Adeel Mangi – Nominee to the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Third Circuit

A long search to replace Judge Joseph Greenaway on the Third Circuit led the White House to civil attorney Adeel Mangi. If confirmed, Mangi would fulfill several firsts on the bench, being the first Muslim American and Pakistani American on the appellate bench, as well as the only judge on the bench currently not to practice law under a J.D.

Background

Born Adeel Abdallah Mangi in Karachi, Pakistan in 1977, Mangi received a B.A. from the University of Oxford in 1998 and a Postgraduate Diploma from the City University London Inns of Courts in 1999 before getting an L.L.M. from Harvard Law School in 2000. Mangi then joined Patterson Belknap Webb & Tyler LLP where he has served as a partner since 2010.

History of the Seat

Mangi has been nominated for a New Jersey seat on the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Third Circuit vacated by Judge Joseph Greenaway. Greenaway, named to the district court by President Clinton in 1996 and to the Third Circuit by President Obama in 2010 stepped away from the bench on June 15, 2023.

The Biden Administration considered a number of candidates for the vacancy before zeroing in on Mangi. See David Wildstein, Adeel Mangi is Top Candidate for Third Circuit Court of Appeals Seat, New Jersey Globe, Nov. 6, 2023, https://newjerseyglobe.com/fr/adeel-mangi-is-top-candidate-for-third-circuit-court-of-appeals-seat/. The initial frontrunner for the seat was New Jersey Supreme Court Justice Fabiana Pierre-Louis, who took herself out of the running during the process. See id. Mangi, who previously interviewed for a district court judgeship under President Trump was brought under consideration in September 2023 and was nominated on November 15, 2023.

Political Activity

Mangi has a handful of political contributions to his name, including contributions to Biden and to Hillary Clinton in 2016.

Legal Experience

While he is a resident of Jersey City, Mangi has practiced at the New York City Office of Patterson Belknap Webb & Tyler LLP for his entire legal career, starting there in 2000, where he has focused on complex civil litigation. During his career, Mangi has tried eight bench and jury trials, including two jury trials in a trade secrets dispute in which Mangi secured a $2 billion jury verdict. See Appian Corp. v. Pegasystems, Inc., No. 2020-07216 (Circuit Court of Fairfax Cnty., Virginia). In other notable cases, Mangi represented the pet food company Blue Buffalo in defending a false advertising suit. See Blue Buffalo Co. Ltd. v. Wilbur-Ellis Co. LLC et al., No. 4:14-cv-00859.

Mangi has also briefed and/or argued approximately 30 appeals before federal and state courts of appeal, including appellate litigation before the Third Circuit on behalf of Johnson & Johnson in a suit against Walgreen. See Walgreen Co. v. Johnson & Johnson, 950 F.3d 195 (3d Cir. 2020).

Setting aside the civil and commercial litigation he worked on, Mangi also handled a number of notable pro bono cases. Notably, Mangi was plaintiff’s counsel for the estate of Karl Taylor, an inmate who died in a New York correctional facility. See Ramsay-Nobles, et al. v. Keyser et al., No. 1:16-cv-05778 (S.D.N.Y.). After a two week trial, Mangi settled the case for approximately $5 million. Mangi also represented Muslim groups in the towns of Bayonne and Bernards in suits after permits for building mosques were denied in the towns, leading to settlements and construction of the mosques in both towns. See Bayonne Muslims et al. v. City of Bayonne et al., No. 2:17-cv-03731 (D.N.J.) and The Islamic Society of Basking Ridge et al. v. Townships of Bernards et al., No. 3:16-cv-1369 (D.N.J.).

Additionally, Mangi has submitted numerous amicus briefs before the U.S. Supreme Court. For example, Mangi filed an amicus brief on behalf of the Muslim Bar Association of New York in support of the gay and transgender plaintiffs seeking protection under Title VII of the Civil Rights Act in Bostock v. Clayton County, Ga. See 140 S. Ct. 1731 (2020). Mangi also represented various Muslim bar associations in opposition to the Trump travel bans. See Trump v. Hawaii, 138 S. Ct. 2392 (2018). Additionally, on the circuit level, Mangi represented a coalition of religious organizations as amici in a suit regarding whether the Religious Land Use and Institutionalized Persons Act (“RLUIPA”) permits money damages. See Landor v. Louisiana Dep’t of Corr. & Pub. Safety, 82 F.4th 337 (5th Cir. 2023).

Overall Assessment

As a relatively young nominee with a number of liberal pro bono representations, it is perhaps unsurprising that Mangi has already drawn significant opposition from the right. However, it is surprising that much of the opposition at Mangi’s confirmation hearing centered around allegations of antisemitism based not on any statements or positions taken by Mangi himself but rather by others. Mangi’s pro bono representations took fairly little oxygen during an otherwise contentious confirmation hearing. This was perhaps a recognition that there is little in Mangi’s actual legal record that is likely to draw opposition. Barring anything surprising emerging about Mangi himself, Mangi is likely to be confirmed and will likely be a left-meaning but relatively mainstream judge on the Third Circuit.

321 Comments

  1. dequanhargrove's avatar

    A+ nominee. I was so afraid who the nominee would be since we have seen some pretty bad judges come out of the district court of New Jersey under Biden. The biggest surprise to me was his SJC Q stated he initially applied for the district court himself a couple years ago & wasn’t selected. Another first ever Muslim who even some progressive Muslim groups had some issues with was selected instead.

