Trump is bypassing judicial ratings agencies before making his nominations — and it has led to a substantial increase in 'not qualified' nominees
November 15th, 2017
Additional Short Video: Brett Talley, Young Inexperienced Nominee, Wins Approval
With the large number of judicial vacancies, President Trump has been rapidly nominating candidates; however, many of those nominations are deemed "not qualified" by the American Bar Association.
Out of President Trump's 51 nominations 2 were unanimously rated "not qualified". And prior to 2016 only 2 nominations were ever unanimously given such a poor rating. Overall, 8% of Trump's nominations were rated unqualified by a majority, compared to the only 0.7% average from 1986 to 2016.
Brett Talley is a 36 year old lawyer and one of Trump's nominations. He is a Harvard Law School Graduate who has received one of the unanimous "not qualified" ratings. Some people disagree with the ABA's ratings. "Mr. Talley served as deputy solicitor general for the state of Alabama, currently serves in the Department of Justice’s Office of Legal Policy and was recommended by Alabama's US senators," White House press secretary Sarah Huckabee Sanders said in a statement to The Times. "He is more than qualified to serve in the federal judiciary." Republicans have commonly criticized the ABA's ratings. On the other hand, Democratic Sen. Dianne Feinstein, the ranking member of the Senate Judiciary Committee, told Business Insider in a statement that the spike in "not qualified" nominees put forth by the Trump administration is "very worrisome."
Questions
- Do you believe the ABA's ratings are more of a guideline or a suggestion? Why?
- Why do you think Republicans tend to dislike the ABA's ratings and Democrats tend to agree with them? Should this divide be changed?
- Do you believe President Trump's nominations are just? If not, what solution(s) could you offer?
The ABA's ratings serve as a guideline as to whether or not a candidate has the necessary experience to serve as a Supreme Court Justice. These are some of the most powerful people in the country and must be qualified to serve their positions. While there are many different factors that contribute to experience, and the rating from the ABA should not be the deciding factor, it does play an important role in the initial proposal.
ReplyDeleteWhile the ABA rating should be more of a guideline, as shown in Trump's nominees, the ratings are regarded as suggestions. The ABA rating should be more of a guideline because they are a nonpartisan volunteer organization that was created to ensure lawyers are regulated through a uniform platform. Although Talley seems qualified by going to Harvard Law School, his experience makes him unqualified to become a federal judge.
ReplyDeleteI think that the ABA's ratings are more of a guideline than a suggestion because of their trustworthiness over the years. The ABA is an unbiased source which presents information about a candidate's qualification to be a judge and the GOP has to deal with it. The GOP tends to disagree with the ABA ratings because their candidates are normally given poor ratings. This isn't too surprising because of the quality of the candidates that are selected by the GOP Presidents.
ReplyDeleteThe ABA's ratings currently seem to be taken as suggestions, but should serve as guidelines. The ABA is unbiased and takes into account all factors of a prospective federal judge before putting forth a qualification status, showing that a law degree from Harvard does not necessarily automatically qualify a person to be a federal judge. Of course, the ABA rating should not be the ultimate determining factor, but ought to play a larger role.
ReplyDeleteI think that the ABA ratings should be a baseline. The ABA is unbiased and based on candidate's qualifications rather than education or ideology, and should thus be used as a measurement or the bare minimum for a nomination, especially in since judges do serve for life. However, it makes sense that the President was more concerned with ideology and how it would ultimately serve his party.
ReplyDelete