On Friday, Fourth Circuit Judge James Wynn did an about face on his retirement plans. He joins two district court judges, Max Cogburn and Algenon Marbley, in declaring backsies on his plans after Donald Trump won the 2024 presidential election.
The 70-year-old Wynn, an appointee of Barack Obama, decided against senior status after President Joe Biden’s choice to replace him, North Carolina Solicitor General Ryan Park, was blocked by Republicans. Both Republican senators from North Carolina, Thom Tillis and Ted Budd, opposed Park’s elevation to the judiciary. Tillis, who sits on the judiciary committee, went hard against the Park nomination as reported by News & Observer,
Tillis warned the Judiciary Committee in November that if they approved Park’s nomination there “would be consequences” and he would vote to approve any nominee Trump put forward in the future. Democrats approved Park anyway.
But before Park made it to the Senate floor for a vote, Democrats and Republicans struck a late-night deal to throw out four appellate nominations from Biden if Republicans would stop making the process of approving other judicial nominees difficult for Democrats.
AI Built for Litigation. Verified by Design.
Grounded in authoritative content and verified at every step, Protégé is the only legal AI tool that delivers work you can trust—without exception.
After that move, Tillis issued warning to the retiring judges “not to play partisan politics with the presidential transition and a Senate deal and going back on their word.” But that’s the thing about lifetime appointment, at the end of the day, it’s really the judge’s — and only the judge’s — call.
When Wynn walked back his retirement, Tillis freaked as you might expect.
“Judge Wynn’s brazenly partisan decision to rescind his retirement is an unprecedented move that demonstrates some judges are nothing more than politicians in robes,” Tillis said in a news release Saturday. “Judge Wynn clearly takes issue with the fact that Donald Trump was just elected President, and this decision is a slap in the face to the U.S. Senate, which came to a bipartisan agreement to hold off on confirming his replacement until the next Congress is sworn-in in January.”
No matter the stern language the senator uses, this is pretty much exactly the consequences of Tillis’s own actions and the only response available for Wynn. But Republicans don’t love it when their plans to manipulate the composition of the federal judiciary don’t work out.
Learning After Law School
Once you’ve got your law degree, how do you keep your professional skills up to date? Share your perspective in this brief survey, and you may be eligible to win a $250 gift card.
Kathryn Rubino is a Senior Editor at Above the Law, host of The Jabot podcast, and co-host of Thinking Like A Lawyer. AtL tipsters are the best, so please connect with her. Feel free to email her with any tips, questions, or comments and follow her on Twitter @Kathryn1 or Mastodon @[email protected].