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发帖数: 2018 | 1 https://www.wsj.com/articles/trumps-excellent-judges-1506889547
The start of a new Supreme Court term is a good moment to note some under-
reported news: President Trump is rapidly remaking the federal appellate and
district courts, with highly qualified nominees who fulfill his campaign
promise to pick “constitutional conservatives.”
The White House announced its eighth batch of judicial nominees on Thursday,
including four excellent choices for the Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals.
They include a pair of Texans: Don Willett, who is now on the Texas Supreme
Court and is well known for his witty Twitter feed; and James Ho, a Gibson,
Dunn partner in Dallas who clerked for Justice Clarence Thomas and was Texas
solicitor general.
The other two Fifth Circuit nominees have notable legal achievements to
their credit. Stuart Duncan was solicitor general of Louisiana and general
counsel for the Becket Fund for Religious Liberty. He was counsel of record
in Burwell v. Hobby Lobby Stores, the landmark 2014 decision allowing
closely held companies to be exempt from regulations they object to on
religious grounds.
Kurt Engelhardt is chief judge for the federal district court for eastern
Louisiana. In 2013 he wrote a withering 129-page opinion documenting
misconduct by the Justice Department’s Civil Rights Division and the U.S.
Attorney in prosecuting New Orleans police. Prosecutors attempted to inflame
the potential jury pool against the officers with prejudicial public
comments, including the use of a fake name on the website of the Times-
Picayune. Justice appealed, but Judge Engelhardt was upheld by the Fifth
Circuit he will join if he’s confirmed.
The speed of the nominations and the quality of the nominees is a result of
the close ties between White House judicial vetters and the Federalist
Society that is a national clearinghouse for conservative legal talent.
Judicial nominations are arguably the most successful part of the Trump
Presidency. |
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