Trump Has 4 Judicial Nominees In Mind For Missouri’s Federal Trial Courts
Really hope this bodes well for Missouri. The post Trump Has 4 Judicial Nominees In Mind For Missouri’s Federal Trial Courts appeared first on Above the Law.


When it comes to nominating judges, it is hard to deny that Donald Trump is a machine. He got 234 federal judges confirmed during his first term; three of those helped secure a Republican majority on the Supreme Court. This is far from stating that the machine is perfect. While most of the confirmed judges were ranked “Very Qualified” by the ABA, 67 judges skirted by with a “Qualified” — but the remaining 10 earned the sad grade of “Not Qualified.” A second term gets Trump a second bite at the nominating apple. Trump has recently recommended four names for gavel banging in Missouri. Reuters has coverage:
The latest nominees included two members of Missouri Attorney General Andrew Bailey’s legal team, Joshua Divine, the state’s solicitor general, and Maria Lanahan, who serves as principal deputy solicitor general.
…
The other nominees include two current and former federal prosecutors, Zachary Bluestone, who serves in the U.S. Attorney’s Office in St. Louis, and Judge Cristian Stevens, who serves on the Missouri Court of Appeals.
The ink has barely dried on these picks, but I’m optimistic that this round won’t be as bad as what we’ve seen in the past. Is it possible that one of them will do something as bad as declaring a longstanding law to be unconstitutional without citing any actually relevant authority to do so? Yes, but I could really use a wish right now, wish right now, wish right now. Assuming this Senate Committee still lets the ABA do the reports, you should assume the ABA will reach out to practitioners to get a read on how qualified these picks are to do their jobs. Praying for the least harm until then.
Trump Ramps Up Judicial Nominations With Four Picks In Missouri [Reuters]
Earlier: Trump Judge Proves Again That She’s One Of America’s Least Qualified Jurists

Chris Williams became a social media manager and assistant editor for Above the Law in June 2021. Prior to joining the staff, he moonlighted as a minor Memelord™ in the Facebook group Law School Memes for Edgy T14s. He endured Missouri long enough to graduate from Washington University in St. Louis School of Law. He is a former boatbuilder who is learning to swim, is interested in critical race theory, philosophy, and humor, and has a love for cycling that occasionally annoys his peers. You can reach him by email at cwilliams@abovethelaw.com and by tweet at @WritesForRent.
The post Trump Has 4 Judicial Nominees In Mind For Missouri’s Federal Trial Courts appeared first on Above the Law.