    My second surprise was seeing the list of other possibilities for the seat. I thought Esther Salas or Julien Neals would get strong consideration. Newly commissioned district court judge Michael Farbiarz was the biggest surprise to me out of all the names considered. In a state with a Hispanic & Black senator, I was surprised a left of center White man who hasn’t even been on the bench a year was given such strong consideration.

    Lisa Perez Friscia was a name I had never heard before but looking into her background, I seen nothing progressive in her background. Vikas Khanna was another name I wasn’t familiar with but I’m happy wasn’t selected.

    Jose Almonte was a name that had been on my list from the beginning of Biden’s term. I hope he is selected for the district court vacancy. Fabiana Pierre-Louis would have been a good pick as the first Haitian woman ever selected for any circuit court judge. I’m surprised she took her name out of contention. Jeremy Feigenbaum would have been an A+. While I’m beyond happy with Mangi, it bothers me the main reason Feigenbaum wasn’t selected because he was 35. That’s a horrible reason to not select him in my view.

    Like

    • Gavi's avatar

      @Dequan
      I am very pleased we didn’t have to settle for Salas/Neals after all our back and forth on the topic. Happy to be right in my assumption that the WH wouldn’t need so many months to vet two such known quantities.

      “Newly commissioned district court judge Michael Farbiarz was the biggest surprise to me out of all the names considered. In a state with a Hispanic & Black senator, I was surprised a left of center White man who hasn’t even been on the bench a year was given such strong consideration.”
      Yet another example of the toxic racialism that may be liberals’ undoing. To say nothing of the fact that a Farbiarz recommendation would have come from not two white southern racists, but from senators of color themselves, as you pointed out.

      Fabiana Pierre-Louis
      Her withdrawal from consideration doesn’t surprise me. Throughout the state’s history, only a couple NJ Supreme Court justices have opted to be placed on the federal district court and none on the appellate bench. Not that past is prologue. And of course, William Brennan went from the state supreme court to SCOTUS. Maybe Pierre-Louis was holding out hope to be the second such elevation. Or maybe she simply just likes her current job, which really isn’t so farfetched.

      Jeremy Feigenbaum
      Jeremy Feigenbaum would have been an A+++ for me. It seems like the WH isn’t comfortable with 35+ish appellate nominees unless they’re already working in the Biden admin, otherwise, it’s too risky. If that’s the case, it would suck, but admit it’s not an unreasonable hesitation.

      Liked by 1 person

      • dequanhargrove's avatar

        @Gavi

        Yes I’m happy you were correct & Salas & Neals weren’t considered too. Albeit we don’t know if the last WHC office would have given them consideration (And that’s when I made the comment) but all in all I am a believer in facts & not what could have been so I will mark this one down as one you were right on.

        As for ” another example of the toxic racialism that may be liberals’ undoing”, haaaaaaaaaaa…

        If I remember correctly when I asked you my hypothetical question, if in each & every vacancy all 43 circuit court nominees that were the most qualified were White men, would you have advised Biden to pick 43 White men or would you want to add some diversity even if that meant not picking the absolute most qualified candidate, you said you would pick 43 White men. I could assure you, no I could GUARANTEE you if Biden followed your advice versus mine, taking diversity into account, that would far exceed anything I could ever do to be the liberals undoing.

        Do you not realize who the Democrat voting block is??? Once again it might be nice to say always pick the most qualified person but that’s simply not how picking federal judge’s work. It’s not how politics work. It’s not how life works. Hell, I haven’t played in a long time but it’s probably not even how playing Candyland, Scabble or Monopoly works… Lmao

        Like

      • Ethan's avatar

        Luckily Feigenbaum is young enough that he could still get consideration for the 3rd circuit down the line. I have no doubt he’ll be appointed to either the 3rd circuit or the New Jersey Supreme Court, if not both. Interestingly, both the Solicitor General of New Jersey (Feigenbaum) AND the Deputy Solicitor General of New Jersey (Michael Zuckerman) are former SCOTUS clerks. Zuckerman is actually a year older than Feigenbaum (1988 vs. 1989) but Feigenbaum clerked earlier on (OT 2015 for Kagan) than Zuckerman (OT 2018 for Sotomayor).

        Liked by 1 person

      • dequanhargrove's avatar

        In still mad Feigenbaum was eliminated from consideration because he was 35. Even though I’m happy with the nominee we got in Mangi, that’s no reason to not consider somebody after 4 years of Trump showing judges in their 30’s down our throats only to issue nationwide injunctions.

        I’m a little worried about him being put on the New Jersey Supreme Court. Not because I have any concern about Murphy making a phenomenal pick like him. My bigger concern is the partisan balance rule. I think out of the next two vacancies, one has to be a Republican. If Murphy & New Jersey Democrats scrapped that rule, I would celebrate harder than Durbin during an SJC hearing with a nominee from a red state with blue slips turned in.

        Like

      • dequanhargrove's avatar

        WHAT… Lisa Perez Friscia was a registered Republican? And Menendez dared to even mutter her name for a circuit court seat. are you fucin’ kidding me??? My God at this point I don’t care WHO his opponent is in the primary, I’m rooting for them. I may donate to their campaign. He is the worst piece of crap walking the in the senate hallways in the Democrat caucus.

        I would take Manchin over him at this point because at least he’s principled. I just thank God we have this new WHC office. Had it been the last one, I have no doubt she would have gotten consideration.

