Free Republic

The U.S. Court of Appeals for the Eleventh Circuit will have a different makeup by March 2020, when Judge Stanley Marcus will have become a senior judge—along with the circuit’s longest-serving active judge, Gerald Bard Tjoflat. The change means President Donald Trump will select two new judges for lifetime appointments. Tradition dictates that they should come from Florida, where Marcus and Tjoflat are based. With two more appointments, Trump will have named five judges who will serve on the Eleventh Circuit for decades to come. That’s almost half of the court’s active bench, which will be made up of seven...

President Donald Trump has yet another seat to fill on the federal appeals court in Atlanta, giving him the chance to appoint almost half of the court’s judges during his first term in office. Judge Stanley Marcus became the latest member of the 11th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals to tell Trump he will take senior status with a reduced caseload. Marcus said he will become a senior judge when his successor is sworn into office or on March 2, whichever comes first. The 73-year-old jurist first served on the U.S. District Court bench in Miami from 1985 to 1997,...

Over the course of the past week, the Terri Schiavo case made headlines with its swift and unsuccessful journey through the federal courts. The string of court defeats might have left the impression that the case was doomed from the outset. Yet the litigation's failure may owe more to a poor tactical choice by the lawyers advising the Schindlers--Terri's parents--than to the case's underlying merits. The original Schindler complaint included a variety of federal constitutional and statutory claims. Each of them was weak at best, as was quickly reflected in federal district judge James Whittemore's ruling that the Schindlers had...

Until Wednesday afternoon, the significance of Judge William H. Pryor Jr.'s recess appointment to the 11th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals was largely symbolic. His appointment by President Bush outraged senators who objected to Pryor's record on issues such as gay rights, abortion and federalism. As Alabama attorney general, Pryor defended statutes criminalizing homosexual sodomy, spoke out against decisions legalizing abortion and won cases trimming congressional power over the states. Democrats blocked a vote on his nomination, but the president's recess appointment will allow him to be on the court through 2005. Since Pryor joined the bench in February, his...

WASHINGTON (AP) — Bypassing Senate Democrats who have stalled his judicial nominations, President Bush installed Alabama Attorney General William Pryor on the 11th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals on Friday. Bush praised Pryor as "this leading American lawyer" and complained that the Senate had unfairly blocked him and other White House nominees."A minority of Democratic senators has been using unprecedented obstructionist tactics to prevent him and other qualified nominees from receiving up-or-down votes," Bush said. "Their tactics are inconsistent with the Senate's constitutional responsibility and are hurting our judicial system."Pryor was immediately sworn in in Alabama.The White House had...

Coalition for a Fair Judiciary FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE Contact: Kay Daly February 20, 2004 (703) 822-9831 Coalition Hails Recess Appointment of Bill Pryor to the 11th Circuit Court of Appeals President Recess Appoints While The Senate Obstructs (WASHINGTON, DC) – The Coalition for a Fair Judiciary today hailed the recess appointment of Alabama Attorney General Bill Pryor to the 11th Circuit Court of Appeals. “A minority of Senators are obstructing several of President Bush’s judicial nominees at the behest of extreme left-wing special interests. Enough is enough,” said Kay Daly, president of the Coalition for a Fair Judiciary. “This recess...

Today, Bill Pryor accepted a recess appointment to the Eleventh Circuit Court of Appeals from President Bush. He will resign his position as Attorney General of Alabama effective immediately and will be sworn in at 2:00 p.m. CST. Democrats have blocked the President's attepmt to appoint Pryor since he was first nominated in April 2003. Pro-abortion groups worked extremely had against Pryor, an outspoken opponent of aborition.General Pryor has been a fantastic Attorney General and will be an excellent jurist.

Groups like the ACLU claim they are filing lawsuits against the appearance of religion in society in order to prevent violations of the Constitution's Establishment Clause. In reality, their lawsuits are taking away the right to the free exercise of religion guaranteed by the First Amendment.The ACLU and Americans United for the Separation of Church and State assert that they filed lawsuits against Alabama Chief Justice Roy Moore out of concern that a monument of the Ten Commandments located in the Alabama state courthouse violated the First Amendment’s prohibition against any law respecting the establishment of religion. But the monument...

Groups like the ACLU claim they are filing lawsuits against the appearance of religion in society in order to prevent violations of the Constitution's Establishment Clause. In reality, their lawsuits are taking away the right to the free exercise of religion guaranteed by the First Amendment. The ACLU and Americans United for the Separation of Church and State assert that they filed lawsuits against Alabama Chief Justice Roy Moore out of concern that a monument of the Ten Commandments located in the Alabama state courthouse violated the First Amendment’s prohibition against any law respecting the establishment of religion. But...