Bench Report: Are Biden's Purple State Nominations Fleeting? Plus, Finding a Middle Ground on SCOTUS Reforms.
We take a look at this week's rush of judicial nominations, as well as finding a middle ground on reforming the Supreme Court.
July 14, 2022 at 06:37 PM
12 minute read
Happy Friday from Brad and Avalon here at Law.com's Bench Report. In case you somehow missed it, President Biden announced 16 federal judicial nominees this week–the most in a single week since he took office, and some were for a court in a purple state. We have more below on what some court watchers think about that. Plus, we talk to conservative scholar Josh Blackman about recent court reform proposals. Our inboxes are open. Email us at [email protected] and [email protected]. Follow us on Twitter: @AvalonZoppo and @BradKutner.
The White House in Washington, D.C. at night. Photo: Diego M. Radzinschi/ALM Biden Makes Judicial Nominations for a Purple State
President Joe Biden this week announced 16 federal judicial picks, including several for Pennsylvania, a state with a Republican senator and a Democrat senator. The news launched a bit of speculation over whether the White House may get more assertive in putting forth names for district court openings in states partly or fully controlled by Republicans.
The first batch of nominees (which you can check out here) included four picks for the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Pennsylvania and one for the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Third Circuit. It's especially notable since the lower court had five vacancies without nominees since at least the start of Biden's presidency, and some court watchers were concerned the state's senators weren't agreeing on candidates for the seats.
"What just happened in Pennsylvania, does that signal that the administration and the Democratic leadership in the Senate are going to be more assertive about making nominations in other states where there's a Republican senator? That's going to be a really critical issue," Matthew Siegler, an appellate attorney in Philadelphia, told me.
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