        Liked by 2 people

      • Jamie's avatar

        Menendez tried to push Friscia toward the end of the process, but she didn’t make the cut for the committee’s finalists. It’s also worth noting that Murphy considered Friscia for a GOP seat on the NJ Supreme Court.
        https://newjerseyglobe.com/judiciary/adeel-mangi-is-top-candidate-for-third-circuit-court-of-appeals-seat/

        Menendez is going nowhere in 2024. The state’s county machines have abandoned him, and the anti-machine voters always disliked Menendez. His political career is over and prison is his next destination. The primary is between First Lady Tammy Murphy (supported by the machine) and Congressman Andy Kim (the anti-machine candidate).

        Liked by 1 person

      • dequanhargrove's avatar

        I don’t know much about either but will happily see either replace crappy Menendez. I would probably slightly favor Andy Kim but if there’s even a slight chance governor Murphy will be helping his wife on judicial recommendations, I would be ecstatic to have him anywhere NEAR the process. As I have said before I trust Governor Murphy with my life when it comes to nominating young progressives to the bench.

        Liked by 1 person

  2. Joe's avatar

    This week should be a fascinating one in the senate. It appears negotiations are ongoing but multiple Rs signaled over the weekend that they are unlikely to vote for the bill and it isn’t realistic to finish this week. There also may be significant R absences.

    One thing I would like to see, however unlikely, is for a cloture motion today on Kolar. This would set up a Wednesday vote and Thursday confirmation. Afterwards, in any remaining time, they could vote on any bill or perhaps a vote a rama to confirm the remaining military officers (I think there’s only 6 or 8).

    I’ve always thought appellate nominees should be given priority and this would mean we head to 2024 with just three nominees to confirm (and only two additional vacancies).

    Liked by 1 person

    • tsb1991's avatar

      Was coming on to actually say most of this, yeah, based on what I’ve read over the weekend they’re making progress on negotiations for the Ukraine/Israel bill but they’re not at the point where they could vote on it this week.

      If that’s the case and assuming the Senate is in until Thursday, they could vote on nominations the entire week. The Tuesday schedule will probably be cloture and confirmation of that Assistant AG nominee and then Sarah Hill. Since Wednesday is currently open I’d be on the lookout for any cloture motions being filed today. A lot of Republicans said they wouldn’t be back this week so maybe one or two of the party-line nominees get cloture filed on?

      Thursday may be dedicated to just confirming the remaining 4-star Generals (I believe there’s 11 with them). Hopefully it ends with cloture on an appeals court nominee, probably Kolar? If that’s the case there could be some time agreement so that they’d be able to vote on him after the New Year when the 2nd session of this Congress re-convenes, avoiding re-nomination and a committee vote.

      Liked by 1 person

  3. Mitch's avatar

    Manji should be confirmed, albeit it with difficulty.

    How will he fit in with the rest of the Third Circuit? It’s known as a congenial court that’s not all that ideological. It also hears a number of cases involving organized crime and maritime issues, which left and right are not divided on.

    Liked by 1 person

    • Aiden's avatar

      The 3rd circuit has some of the lowest levels of published opinions, and not that many en bancs This makes it very hard to see judicial ideology. Even Freeman who has being on the court for 14 months has very very few opinions. Compared to similiar tenured judges on other courts that have far more. E.g Pan and Merriam.

      The only thing we have seen is that Mongtomery Reeves and Freeman voted with the republicans to strike down gun laws.
      This shows as expected that Freeman will have a more libertarian bend, which i think isnt suprising for Public defenders.
      Judge Menendez of Minnesota spent nearly 20 years as a public defender and struck down Minnesotas gun restrictions.
      Reeves did suprise me though. I thought she would join the liberals in dissent.

      Chung voted in a case to not hand down an injuction on gun restrictions over Porters dissent. So im guessing if she had being appointed maybe she would have joined the liberal’s dissents.

      Anyway I expect Mangi not to have the criminal libertarian bend, and be maybe a little more progressive than chung or very simililar. Just on criminal issues. So apart of that mainstream liberal bloc.

      But the 3rd circuit appointees will take the longest out of any circuit to be able to see ideology. And your right, theres not alot of those harsh dissents its a very collegial court, i think they agree with each other alot more.

      I know Bibas and Chagares have really tried to prevent court being harshly partisan and divided like the 5th or 9th.
      This though makes it hard to see ideology.

      Liked by 1 person

    • dawsont825's avatar

      Thanks for sharing that article. Interesting that Brimmer ended up being confirmed anyway. Even more wild that an outright republican was confirmed to a state that was leaning democratic with a Dem SJC chairman and a Dem-led senate. Absolutely wild.

      Just goes to show you how weak and feckless Senate Dems were prior to Harry Reid going nuclear to stop the unnecessary GOP blockade.

      But it was really cool to learn about how the sausage gets made with the commissions that some senators use to help recommend nominees. I wonder if we’ll end up getting a nominee from Alaska with Sullivan’s usual bullsh*t time wasting shenanigans. And I really wonder if Johnson will *allow* Biden to fill that vacancy on the EDWI. I wish Trump didn’t fill the other vacancies for Wisconsin’s circuit courts. Would have been nice to ram a couple of liberal circuit judges down Johnson’s throat.

