By any measure, Biden's record of nominating African American women to federal appellate seats is extraordinary. Seven of his 18 noms--39%--have been black women. Black women account for about 2.3% of lawyers. 1/
So Biden has nominated black women to appellate seats at **17 times** their numbers among lawyers. And that's w/o adjustments for age, experience, qualifications to determine candidate pool. 2/
By contrast, Biden has nominated only one Hispanic woman to an appellate seat, despite fact that Hispanics outnumber blacks in general population by 30-50% and are roughly equal among lawyers. 3/
During Obama's 8 years, he appointed only 2 black women as appellate judges. Biden has already appointed 4, with three more pending. Why the much higher numbers? Possible answers: larger pool of candidates, higher priority? But bigger reason is probably demotion of blue slip. 4/
Demotion of blue slip for appellate seats dramatically increases White House power vis-a-vis home-state senators, including *same-party* senators. White House has much more freedom to pursue own picks. 5/
One reason I doubt very much that Senate will ever demote blue slip for district-court noms is that no senator wants to have political enemy preside over his corruption trial. 6/
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Biden has nominated black women to federal appellate seats at more than 22 times their numbers among American lawyers. nationalreview.com/bench-memos/bi…
Biden nominated seven black women to appellate judgeships in his first year. Obama nominated three over eight years. I explore reasons for the vast discrepancy. nationalreview.com/bench-memos/bi…
Clyburn had pushed for Childs to be nominated to first D.C. Circuit vacancy, but that went to Ketanji Brown Jackson. postandcourier.com/politics/clybu…
Long delay in making this pick (vacancy arose in February) is presumably due to infighting. Hispanic activists evidently lost.
Of Biden's first 18 federal appellate nominees, 8 are African American (and 7 of those are women).
Only 3 Hispanics, and one is to CA1 seat in Puerto Rico.
#SCOTUS issues ruling in Texas Heartbeat Act cases: Abortion clinics' claim may proceed against some defendants but not state judge, clerk, or AG.
Gorsuch opinion for majority. supremecourt.gov/opinions/21pdf… Chief files opinion concurring in part, dissenting in part, joined b libs. Sotomayor does likewise, joined by Breyer and Kagan. DOJ case is dismissed.
Gorsuch majority opinion: 1. Court clerk and state judge enjoy sovereign immunity. Also, no Article III "case or controversy" with respect to them. 2. State AG should be dismissed. He has no enforcement authority. 1/
@erikabachiochi .@erikabachiochi: "Ending the abortion regime must be the keystone of standing against the individualistic libertarianism that characterizes our politics, left and right — and privileges the powerful over the weak and dependent." 2/
@erikabachiochi .@erikabachiochi: "A post-Roe America will need to move beyond its wrongheaded obsession with autonomy. It will need to align both its rhetoric and its policies better with the realities of human existence and so should work to bring forth a renewed solidarity instead." 3/
Seems to me that the only justices who very clearly showed their hands are Breyer and Sotomayor. (Not that I have any doubt where Kagan will be.)
To be sure, if you started with the assumption that there are five justices ready to overturn Roe, nothing in the oral argument would have *dislodged* that assumption. But that doesn't remotely establish that your assumption was right.