Latest news with #WilliamBay
E&E News
2 days ago
- Politics
- E&E News
ABA defends its role in vetting nominees to federal courts
The president of the American Bar Association is pushing back on the Trump administration's recent decision to stop allowing the organization to vet the records of the president's federal judicial nominees. In a letter to Attorney General Pam Bondi on Tuesday, William Bay said the association was 'both surprised and disappointed' that its standing committee would not have access to judicial nominees and information about them for the first time in 72 years. 'The changes the Justice Department is apparently imposing will likely result in less transparency in the process of confirming nominees to lifetime appointments on the federal bench and appear to be based on incorrect information set forth in your letter,' said Bay. Advertisement His letter comes in response to a letter Bondi sent last month to the ABA stating that the association was 'no longer a fair arbiter of nominees' qualifications' and that the Justice Department would not direct judicial nominees to provide waivers granting the association access to nonpublic information, such as their bar records.
Fox News
2 days ago
- Politics
- Fox News
American Bar Association blasts Bondi's decision to block it from judicial nominations: ‘Deeply disturbing'
The American Bar Association asked the Department of Justice on Tuesday to reconsider its historic decision to shut the organization out of the judicial nomination process and insisted it rates potential judges fairly. ABA President William Bay wrote to Attorney General Pam Bondi that he was "surprised and disappointed" by her decision, which Bondi revealed in a letter two weeks ago. "It is deeply disturbing that the Justice Department has decided to restrict access to judicial nominees without justification or basis," Bay wrote. Bondi accused the ABA, which comprises hundreds of thousands of lawyers and other legal professionals, of favoring Democratic administrations' nominees and refusing to "fix the bias in its ratings." The ABA has for seven decades been involved in rating presidents' nominees to serve as judges in the district and appellate courts and the Supreme Court. An ABA committee rates potential judges as "well qualified," "qualified" or "not qualified" based on their experience level, legal writings, and dozens of interviews with the candidates' colleagues and peers. Bay noted the ABA rated all three of President Donald Trump's Supreme Court nominees as "well qualified" and that it has given "well qualified" or "qualified" ratings to at least 97% of rated nominees for the last two decades. The ABA has also received nonpublic information about nominees, including their bar records, through DOJ waivers. Bondi said the department will no longer provide those. Bay's remarks were the latest development in a protracted legal fight that Trump and Republicans have waged against the ABA and big law over allegations they are plagued by bias. The ABA has on occasion promoted liberal initiatives, including abortion access, diversity, equity, and inclusion, and the LGBTQ agenda. Bay said the rating committee is walled off from the rest of the organization. "The Standing Committee's work is insulated from all other activities of the ABA to ensure its independence and impartiality," Bay wrote. Presidents nominate federal judges, and the Senate votes on them. The judges, once confirmed, serve lifetime appointments. Presidents and the Senate have for decades included the ABA in the nomination process, but Trump and President George W. Bush declined to give the ABA a first look at potential nominees before announcing them. Former President Joe Biden continued Trump's practice but clarified that he valued the ABA's ratings and only gave it post-nomination access to nominee information to save time. A DOJ spokesman said in response to Bay's letter: "It's clear that the American Bar Association has lost its way and no longer treats all nominees in a fair and impartial manner." Sen. Chuck Grassley, R-Iowa, who leads the Senate panel tasked with vetting potential judges, said in response to Bondi's decision that it was "hardly surprising" and that the legal organization has "consistently taken partisan stances on political issues." Grassley noted the ABA could still weigh in on nominees independently of the administration. "The Judiciary Committee will still accept letters from the ABA, the same as we do for all outside organizations, but it doesn't make sense for this administration to be giving favored access to an organization that's consistently shown political bias," Grassley said. Grassley's Democratic counterpart, Sen. Dick Durbin of Illinois, said in a statement online that the ABA's ratings process was objective. "The Trump Administration is clearly just trying to cover for unqualified and extreme nominees," Durbin said. Among those once rated as "not qualified" by the ABA was DOJ chief of staff Chad Mizelle's wife, Kathryn Kimball Mizelle, who serves as a federal judge in Florida. The rating was due to her lack of experience, as the ABA's criteria for federal judges includes 12 years of experience practicing law. The ABA had mixed reviews for Justice Clarence Thomas in 1991, ultimately giving him its mid-level "qualified" rating.
Reuters
2 days ago
- Politics
- Reuters
ABA calls Bondi's decision to curtail judicial nominee vetting 'disturbing'
June 11 (Reuters) - The American Bar Association called the U.S. Department of Justice's decision to curtail its ability to vet President Donald Trump's judicial nominees "deeply disturbing" in a letter, opens new tab to U.S. Attorney General Pam Bondi released late on Tuesday. ABA President William Bay said the nonpartisan lawyer organization was "surprised and disappointed" by the department's recent decision to restrict its access to judicial nominees and information about them for the first time in seven decades. "The changes the Justice Department is apparently imposing will likely result in less transparency in the process of confirming nominees to lifetime appointments on the federal bench and appear to be based on incorrect information," Bay wrote. He urged Bondi to reconsider, saying the ABA's past access to nominees helped U.S. senators receive important insights about them during the confirmation process and "helps bolster the public's trust and confidence in our federal courts." The Justice Department did not immediately respond to a request for comment. Starting in 1953 during Republican President Dwight D. Eisenhower's tenure, the ABA through its 15-member Standing Committee on the Federal Judiciary has vetted judicial nominees before they were sent to the Senate, which must confirm them. Republicans have long claimed the organization is biased against conservatives. In 2001, Republican President George W. Bush ended the tradition of giving the ABA a first look at nominees. While Democratic President Barack Obama revived the practice, Trump ended it again in 2017 in his first term, and Democratic President Joe Biden did not revive the practice. The Justice Department's May 30 decision to cease directing nominees to fill out questionnaires from the ABA and provide waivers allowing it access to their bar and disciplinary records marked a further diminishment of the group's vetting role. In a May 29 letter to the ABA, Bondi contended that the ABA "no longer functions as a fair arbiter of nominees' qualifications, and its ratings invariably and demonstrably favor nominees put forth by Democratic administrations." During the first Trump administration, the ABA rated 10 of Trump's judicial nominees as "not qualified." He secured confirmation of 234 judicial nominees. Senate Democrats and Trump's critics say several of his 11 announced second-term judicial picks fall short of the ABA's typical standard that a nominee should have at least 12 years of experience in the practice of law. Among the young nominees to life-tenured positions on the bench who fall short of that metric is Whitney Hermandorfer, 37, who only graduated law school 10 years ago. She is nominated to join the 6th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals. Bay, in his letter, said the ABA's Standing Committee does not advocate for nominees and had issued "Well Qualified" or "Qualified" ratings to no less than 96.9% of the nominees in each presidential administration during the last two decades, including during the first Trump administration. Read more: Justice Department curtails ABA role in vetting Trump's judicial nominees Trump nominates his former defense attorney Emil Bove to serve as appellate judge Trump readies to name 'fearless' conservative judges in second term