      Also, looking back at the sole appointee Trump was able to make on Colorado’s district court (Domenico) was a pretty moderate but well-respected republican. In hindsight, if Bennet were interested in playing hardball with judicial vacancies in his state, he could’ve pushed for Trump to nominate Domenico to the 10th circuit (instead of the radical Allison Eid) and promised to return the blue slip for someone slightly more conservative as a district court judge. You always take the more moderate circuit court judge if the opportunity presents itself. (See Ramirez, Irma.)

      Liked by 1 person

  6. Mike's avatar

    I just can’t figure out why they aren’t packing the lineup this week other than fear from Dems being accused of “unbecoming” acts during these negotiations.

    Even then, there’s a handful of bipartisan nominees that have their red state blue slips they can confirm.

    Liked by 1 person

    • Gavi's avatar

      “I just can’t figure out why they aren’t packing the lineup this week other than fear from Dems being accused of “unbecoming” acts during these negotiations.”

      Yes, you can figure it out. You just don’t like what you should have figured out a long time ago to spare you some disappointment. Schumer sucks at scheduling/Dems don’t care enough about the courts. Simple. But let’s continue pretending it’s more complicated than that.

      Liked by 1 person

  7. Joe's avatar

    Schumer says in his weekly press conference that he is prioritizing the 4 star generals by the end of the week.

    Not to say that a few judges won’t get mixed in, but I think people here shouldn’t get their hopes up.

    Liked by 1 person

      • tsb1991's avatar

        Hm, that’s tough, I know the remaining ones are definitely going to be the most difficult ones to confirm (although if Bjelkengren, Crews, Gaston, etc don’t have the votes, wouldn’t they have withdrawn by now)? In terms of importance, maybe Edelman, considering it’s to a DC federal court? Same goes with getting Mehalchick confirmed to a court in a swing state?

        Like

      • dequanhargrove's avatar

        Here would be my line up;

        Tuesday – Hill

        Wednesday – Bjelkengren, Edelman, Gaston & Crews

        Thursday – Mehalchick, Kasubhai, Lee & Sarah Russell

        Friday & Saturday or agreement for the first votes after the new year without the need to renominate – Keil, Aframe & Kolar

        I would hope they agree to either voice votes or no clcoture votes needed for Kazen, John Russel, Manglona, Laroski & Wang

        Like

  10. keystone's avatar

    @tsb1991 I think I mostly agree with you on this one. Gaston would be my top pick to confirm since she’s been waiting so long, since there are so many Cali spots that need to be filled, and bc she’s prob one of the best judge’s awaiting a vote.

    Mehalchick would be my #2 since the PA judges are starting to pile up and I think there’s potential for more PA senior statuses overall.

    Liked by 1 person

  11. Joe's avatar

    I know Rodriguez and Rothman would have been very difficult votes otherwise so it makes sense that they’re getting prioritized this week.

    Not really sure on Russell instead of one of the more controversial nominees, but it’s whatever. One less judge for January.

    Hopefully there will be 1-2 more in a cloture batch tomorrow.

    Liked by 3 people

    • dequanhargrove's avatar

      If Esther Salas didn’t get this seat, I see no way she would get a future seat. Menedez replacement will be to his left on their worst day plus Salas will be even older by the time Restrepo goes senior. It’s more than likely any number of Hispanic possibilities would get that seat such as Jose Almonte (Who was vetted for this seat) or Justice Noriega. Plus any number of other younger Hispanic judges & attorneys that are prominent in the states now & will be by the time the vacancy would occur.

      Like

  15. star0garnet's avatar

    The O’Malley vote had 32 GOP absences, so this is definitely the time to get the likes of Rodriguez and Goffman through. Su too, but I assume they’ll file cloture for her tomorrow when it’s even less likely to have GOPers return and Manchin, Sinema, and Tester can vote no.

    Liked by 1 person

  16. Mitch's avatar

    I just remembered an interview where the late Thurgood Marshall was asked who his favorite fellow justice on the Supreme Court was. Everyone was astonished when he named William Rehnquist.

    I can’t find that interview, but I found an article from The Atlantic where Marshall called Rehnquist “a great Chief Justice” and even William Brennan, the leader of the progressive bloc, praised him.

    https://www.theatlantic.com/magazine/archive/2005/04/rehnquist-the-great/303820/

    Most here may be too young to remember this, but during the 1970’s and 1980’s, Rehnquist was the liberal bugbear of the Supreme Court. I remember a professor from years ago calling him a nazi.

    Is anyone else surprised by this?

    Liked by 1 person

      • dequanhargrove's avatar

        @Mitch

        Yea good job. Do you know if her or any of the five are outright Republicans? I’m hoping they all are either Democrats or Independents.

        @Rick

        I have to do some research on them. Only 2 of the 5 were on @Ethan’s list. If none of them are Republicans then at this point, filling five red state seats is a good day.

        Like

      • dawsont825's avatar

        Multiple SJC hearing with an all red-state nominee panel with blue slips turned in? A line of that booger sugar won’t suffice. If you lean in closely to your twitter feed, you can hear Durbin and his staffers doing Hennessee shots and doing donuts in the senate parking lot to celebrate lmaooo.

        There are three certainties in life: Death, taxes, and Durbin getting lit when republicans turn in blue slips.

        Liked by 1 person

      • dequanhargrove's avatar

        One of my guilty pleasures in life is to be next to Durbin when he receives a blue slip from a Republican. I’ve been to Times Square on New Years Eve, I’ve been to a World Series game, NBA Finals game & have been to parties from coast to coast. But no way any of those can compare to the party Durbin throws when he receives a Republican blue slip.

