The Senate Judiciary Committee is holding a hearing on the nomination of Judge Walker to serve as a judge on the DC Circuit. A few things:
- They are holding this hearing during a pandemic for a postition that won't be open til Sept.
- Judge Walker is totally unqualified.
- They are holding this hearing during a pandemic for a postition that won't be open til Sept.
- Judge Walker is totally unqualified.
They could be talking about COVID-19 and how it is impacting elections, resources for first responders, liability, etc, etc. But no...they are coming back to push a judge, who is a friend of McConnell, to take a seat on the second most powerful court in the nation.
.@RandPaul, in his intro of Judge Walker, seemed to brag that he rushed to issue an opinion in the case re: whether Louisville could apply limits on mass gatherings to houses of worship. Paul left out the fact that the Walker rushedit so much, he got all the facts wrong!
Judge Walker has never tried a case as lead or cocounsel, whether civil or criminal. He has now been a District Court judge for 6 months. During that time, he has not even presided over a trial that has gone to verdict or judgment. How is he qualified to serve on the DC Circuit?
Oh - if you want to watch the hearing on Judge Walker, you can stream it here: judiciary.senate.gov/meetings/05/06…
The Federalist Society has done a good job with Judge Walker's media training. It helps him hide the fact that he is unqualified to be an appellate court judge.
(During the Kavanaugh nomination, he "gave 119 interviews to the news media and several speeches paid for by the Federalist Society rebutting Kavanaugh critics.") nytimes.com/2020/05/05/us/…
@SenatorDurbin notes that he can't imagine that if he asked people around the country, what they want the Senate to be doing right now, it would not be a judicial nom. It would be to do something to address the current health and economic crisis. #StopWalker
Can we talk about the City of Louisville case? The Church claimed that the city was prohibiting them from having drive-in church services and that they were being targetted because they were religious. UNTRUE.
The City of Louisville urged the religious community not to hold drive-in church services, it did not threaten any enforcement action against those who held such services, nor did issue an order banning such services. #StopWalker
In prior weeks, instead of staying in their cars with the windows no more than half open, the Plaintiff's drive-in services included “gathering within six feet of each other, elbow bumping, dangerously hanging out of car windows, and passing the collection basket." #StopWalker
Rather than wait to get these facts from the city, Judge Walker rushed to issue an opinion in favor of the church, which looked more like an audition for the DC Circuit than a judicial opinion. #StopWalker
Employment Div v Smith says neutral and generally applicable laws don't violate the Free Exercise Clause. It is a Scalia opinion. Sen Hawley wants Walker to say (and Walker wants to say it but can't) that he'd overturn Smith and apply strict scrutiny to all free exercise cases.
Walker says "Smith is still good law. But Trinity Lutheran is a recent decision that every judge must follow in the country must follow fully and faithfully."
Is Sen Kennedy suggesting that going to Harvard and clerking ALONE makes you qualified to be on the DC Circuit?
ICYMI - here is the exchange between Sen Hawley and Judge Walker on Smith, Trinity Lutheran, and Hosanna-Tabor: c-span.org/video/?c487401…
#StopWalker
#StopWalker
