Trump's Latest Circuit Nominee Graduated Law School In 2007
Is it fair to care about this judge's lack of experience? Yeah. It is.
Allison Jones Rushing has a sterling academic record, high-profile clerkship experience, and doubtless a solid vote for protecting the rights of fetuses as, based on her résumé, she still is one. Rushing graduated from Wake Forest in 2004 and Duke Law School in 2007. After three clerkships — with then-Judge Gorsuch, Judge Sentelle, and Justice Thomas — she joined the ranks of Williams & Connolly where she’s practiced actual law for a mere seven years.
Doesn’t anyone think we’re, forgive me, “rushing” this? She could go to her 10-year Gorsuch clerkship anniversary already a federal appellate judge herself. Before this administration is over, a 3L serving as FedSoc Treasurer at Ole Miss could get a district court nod and not a single goddamned one of you will be shocked.
Obviously, Rushing’s clerkships speak to her academic acumen and her work at as a rising star at Williams & Connolly are nothing to sneeze at. Certainly a far cry from the last mid-thirties nominee the administration tried to stuff into an adult-sized robe in the form of ghost hunter and KKK enthusiast Brett Talley. But the operative word in the phrase “rising star” is “rising.” Rushing was building a résumé that could very well earn her a place on the bench after another 10 or 20 years of practice. But the grifters holding the White House despite losing the popular vote by millions know they’re likely not getting another crack at this for a decade and are ready to throw anyone into these seats who’ll still be on the bench in 2056 when Tomi Lahren’s as-yet-unborn son is ready to serve as Barron Trump’s running mate.
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Is it unfair that an accomplished young lawyer is going to be stuck with this belittling image as a baby judge? No. It is, however, unfortunate and that’s on the administration for putting her in this position even after they saw what happened to Talley’s nomination, which, people may forget, was already going to hell on the youth issue before we learned about his bizarre habits.
The irony is, despite her dearth of practical experience, Rushing is potentially one of the better selections in Trump’s cavalcade of mostly laughable judicial nominations. Beyond the aforementioned Talley, we’ve had Jeff “Satan Boy” Mateer, Matthew “the dog ate my homework” Petersen, and Ryan “what I meant when I said minorities were whiny ethnics was…” Bounds. At least she’s not in any danger of getting an ABA “not-qualified” tag like now confirmed Judge L. Steven Grasz and her appellate practice is certainly a better résumé line item than “anti-gay blogger” like confirmed Judge John Bush. When your expectations are so low, the little things matter.
It seems as though Trump’s circuit court nominations largely fall into three categories: comically inexperienced, so embarrassingly ideological that even conservatives blush, or both. Rushing seems to fit the first category. Whether or not she fits into the third remains to be seen, but with the joint Federalist Society and Heritage Foundation vetting process, it’s hard to imagine they picked the next David Souter.
Williams & Connolly Partner Among Trump’s Latest Circuit Court Picks [National Law Journal]
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Earlier: Brett Talley Being Withdrawn: Good Night Sweet Prince, And Flights Of Ghosts Sing Thee To Thy Rest!
Grassley Telling Trump He Really Doesn’t Want To Have To Vote On An Unqualified Ghost Hunter
Trump Judicial Nominee Is A Ghost Hunter, Proving The Bar Can Always Go A Little Lower
Judicial Nominee Brett Talley Loves Ghosts So Much He Apparently Thinks The KKK Were Kind Of Cool
John Kennedy Draws The Line At Ghost Hunting
Another Day, Another Comically Unfit Judicial Nominee
If Your Problem With A Judicial Nominee Is A Lack Of Trial Experience, You’re Missing The Point
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Joe Patrice is a senior editor at Above the Law and co-host of Thinking Like A Lawyer. Feel free to email any tips, questions, or comments. Follow him on Twitter if you’re interested in law, politics, and a healthy dose of college sports news.
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