wish Durbin would have switched some of these non-judicial positions to other committees so they can waste time on them if it’s an easy switch.

      I mean it really doesn’t matter at the moment because we are about to run out of nominees to process with Biden letting the KBL process basically halt the rest of the judicial nominees. But in the event Biden actually does get a large batch or two of nominees out over the next month, we don’t need to be filling SJC slots with meaningless nominees for non-judicial nominees.

      Like

  27. I agree with you Dequan.
    We can fill all the Circuit court vacancies by the end of the year if we get nominees.
    Anything after July/August though..not happening.
    As for district court seats, not happening.
    We just have to try and fill all the blue state ones we can.

    Liked by 1 person

  29. Pingback: Judge Todd Edelman – Nominee to the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia | The Vetting Room

  30. Pan is a horrible pick. She tends to rule quickly and from the bench as opposed to writing an opinion. She tends to disfavor plaintiffs in injury claims. One cannot discern her judicial philosophy becauseshe does not write often.

    Like

  31. Pingback: The Unexpected Opportunity – Assessing the Landscape of Judicial Vacancies | The Vetting Room

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