Wednesday, December 13, 2017

What the Alabama Election Means for President Trump’s Judicial Nominees



Some of the president’s nominees are not controversial and are being confirmed by landslide votes. For example, Dabney Freirich was confirmed on Nov. 27 by a 97-3 vote to serve as a federal judge in California.
However, the man in the picture is a highly controversial nominee. Leonard Steven Grasz is “not qualified” for the position, according to a letter sent from the American Bar Association (ABA) to the leaders of the Senate Judiciary Committee on Monday. 
It’s only the third time since 1989 that a judicial nominee has received a unanimous “not qualified” rating from the American Bar Association.
The controversy is that Mr. Grasz not only believes that Roe v. Wade (ruling that a woman has a right to end her pregnancy in the first two trimesters) is unconstitutional, but he goes further in arguing that any woman who has an abortion should face criminal charges (along with her doctor).
President Trump nominated Mr. Grasz for the 8th Circuit Court of Appeals, an extremely powerful position (one step below the Supreme Court).
Mr. Grasz has worked for “pro-life” groups to enact laws along these lines. In his home state of Nebraska, he was successful in promoting the law. 
The Supreme Court later struck it down.
The day before the Alabama special election, his nomination was brought to the Senate floor. On a motion for cloture (whether to close a filibuster), 48 senators voted for cloture and 47 voted against it. (Read this as 48 Republicans to 47 Democrats.)
To stop a filibuster for any judicial nominee (except the Supreme Court), a simple majority is needed. Until 2013, the practice was 60 votes to stop debate (close debate, or cloture). Senate Leader Harry Reid ended filibusters for all federal court nominees (again, except for the Supreme Court). 
Bad idea. Blame that on the Democrats.
But the election of Doug Jones magnifies the importance of Republicans losing a vote and Democrats gaining a vote. Just look at the close vote for Mr. Grasz.

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