VanDyke nominated for 9th Circuit Court seat

[Polybius]

President Donald Trump has proposed a former Montana solicitor general to serve on the U.S. Court of Appeals for the 9th Circuit.

Trump said Friday he would nominate Lawrence VanDyke, 46, who now serves as a deputy assistant attorney general for the environment and natural resources division at the U.S. Department of Justice. Nominees must be confirmed by the U.S. Senate, which now has a Republican majority.

From 2015 to 2019, VanDyke was the Nevada solicitor general, where he served as the state’s top appellate attorney and litigated cases on behalf of the state of Nevada in the U.S. Supreme Court, U.S. Court of Appeals for the 9th Circuit, Nevada Supreme Court and state and federal district courts, Trump said.

Before that, VanDyke served as the solicitor general of Montana. He was a candidate for the Supreme Court of Montana in 2014 but lost to Mike Wheat. He is married and has three children.



https://www.greatfallstribune.com/story/news/2019/09/23/president-nominates-vandyke-9th-circuit-seat

Ugg, 150 federal judges confirmed so far...and he has a free ride in the Senate for at least the next 16 months.

[Iliyah]

1. Republican senate are rushing in RW judges.

[secondwind]

2. Some seats are a "wash", replacing one conservative with another.

[FBaggins]

3. Replacing one conservative with another...

... who is decades younger. This allows the "retiring" judge to take senior status and continue to hear cases (and draw full pay).

With this pick, Trump will have appointed more judges (8) to the 9th than Obama did in eight years (and will equal Clinton's total). Bush was held to five.

The supposedly reliably liberal 9th is only a seat or two away from balance.

[Polybius]

4. Some of this is just luck (bad luck)

So many judges just happened to retire under Trump. He has appointed 150 judges. Wonder if that's a record for a President's first term...

[FBaggins]

5. Some perhaps... but that's the not the whole story

Trump inherited four open seats that Obama was unable to fill.

He has appointed 150 judges. Wonder if that's a record for a President's first term...

At the top two levels, he's certainly on a tear. Obama had 57 in two terms (with only two in his final two years) and Clinton had 68 and Bush 62. Trump hasn't finished his third year yet and has filled 45... and has eight more being filled.

Jimmy Carter was able to fill 59 in his single term... so that's probably the bar (no pun intended). But he had no SCOTUS picks.