judges

  • Senate Confirms Biden-Picked Judges in DC, Pennsylvania

    President Joe Biden on Tuesday achieved the confirmation of three additional nominees for trial court judgeships as Senate Democrats continued their efforts to fill judicial vacancies before Republican President-elect Donald Trump assumes office. The Democratic-led Senate approved Sparkle Sooknanan, an official in the Justice Department’s Civil Rights Division, as a life-tenured federal district court judge…

  • Trump’s Chance to Fill 2 Appeals Court Seats Hinges on Judges’ Retirement Plans

    President-elect Donald Trump’s ability to fill all four appellate court vacancies tied to this week’s bipartisan Senate deal hinges on whether two Democratic-appointed judges follow through on their planned retirements. Both judges announced their intent to take senior status earlier this year but linked their decisions to the confirmation of their successors. Senate Democrats and…

  • Two Judges Cleared of Misconduct Over Columbia Clerk Boycott

    A federal judicial panel has rejected a misconduct complaint against two of the 13 judges who signed a letter in May announcing a boycott of hiring law clerks from Columbia University. The boycott was in response to the university’s handling of pro-Palestinian student demonstrations related to Israel’s war in Gaza. On August 12, the 11th…

  • Judges Advised to Restrict Clerks From Seeking Political Jobs

    Federal judges should prevent their law clerks from seeking employment with political organizations while they remain part of the court system to protect the judiciary’s independence, according to new ethical guidance. The U.S. Judicial Conference’s Committee on Codes of Conduct issued the guidance on Thursday, offering an election-year update to an advisory opinion on permissible…

  • Biden Nominates Circuit Judge’s Brother, Two Prosecutors To Serve On District Courts

    On Wednesday, President Joe Biden nominated three individuals to serve on federal district courts: Elizabeth Coombe, Sarah Davenport, and Sharad Desai. Coombe, a prosecutor in Albany, New York, and Davenport, a prosecutor in Las Cruces, New Mexico, bring extensive legal experience to their nominations. Desai, a corporate lawyer at Honeywell in Phoenix, is the brother…

  • Bill to Add 66 Judges Would Cost $349M Over A Decade, CBO Says

    A bill passed by the U.S. Senate, which aims to add 66 new judges to understaffed federal district courts across the nation, will increase government spending by $349 million over the next decade, according to new estimates from the Congressional Budget Office (CBO). The CBO, Congress’ nonpartisan fiscal referee, released its analysis late last week…

  • New Jersey Defends Privacy Law Shielding Judges, Prosecutors

    New Jersey’s attorney general is urging a federal judge to reject a bid by numerous businesses to declare a new law, which bars the disclosure of home addresses and other personal information belonging to judges and prosecutors, unconstitutional. In a brief filed on Monday, New Jersey Attorney General Matthew Platkin’s office argued that the disclosure…

  • Group Urges Judiciary To Halt Conservative Judges’ Clerk Boycotts

    A government watchdog group, Citizens for Responsibility and Ethics in Washington (CREW), on Wednesday urged the judiciary to rein in the recurring practice of conservative judges boycotting the hiring of law clerks from specific schools over protests and disruptions on their campuses. CREW, in a letter, urged the U.S. Judicial Conference to address the matter…

  • Judges Did Not ‘Rubberstamp’ $2.7 Billion Blue Cross Fee, SCOTUS Told

    A U.S. appeals court refused to automatically approve a $667 million fee award for attorneys behind a $2.7 billion antitrust class action settlement with Blue Cross Blue Shield. On Wednesday, class lawyers urged the U.S. Supreme Court to reject a challenge to the legal fees and the broader merits of the 2020 settlement. Last year,…

  • Trump Tests Legal Limits in Social Media Posts Amid New York Legal Battles

    Former President Donald Trump has once again stirred the legal waters with a series of social media posts, testing the boundaries of his ongoing civil and criminal cases in New York. In a flurry of messages on Truth Social, Trump addressed various legal controversies, including defamation lawsuits and criminal charges. Trump’s social media barrage included…