Gay Marriage

ABA Ripped Kim Davis Judge And His Law School

The ABA rarely asks the Senate to reject a judge as incompetent, but that's what it did here...

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When Kim Davis got hauled off to jail for failing to do even the modest task which was her charge, many eyes turned to the judge, conservative George W. Bush appointee Judge David L. Bunning. Could this be the next Justice Kennedy — a conservative appointee breaking ranks over marriage equality? Not really. Judge Bunning is no firebrand making a political statement, he’s just a judge enforcing the law regardless of his personal political beliefs.

But, on the occasion of Kim Davis returning to work this morning, it’s worth looking back at how Judge Bunning got here… and how the ABA did everything in its power to stop him.

Nominees to the federal bench undergo a thorough, non-partisan vetting from the ABA, which then presents its findings to the Senate Judiciary Committee. Without going so far as calling the process a rubber stamp, it’s worth noting that the ABA rarely defines a candidate as “not qualified.” Indeed, of George W. Bush’s 63 nominees to the bench before Bunning, the ABA rated them all qualified. But the ABA sure didn’t like Judge Bunning:

Rather, our conclusion that the nominee should be rated “Not Qualified” is based on several, serious concerns relating to his competence. Our Backgrounder states that “professional competence encompasses such qualities as intellectual capacity, judgment, writing and analytical ability, knowledge of the law and breadth of professional experience.”

Harsh. The crux of the ABA’s complaint revolved around Bunning’s age — 35 at the time — and lack of civil experience coming out of the U.S. Attorney’s Office, marking the first time in history someone’s cared that the federal bench is rife with old prosecutors. Though, frankly the ABA wasn’t too psyched about his criminal work either:

Mr. Bunnings civil case experience, however, is very limited and shallow…. While his criminal experience takes him to court regularly and he has concluded eighteen trials to verdict, the cases were not of the type that called for particularly challenging lawyering.

But perhaps the harshest burn was leveled on Judge Bunning’s alma mater:

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The nominee’s lack of academic achievement was another limiting factor. The nominee attended the University of Kentucky for both his undergraduate and law school degrees. Although the University is a fine institution, its law school is not highly ranked. Thus, the nominee’s middle-of-the-class law school record does not speak well for him. It is also not a plus that the nominee did not engage in any professionally oriented extra-curricular law school activities, such as Moot Court or Law Review.

Harsh. Especially when you realize the ABA approved of nominees from the Salmon P. Chase College of Law and Drake who were nominated on the same day. Did UK bust the ABA’s bracket or something? Why the hostility to the Wildcats specifically?

You may be wondering how Judge Bunning made it on the bench over such a harsh appraisal. Well, David L. Bunning is the son of Senator Jim Bunning. It turns out the elder Bunning’s colleagues weren’t interested in branding the son as an incompetent.

But it turns out the ABA might have been wrong. Judge Bunning may not have looked like much back in 2001, but the reputation he’s built in his legal community suggests he’s taken to the pressures of his job and become a fine judge in his own right:

“Over all, I’d say he’s an excellent judge,” said Todd McMurtry, the president of the Northern Kentucky Bar Association. “He has a reputation for working hard and keeping his docket moving, and you don’t see his personal views.”

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Maybe you can’t judge a book by its blatantly nepotistic and shockingly inexperienced cover.

(Check out the whole 10-page ABA statement beseeching the Senate to reject Judge Bunning’s nomination on the next page.)

Judge Who Jailed Kentucky Clerk Is No Stranger to Controversy [New York Times]

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