Posted on 10/30/2019 9:29:18 AM PDT by SeekAndFind
The American Bar Association Standing Committee on the Federal Judiciary has deemed President Trump nominee Lawrence VanDyke unqualified to sit on the 9th Circuit Court, determining that he lacks “professional competence” and “judicial temperament.”
The Judicial Crisis Network noted some concerns regarding the ABA's evaluation. For starters, the lead evaluator, Marcia Davenport, a trial attorney in Montana, openly opposed VanDyke when he ran for a seat on the Montana Supreme Court and even contributed to his opponent's campaign. Davenport is a "left-wing partisan," JCN claims.
"The ABA has amassed quite the history of bias against conservatives over the last few decades, but with VanDyke, it has really outdone itself," JCN policy director Carrie Severino writes.
If this was an analysis of his professional experience alone, VanDyke would be a shoo-in. He has 14 years' work in appellate law and has argued over 20 federal appeals, and has been the counsel of record on 28 Supreme Court briefs. Unfortunately, the ABA wrote in a letter to Senate Judiciary Committee Chairman Lindsey Graham (R-SC) and ranking member Dianne Feinstein (D-CA), those achievements are "offset" by his personality and partisan ideology.
Mr. VanDyke’s accomplishments are offset by the assessments of interviewees that Mr. VanDyke is arrogant, lazy, an ideologue, and lacking in knowledge of the day-today practice including procedural rules. There was a theme that the nominee lacks October 29, 2019 Page 2 humility, has an “entitlement” temperament, does not have an open mind, and does not always have a commitment to being candid and truthful.
Some interviewees raised concerns about whether Mr. VanDyke would be fair to persons who are gay, lesbian, or otherwise part of the LGBTQ community. Mr. VanDyke would not say affirmatively that he would be fair to any litigant before him, notably members of the LGBTQ community.
Yet, where those interviewees raised concerns, plenty of VanDyke's other former colleagues commended his efforts and qualifications.
“As the former Attorney General of Nevada, I can assure you there is no more qualified person for our Ninth Circuit seat than Lawrence VanDyke. I say this after daily personal interaction with him for many years. He has the experience, the integrity, and the judicial temperament to make him the most outstanding candidate put forward in a generation,” said Adam P. Laxalt.
Montana Attorney General had a similar description, calling VanDyke hard working, and adding that "he has the intelligence, experience, fairness and diligence to be a great addition to the 9th Circuit Court of Appeals."
Another interviewee claimed on Twitter that Davenport only granted him five minutes of their time once he began praising the nominee.
I was interviewed by Ms. Davenport regarding Lawrence’s qualifications. I told her he’s one of the most earnest, humble, kind-hearted, and intellectally engaged lawyers I know. I was surprised that the interview lasted all of about 5 minutes. Maybe I shouldn’t have been.— Brad Lingo (@ProfBradLingo) October 30, 2019
The JCN concludes its complaint by noting ABA’s "long history of bias against conservative nominees to the judiciary." However, they are comforted knowing that the association is given "very little credence by Republican presidential administrations and senators because of its embarrassing history."
Me too...had one free year automatically given to me upon graduation 25 years ago and I’ve never renewed. Screw them.
Since graduating law school [Van Dyke] has been a member of the Federalist Society.
VanDyke was born on December 12, 1972 in Midland, Texas. The following year, his family moved to Bozeman, Montana.
VanDyke earned his Bachelor of Science, with highest honors, from Montana State University in 1997 and a Master of Arts in 2000.
He received his Juris Doctor, magna cum laude, from Harvard Law School, where he was an editor of the Harvard Law Review.
After graduating from law school, VanDyke served as a law clerk to Judge Janice Rogers Brown of the United States Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit. He then worked in private practice at Gibson, Dunn & Crutcher.
From 2012–2013, he was an Assistant Solicitor General of Texas. He served as Solicitor General of Montana from 2013–2014, when he resigned to unsuccessfully run for the Montana Supreme Court.
He became Solicitor General of Nevada under Attorney General Adam Laxalt in 2015, where he served until 2019.
In 2019, VanDyke became a deputy Assistant Attorney General for the United States Department of Justice Environment and Natural Resources Division, where he currently works.
I know I give the ABA no credibility whatsoever, except in letting me know where the most whacked out leftie attorneys stand on any particular issue.
American fascism will not come with armband wearing black shirts marching behind oompahpah bands; that is simply not our national character. American Fascism will be (already is being) brought about by armies of Armani clad attorneys with briefcases full of writs, injunctions, and briefs. The American Final Solution will be certified as being fully constitutional by the SCOTUS when the time comes and I’m certain that due process will be respected...
First of all, it should be Van Dyke. An just how ignorant can the person at the ABA be that wrote this: "day-today" rather than the proper "day-to-day".
That's all I need to know.
Sure doesn’t look like the resume of a person who lacks competence.
Either he's a real genius or something here does not compute.
“day-today”
Great catch!
Now, they're starting to panic after they realized that Trump is packing the courts with Federalist Society members.
I’d be a lot more impressed with the Harvard stuff if Hussein hadn’t thrived there.
But I can tell you Gibson Dunn doesn’t hire slouches.
The Lefty court-packers are panicking.
This is like a WWII Japanese banzai charge on Guadalcanal.
“First of all, it should be Van Dyke. “
VanDyke
Guido and Unknown Rep;
Count me in your group, too. The ABA leaders are both ridiculous and pretentious. Remember Lawrence Walsh, Special Persecutor in the Iran-gate actions against President Reagan? Yep, he was President of the ABA.
Lots of reason to leave that group. Glad I did years ago.
Walsh acted to influence a presidential election with his office:
On the eve of the 1992 presidential election, on October 30, Walsh obtained a grand jury re-indictment of Weinberger on one count of false statements. One phrase in that superseding indictment referred to President George H. W. Bush. Some believe that Bush had been closing the gap with Bill Clinton, and that this event stopped his momentum.
Clinton administration attorney Lanny Davis called the decision to indict a week before the election rather than after the election "bizarre."
Judge Thomas F. Hogan dismissed the October indictment two months later for being outside the statute of limitations.
Weinberger's subsequent pardon by President George H. W. Bush in December 1992 preempted any trial.
Walsh steadfastly denied that the investigation was politically motivated, while Bush and others criticized it as "the criminalization of policy differences."
Larry was always a lying sack of Mitt. He would have been a rabid NeverTrumper.
The bar association is a standing joke...I took a bar exam without ever taking a law course..... passed with flying colors..
> Either he’s a real genius or something here does not compute.
Maybe his Dad was Vice President or something. /s
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