        They may have to shut down Pennsylvania Ave the morning this batch gets their hearing. The parade route might cross The Potomac… Lmao

        Liked by 1 person

    • Joe's avatar

      More red state nominees. I love it. I definitely wasn’t expecting Nebraska, Wyoming, or Utah either, but glad to see some progress there.

      Regarding Texas, two more nominees is a pretty good start. But this is still only 3/8 seats filled and I expect more vacancies in the near future too. I’d love to see another batch in 2024 with more nominees.

      Liked by 1 person

    • Ethan's avatar

      What a pleasant surprise to wake up to. The only ones on my list were Rankin and Schydlower. McIff Allen was probably chosen because they wanted someone from southern Utah, where Nuffer (who vacated the seat) was from. All the Utah state judges on my list are from the Salt Lake City area.

      Liked by 1 person

      • Ethan's avatar

        I’m also surprised that Susan Bazis was nominated in Nebraska since she’s from Omaha and the prior judge was based in Lincoln. With Nebraska being a small state, I thought it would be one where duty station did matter. Two senior judges are based in Lincoln but when Bazis is confirmed, all active judges will be based in Omaha.

        Liked by 1 person

      • dequanhargrove's avatar

        I’ve long felt duty station doesn’t hold the importance it once use to when both senators are from the same Party. We have seen numerous examples from the past two administrations of duty stations being moved in states with both senators from the same state.

        It seems as though senators are more concerned with getting the best nominee (Or worst if the president is from the opposite Party) they can. With the increased focus on the judiciary from the electorate, I expect we will see more of this.

        You will see duty station importance more so in purple states. Wisconsin is a perfect example. Johnson used duty station to block Biden’s first nominee. That wouldn’t have happened if it was a blue state & if it was a red state the nomination would have never been made without the senators signing off prior (Yes @Gavi I know that’s not how it use to be but that’s how it is now… Lol).

        Like

    • dawsont825's avatar

      Almost makes me wonder if Durbin hangs banners in his office similar to what teams do when they win a championship. I can just imagine small blue slips with the nominee’s name on it with the date and the GOP senators who turned them in hanging from the ceiling behind his desk.

      “2023/Darrel Papillion/Sens. Kennedy & Cassidy +1”

      Liked by 1 person

    • keystone's avatar

      According to the Texas Tribune Leon Schydlower seems to be a Democrat

      “Rep. Pat Haggerty, R-El Paso, was still the winner of the GOP primary (against challenger Lorraine O’Donnell) after a recount. No votes changed.Haggerty got out of election night with a 106 vote lead that was later revised to 105 votes. That held up in the recount, and he’ll face a Democratic attorney — Leon Schydlower — in November. That’s HD-78 if you’re keeping score.”
      https://texasweekly.texastribune.org/texas-weekly/vol-22/no-37/people/

      Liked by 1 person

      • dequanhargrove's avatar

        Ok that’s good additional news. Leon Schydlower is a Democrat & Marie McIff Allen was a Public Defender. So at least we know either aren’t a MAGA Republican. Probably at worst centrist.

        So we just need more info on Ernest Gonzalez. I know somebody above mentioned he joined the DOJ under Biden but he joined the U.S. Attorney’s Office in 2003 under GW Bush so it’s tough to tell just by that.

        Like

  20. Ben's avatar

    Great to see some new nominees today, in some states we were short on hope if ever being filled.
    To answer a question above, Kelly Rankin is a man and former counsel to a Dem governor. And I think Gonzalez works in the current DOJ. Others, I hope are at least moderate Reps or independents, fairly down the middle non political judges, and no maga types.

    Liked by 1 person

  21. dequanhargrove's avatar

    @Ben

    Thanks. As always you bring good info to the blog. Good news about Raskin. The Nebraska nominee was born c. 1968 & was a Public Defender so that’s good. We will have to dig deeper on the other three.

    Like

  23. Frank's avatar

    Amazing to see what can happen when people are willing to work together to find common ground. Seems to be some amazing nominees who appear to all be exceptionally well qualified. Looking forward to seeing each of them confirmed in 2024.

    Liked by 1 person

  24. Joe's avatar

    Here’s some back of the napkin math for those interested.

    Currently the senate has confirmed 166 Article III Judges. 1 SCOTUS, 39 appellate, 124 district, 0 International trade judges.

    Including all current nominees (minus Colom and Holland) there would be 196 confirmed judges. 1/43/150/2.

    If you include all of the known blue state and appellate vacancies this number climbs to 222. 1/45/173/2. I certainly think all of those currently known vacancies should be filled prior to 1/1/25.

    For the first time, I now believe that surpassing Trumps 234 may be in reach. It will likely take 1-2 more red state batches plus some additional blue/circuit court openings. But I think it can be done barring any unforeseen developments like an illness/death or Sinema/Manchin becoming uncooperative.

    Liked by 2 people

    • dequanhargrove's avatar

      @Joe

      I’m still gonna guess Biden comes short of 230 but I must admit after today I think he will get a Hell of a lot closer than I ever imagined on day one. Truly an unbelievable feat with a 50/50 & 51/49 senate including Feinstein for 3 of those years & Manchin & Sinema for all 4 years in addition to the other obstacles such as illness & unprecedented obstruction. BRAVO

      Like

  25. star0garnet's avatar

    Utah and Texas take care of 3/8 judicial emergencies without a nominee.

