Thread by @AkivaMCohen

Let's talk for a second about the difference between "Trump judges" and "Trumpist judges", and whether that distinction really matters.

https://twitter.com/mseraphimsl/status/1570795906567634945

"Trump judges" are judges appointed by Donald Trump. There are a lot of them, at every level of the Federal judiciary. The same way there are still "Obama judges" and "Bush judges" and "Clinton judges" - and that, as Roberts insisted, there are none of those things

Judges are appointed to the bench by particular presidents, and they have judicial philosophies, but by far most judges (especially short of the Supreme Court) recognize that they are constrained by and have a duty to adhere to the law.

Whatever their personal preferences are, their job is to read and apply precedent in good faith. And most do, even when there's wiggle room on a truly new question.

Then there are "Trumpist" judges, who basically are Josh Hammer's wet-dream. Their guiding star is their preferred outcome, and the law is secondary. There are a few known judges of this type: Cannon for certain, but also folks like Ho on the Fifth Circuit.

I won't even put Andrew Hanen (one of the most reliably and overtly conservative judges in the country, routinely obstructing Democratic administration policies) into that bucket. He's got a wild judicial philosophy but he follows it consistently, including ruling for Houston in

knocking back spurious election challenges in 2020, IIRC. In other words, he produces reliably conservative outcomes because of how he thinks of the law, not despite it (or without bothering to think of it)

I see Sam Alito, on the other hand, as a paradigmatically Trumpist judge, despite having been appointed to SCOTUS years before a Trump political run was even a fever-dream nightmare. He bends over backwards for favored outcomes without even a figleaf of analytical rigor

So when we look at the 11th Circuit, the fact that 6 of the 11 active judges on the Court were appointed by Trump doesn't necessarily tell you anything. How many of those are not just "Trump Judges" but "Trumpist Judges"?

I don't closely watch the 11th Circuit but my sense, based on vibes, the cases I have seen (including the Kraken appeals), and the *lack* of discussion of the Circuit as lawless in the same way that the 5th has become, is that it's not a nest of Trumpist judges.

Now, does that distinction matter?

Yes.

But also no.

On a case-by-case basis, the difference between a Trump judge and a Trumpist judge matters greatly. However much I may disagree with their view of the law on particular issues, neither Don Willett nor Stephanos Bibas would ever have issued the orders Aileen Cannon just did

And unless there's a Trumpist majority panel on the 11th Circuit, Cannon's decision isn't getting affirmed. So in terms of particular outcomes ... yeah, the distinction matters.

A lot.

But in terms of the systemic effect? No, the distinction doesn't matter at all.

Because the existence of truly lawless judges, judges who can issue rulings like "well, maybe the document marked classified was a private conversation between Trump and his attorney" or ...

"yes, we know that this decision contradicts existing SCOTUS precedent but maybe they'll overrule it, so we won't stay the ruling" is just utterly cancerous to the rule of law and faith in the American court system.

Nearly four years ago, Justice Roberts said this: "We do not have Obama judges or Trump judges, Bush judges or Clinton judges ... What we have is an extraordinary group of dedicated judges doing their level best to do equal right to those appearing before them."

He was correctly applauded for it, because it was an absolutely true and absolutely critical point; the justice system does not and cannot work if people believe that the outcome of a case depends on which "team" the judge is on.

I dare him to make that same comment now.

With the greatest of respect for a judge I often disagree with, I dare him. Because Aileen Cannon just proved that claim is laughable.

And that's a fucking tragedy.

#ETTD.

/Fin

This is a terrific quick analytic

https://twitter.com/StevenJ1279/status/1570811038467067907