Making SCOTUS Even Greater: Trump's Supplemental Supreme Court Shortlist
A closer look at the ten new names on Donald Trump's SCOTUS list.
Here is Trump’s supplemental SCOTUS list (in alphabetical order):
- Keith Blackwell, Georgia Supreme Court
- Charles Canady, Florida Supreme Court
- Neil Gorsuch, 10th Circuit Court of Appeals
- Mike Lee, Utah senator
- Edward Mansfield, Iowa Supreme Court
- Federico Moreno, U.S. District Court for the Southern District of Florida
- Margaret A. Ryan, U.S. Court of Appeals for the Armed Forces
- Amul Thapar, U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Kentucky
- Timothy Tymkovich, 10th Circuit Court of Appeals
- Robert Young, Chief Justice, Michigan Supreme Court
And here are more detailed bios of each contender:
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1. Keith Blackwell: Justice Blackwell has served on the Supreme Court of Georgia since 2012, after prior service on the Court of Appeals of Georgia. He’s a graduate of the University of Georgia for both college and law school (1996 and 1999, respectively, so he’s presumably in his early 40s). Before taking the bench, he served as a prosecutor, worked in private practice (including a stint and Alston & Bird), and clerked on the Eleventh Circuit for Judge J.L. Edmondson (also the former boss of billionaire Peter Thiel, an outside possibility for SCOTUS in a Trump Administration).
2. Charles Canady: The 62-year-old Canady has served on the Florida Supreme Court since 2008 (and was chief justice from 2010 to 2012). The Haverford College and Yale Law School grad also has experience in the legislative branch: he served in the U.S. House of Representatives for four terms, from 1993 to 2001.
3. Neil Gorsuch: When he didn’t make the first Trump shortlist, I wondered if the 49-year-old Gorsuch was too “Establishment” for Trump’s tastes (along with other usual suspects like former Solicitor General Paul Clement, Judge Brett Kavanaugh of the D.C. Circuit, and Judge Jeffrey Sutton of the Sixth Circuit). But it seems Trump (or his advisors — I suspect the candidate himself couldn’t name even five of his 21 picks) has come around on Gorsuch. Given his impressive résumé — Gorsuch clerked on SCOTUS (for both Justice White and Justice Kennedy), practiced at the super-elite Kellogg Huber, and served as deputy associate attorney general — along with his non-Acela-corridor location, it makes sense to see him here.
4. Mike Lee: Lee, 45, is the junior senator from Utah (and currently serves on the Senate Judiciary Committee). He graduated from Brigham Young University for both college and law school. Before joining the Senate, Lee clerked for Justice Samuel Alito (first on the Third Circuit and then on SCOTUS), served as an assistant U.S. attorney, and worked in private practice for Sidley Austin and Howrey (may it rest in peace). (Lee’s brother, Justice Thomas Lee of the Utah Supreme Court, was on the first Trump list.)
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Amusingly enough, Senator Lee is one of the most prominent Republicans to not yet endorse Trump, and this SCOTUS shout-out doesn’t change the good senator’s mind about DJT. As Senator Lee’s office said in a statement, he “already has the job he wants, which is why he is campaigning to represent the great people of Utah again this year. This new list does not change Senator Lee’s mind about Trump in any way whatsoever.”
5. Edward Mansfield: Trump sure loves the Hawkeye State; Justice Mansfield, a member of the Iowa Supreme Court since 2011, is the second Iowan on the two lists (the first being Judge Steven Colloton of the Eighth Circuit. Mansfield is a 1978 graduate of Harvard College and a 1982 graduate of Yale Law School (so he’s probably around 60). He clerked for the Fifth Circuit and worked in private practice before joining the Iowa Court of Appeals in 2009.
6. Federico Moreno: Moreno, 64, has been a judge of the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of Florida for a long time, since 1990 (and served as chief judge from 2007 to 2014). He graduated from Notre Dame for college and the University of Miami for law school, then worked in private practice and as a federal public defender — SCOTUS could use someone with public-defender experience — before becoming a state and then federal judge. Moreno is the aforementioned Venezuelan-born judge (note that adjective choice; Moreno is not “Venezuelan,” just as Judge Gonzalo Curiel is not “Mexican”).
7. Margaret A. Ryan: Judge Ryan, 52, has served on the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Armed Forces since 2009. Before taking the bench, Meg Ryan (yes, like the actress) served in the Marines and worked in private practice (for such powerhouse firms as Bartlit Beck and Wiley Rein). She clerked for Justice Clarence Thomas, making her the eighth former SCOTUS clerk across Trump’s two lists. Ryan is a graduate of Knox College and Notre Dame Law School.
8. Amul Thapar: Thapar, a judge on the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Kentucky since 2008, should ring a bell for some ATL readers: the 48-year-old jurist is an emerging SCOTUS feeder judge. He graduated from Boston College and Boalt Hall (Berkeley Law), clerked for two federal judges, served as an assistant U.S. attorney, and worked at Williams & Connolly and Squire Sanders (now Squire Patton Boggs). He is the first Article III judge of South Asian descent.
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9. Timothy Tymkovich: Chief Judge Tymkovich, 59, joined the Tenth Circuit in 2003. Before becoming a judge, Tymkovich worked in private practice and served as Colorado Solicitor General. His Colorado roots run deep: he was born in Denver, graduated from Colorado College and University of Colorado Law, and clerked for the Colorado Supreme Court.
10. Robert P. Young, Jr.: Chief Justice Young joined the Michigan Supreme Court in 1999, after serving on the Michigan Court of Appeals. He graduated from Harvard College and Harvard Law School and worked in private practice before becoming a judge. Per Wikipedia, he is “the highest black elected official serving the State of Michigan” and is “readily distinguishable by his bow tie.”
And that, ladies and gentlemen, is Donald J. Trump’s second Supreme Court shortlist. Might we see a third such list, or maybe removal of some names and addition of others? When it comes to Trump, rule nothing out.
Donald Trump Campaign Releases New List of Potential Supreme Court Picks [Washington Wire / Wall Street Journal via Morning Docket]
Donald Trump Unveils New, More Diverse Supreme Court Short List [NPR]
DONALD J. TRUMP FINALIZES LIST OF POTENTIAL SUPREME COURT JUSTICE PICKS [Donald J. Trump for President (press release)]
Earlier: Making SCOTUS Great Again: Trump’s Supreme Court Shortlist
David Lat is the founder and managing editor of Above the Law and the author of Supreme Ambitions: A Novel. You can connect with David on Twitter (@DavidLat), LinkedIn, and Facebook, and you can reach him by email at dlat@abovethelaw.com.