    Gonzalez has been based out of Plano for the past 20 years, so I’m guessing he’ll take over Yeakel’s seat in Austin rather than one of the three El Paso seats. Actually, I’d guess there’s a pretty good chance Austin gains a third district judge, taking one of El Paso’s five. He is, I believe, also the only older nominee (61) in this batch; the other district nominees are 51-56. Meriweather will be the only Black judge on the CFC and is 49.

    Liked by 1 person

  26. keystone's avatar

    Love that these noms came through, but how so we still not have not a nominee for the EDWI seat. The Senators presented their recommendations to WH in early summer.

    Either something popped up in the WH background checks or RoJo is pulling some shenanigans. I’m inclined to believe the latter.

    Liked by 1 person

  27. keystone's avatar

    With this latest batch, the 10 oldest judicial vacancies without a nominee are:

    EDWI – Griesbach
    MDAL – Brasher
    SD – Viken
    WDAR – Holmes
    EDPA – Rufe
    AK – Burgess
    KS – Robinson
    EDLA – Foote
    NDAL – Kallon
    WDTN – Fowlkes

    BTW – I’m assuming that one of today’s Texas noms will replace Phillip Martinez (WDTX), other wise, that would be in this list.

    Liked by 2 people

      • star0garnet's avatar

        Is there a senator blocking Oberly’s seat from being filled? Since she retired, there’ve been three nominees:

        02/24/2014-01/03/2017: Todd Kim (now Assistant AG)

        06/25/2020-02/04/2021: JP Howard (appointed to different seat by Biden)

        06/15/2021-07/14/2022: Tovah Calderon (withdrawn “at her request” and I believe still with DOJ Civil Rights)

        Liked by 1 person

      • star0garnet's avatar

        While I believe that no holds on Article III nominees is at least unofficially part of the unanimous consent agreement, I don’t think that’s true of any other nominees. I believe a pair of senators could still tag-team a secret hold on a nominee to replace Oberly; while it would be a weird thing to put effort towards, I never underestimate duration of pettiness/grudges/payback in the senate.

        Liked by 1 person

  29. keystone's avatar

    AndrewDesiderio reporting…

    “Senate GOP cloakroom dealing w/ quite the mess right now — I’m told the year-end wrap-up nominations package is facing objections from Sen. Josh Hawley, who won’t agree to fast-track confirmation of 2 former McConnell aides to the FTC and NTSB. These are GOP appointments. The nominations are Andrew Ferguson to serve as an FTC commissioner and Todd Inman to serve on NTSB.”

    If they’re hitting these roadblocks with the GOP noms, I can only imagine what’s going on with the Dem ones.

    Liked by 1 person

    • dawsont825's avatar

      It’s common for opposite party senators to extract concessions from the president in the form of district judges. I can’t think of many older district judges in blue states during the Trump years, but Mark Bennett (yes, a circuit judge, I know) is an example of an older republican that Hirono and Schatz agreed to. That seat could’ve easily gone to a 30-something-year-old FedSoc hack from Hawaii.

      You just hope that Biden’s red-state appointees serve at least twenty years and take senior status or retire under a Dem president as to avoid giving those seats back to hack judges.

      Liked by 2 people

  31. Jamie's avatar

    So it looks like Bazis and Rankin are Republicans by their donations. Allen is probably one.
    But in blood red states, there are a lot of RINOs so it is hard to tell ideology in any real manner.
    Schydlower seems like a liberal, he was an ACLU cooperating counsel with Miguel Torres (who is another magistrate judge there). And I could find nothing about Ernest(o) Gonzalez.
    https://www.aclutx.org/en/press-releases/aclu-texas-sues-behalf-immigrant-inmate-who-died-solitary-confinement-pecos-prison

    Liked by 1 person

      • dawsont825's avatar

        “Principles” LMAOOO what principles? You mean a very wealthy senator from one of the poorest states in the country? The kind of senator to say that he’s just a humble “West Virginia Democrat” while he routinely goes out on his yacht and screws over the constituents in his state? Can’t be those principles…

        You mean the kind of principles that he has when his daughter is the CEO of a company that manufactures EpiPen’s who was caught jacking up the prices to make her company (and her) more money? Those principles??

        Voting to not confirm Hill who is from a deep red state who had *2* blue slips returned, from two very conservative senators, in support of her nomination.

        Crazy how he always extols the virtue of bipartisanship, then still votes against nominees with bipartisan Bonafide’s. What about when he voted to confirm a supreme court nominee who had just finished showing the world that his temperament and conduct had rendered him unfit to be confirmed to the highest court in the land. The only democrat to confirm Kavanaugh. “Principles” pft.

        Please spare me the talk of anything involving “principles” involving anyone, ESPECIALLY: Manchin, Joe.

        Liked by 1 person

      • dawsont825's avatar

        His vote was not needed at all, it’s just annoying to have a Dem senator STILL voting down eminently qualified nominees as if he’s still running for re-election when he’s not. So you’re telling me that the nominee is good enough for the two very conservative home-state senators but not him?

        And don’t try and call him an independent thinker either, he’s never been. Just an opportunist with his finger in the air trying to figure out where the winds are blowing. Bet money he’s a lobbyist the day after they swear in Sen.-elect Justice.

        Of all Biden’s nominees to vote down for political expediency reasons; this isn’t one of them.

        Liked by 1 person

      • dequanhargrove's avatar

        While we’re on the subject, did anybody notice bull shit artist senator Menendez voted against Christopher Fonzone to be assistant attorney general today? I don’t know anything about the nominee or the position but if Menendez voted no against him, that must mean he’s an honorable man with the upmost integrity.

        Like

  33. dawsont825's avatar

    I think the senators who resemble Durbin and Duckworth’s willingness to turn in blue slips the most would be the Louisiana senators. For as much trouble as Kennedy has given Biden nominees during hearings, he has turned in blue slips for at least 3 nominees (with two more vacancies left to fill) and both senators worked with Biden to appoint Dana Douglas to the 5th circuit.

    I’m sure some may say that Biden will have gotten more nominees from Texas or Florida at the end of his term (hopefully), but it’s felt like pulling teeth. And contrary to popular belief, I haven’t heard about the Louisiana senators giving Biden a hard time in choosing nominees that fit within the judicial mainstream. Durbin gave Trump deference in choosing FedSoc hacks to be judges in Illinois, but it’s good to know there is some level of deference given to Biden in certain places (Indiana, South Carolina, Louisiana, etc.,)

    Liked by 2 people

  34. raylodato's avatar

    The #1 thing I’m not looking forward to with the new nominees is Durbin trying to pronounce Schydlower’s name at the hearing (“did I get that right?”).

    I mean, that’s why they have staff, isn’t it? “Senator, the name of the nominee from Texas is pronounced ‘Shide-lower.'” Yeesh.

    Liked by 2 people

  35. Lillie's avatar

    Perhaps an unpopular opinion, but I don’t really mind too much that Kennedy does his theatrical judicial pop quiz during hearings. He did it with republicans too, has played relatively nice with the Biden Whitehouse filling vacancies in his state and as has been pointed out he’s been somewhat fair to Black men and the judiciary. I also think it’s interesting to see how people answer them.

    I don’t like his antics of spinning people who can’t answer the questions as unqualified DEI nominees, though.

    Perhaps it’s just to the point where I’ll take anything that isn’t maga extremism on it’s face as a bonus.

    Liked by 3 people

    • Frank's avatar

      Completely agree with this. Most of his questions are fairly reasonable in terms of being issues the candidate might face upon confirmation too, it isn’t like the laws he is asking about are the most obscure ones on the books. While I disagree with him on quite a lot, he has more principles than the vast majority of the Republican party currently does, and certainly when it comes to the Republicans on the SJC.

      Liked by 2 people

  39. raylodato's avatar

    With these 3 and John Russell, plus the voice votes I still think will happen for the 2 IT nominees, there’ll be 9 nominees now on the floor who will have to be renominated.

    Biden would have 171 confirmations for the 1st 3 years of his presidency, just 2 shy of Trump at that stage.

    There’ll be the 9 nominees who (may) need a revote in SJC; 11 nominees who’ve had their hearing and need a vote out of SJC; and the 5 nominees from today who will need a hearing. (I’m assuming Colom and Holland won’t be renominated). I’ve given up thinking about how soon all of those can get to a confirmation vote (tempted to say Easter/Passover break, but unlikely). I think 234 is still in sight, especially given the number of blue-state vacancies that don’t have nominees yet, but it will require more focus from Schumer in an election year, which is also unlikely.

    Liked by 1 person

  40. tsb1991's avatar

    Oh yeah, I was up Christmas shopping in Boston today, so I was totally caught flat-footed by the announcements of new nominees today.

    The biggest surprise announcement IMO was Utah. I didn’t have my hopes up about filling that vacancy since I’m sure Mike Lee is a pain on these negotiations, but I didn’t rule it out completely (my personal probability of getting a nominee here was probably in the single digits), since didn’t Obama have several Utah nominees confirmed in his presidency with the support of Mike Lee, including a 10th circuit pick? Or was that 10th circuit pick pre-Mike Lee, where I’m sure Bob Bennett was far more reasonable on this stuff?

    The only state where I have no faith of a nominee being produced is Missouri, I can’t imagine Hawley signing off on any Democratic president’s nominee.

    Liked by 2 people

      • tsb1991's avatar

        While Tom Cotton is legit one of the worst Republican Senators, I feel like he’d be ever-so-slightly more flexible on nominees than Hawley (that’d be implying that Hawley would be completely stiff and Cotton you could only budge a millimeter). Hawley has that Roe v. Wade litmus test for nominees so nothing short of a Federalist Society hack would get his support.

        Which going back to 2014, I think Arkansas was the biggest downgrade in all of the D to R flips that night. I knew pretty much every red state Democrat that lost that night was on borrowed time anyway given the partisanship of their states and that we were just renting out those seats at that point, but going from Pryor to Cotton was just awful, while I didn’t have that same feeling going from say, Landrieu to Cassidy (since Cotton could find a rationale to invade all 200 some odd countries on the planet).

        Liked by 1 person

      • Jamie's avatar

        Hawley’s litmus test should be easier to deal now. Even Rikelman said that she would adhere to SCOTUS precedent in Dobbs, as would any lower court judge. That should give Hawley enough leeway to reach a deal.
        I think there’s a chance that Hawley allows two vacancies to be filled in EDMO, since half of the judges there will be vacant by the end of next year. Arkansas and Alabama little to no chance.

        Liked by 1 person

  43. Mitch's avatar

    Two of the four vacancies for Western Texas have nominees now and I’m assuming that both are Democrats who’ll be based in El Paso.

    With four vacancies, the Senators get to pick one nominee (within certain parameters).

    IMHO, a name to watch is Susan Hightower, a Magistrate Judge in Austin. She is a Republican who would seem to be acceptable to Democrats as part of a package.

    Incidentally, Judge Hightower was the victim of an attempted mugging in January.

    Liked by 1 person

  44. raylodato's avatar

    @keystone: I feel like the IT nominees and the Northern Mariana Island nominee will get voice votes. I think the question is whether there are voice votes on the D.C. Superior Court nominees. There are 12 vacancies and 7 nominees, so a definite need to fill open seats.

    Liked by 2 people

  46. Gavi's avatar

    Wow! Shocked to see nominees from some of these states. Lee?? Ricketts??
    A little anecdote: I remember visiting a sibling in Missouri around this time of the year, 2013, I think. During the visit, a D. Utah judge (it was Shelby but I didn’t know that at the time) ruled the state’s same-sex marriage ban unconstitutional. I remember thinking there’ll never be a Democrat-appointed federal judge in Utah ever again. But Jill Parrish was nominated the next year. And now we have another Democratic president nominee.

    @Mitch
    Susan Hightower? I object! As a card-carrying Team Blacks supporter, I cannot in good conscience support anyone named Hightower. Long live the Rhaenyra bloodline! (I know this is very niche, but I am feeling playful tonight because of these new nominees.)

    Liked by 1 person

  48. tsb1991's avatar

    I’ve been listening to Michael Bennet’s speech as I’m waiting for the wrap-up that will probably happen after, where he mentioned he’s lifting his hold on the FAA bill since he feels positive about the negotiations on the Ukraine bill. You think filing cloture on Crews was also used as a carrot for him, like the Oklahoma nominees with Lankford, one of the lead negotiators on this?

    Liked by 2 people

    • dequanhargrove's avatar

      @keystone

      Rankin was Counsel to a Democrat governor. My guess is this is similar to Pennsylvania when Governor Shapiro came into office. He could pick the new Secretary of State who would oversee the states elections. He chose a Republican for the job who did not back down to the MAGA demands to overturn the 2020 election. Even though Shapiro could have easily picked a Democrat, he saw a Republican who was more than acceptable for a Democrat governor for the job. I suspect Rankin is on the same level.

      @tsb1991

      I was listening to senator Bennett’s speech as well & I’m happy he lifted his FAA hold. My guess is it’s a combination of the Ukraine talks as well as an agreement to lift the hold on the 11 4-star generals that is the reason we are going to have to wait until next year to get a vote on the most liberal nominees left pending. They are saving a tremendous amount of time to get the 11 military nominees plus 7 judicial nominees confirmed in the span of a week. With the influx of red state nominees, Democrats probably feel confident to get this deal done now & save the hardline judicial nominees for January & February.

      Liked by 1 person

  49. Gavi's avatar

    Least likely red states for a Biden district court judge (with blue slips still in play)

    Short version:

    Winner: Missouri

    First runner ups: Alabama, Arkansas

    Second runner up: Tennessee

    —
    Long version
    For those who forgot, let me remind you:
    Josh Hawley did not say that he will not support nominees he think would be weak on abortion. He said, he will never support any nominee whatsoever that does not have a **PROVEN** record opposing Roe! There’s not a lot of wiggle room there. For Christ’s sake, his actual wife was one of the main architects of the overturning of Roe. I see no way for Biden to nominate anyone Hawley could feasibly support. It’s as simple as that.
    If we wake up tomorrow and Missouri has a 100 percent vacant federal bench, Hawley would not budge. But I can very very easily see Biden bowing to a Chad Meredith nominee. Chad Meredith, after all, has a proven record against Roe.
    Hawley asks to be recorded as a NO on judicial voice votes.
    The State of Missouri happens to be cursed with two extremist anti-abortion senators.

    Liked by 2 people

    • Gavi's avatar

      Let’s not forget that Hawley (and Cotton) initially opposed Neomi Rao’s nomination to the DC Circuit for fear that she wasn’t sufficiently hostile to abortion. Rao, a virulent far right-winger herself, had to meet with them privately to reassure them before they dropped their opposition. These people are just not your run of the mill anti-abortion Republicans.

      Liked by 1 person

    • dequanhargrove's avatar

      The only reason I left Tennessee out was because there is a pending circuit court vacancy. If the WHC office was smart (Ok I know but stop laughing & at least hear me out… Lol), they should be using circuit court vacancies as leverage to fill district court vacancies.

      I know we haven’t seen a good track record of that so far but there still is hope they finally wake up & realize even Durbin knows you don’t need blue slips for circuit court seats. So I would tell Blackburn here’s Steven Ross Johnson, Maha Ayesh or Dumaka Shabazz for the 6th & you can keep the WDTN seat vacant. Choice 2 would be we can make a package deal for the 6th & WDTN with any combination of either US Attorney, Camille McMullin & Edward Stanton.

      Liked by 1 person

  50. tsb1991's avatar

    Schumer wrapping up. FAA passed on unanimous consent and Russell confirmed on a voice vote!

    It sounds like it’s the last vote of the week unless anything is voice voted tomorrow, but it looks like everyone whose had cloture filed on will carry over to the New Year and not have to be re-nominated.

    Liked by 2 people

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