Justin R. Walker

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For other people named Justin Walker, see Justin Walker (disambiguation).

Justin R. Walker
Judge of the United States Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit
Assumed office
September 2, 2020
Appointed byDonald Trump
Preceded byThomas B. Griffith
Judge of the United States District Court for the Western District of Kentucky
In office
October 25, 2019 – September 2, 2020
Appointed byDonald Trump
Preceded byJoseph H. McKinley Jr.
Succeeded byBenjamin Beaton
Personal details
Born
Justin Reed Walker

1982 (age 41–42)
Louisville, Kentucky, U.S.
Political partyRepublican
SpouseAnne
Children1
EducationDuke University (BA)
Harvard University (JD)

Justin Reed Walker (born 1982)[1] is an American lawyer and jurist who serves as a United States circuit judge of the United States Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit. He was previously a United States district judge of the United States District Court for the Western District of Kentucky from 2019 to 2020.

Early life and education

Walker was born and raised in

Jewish community, while his maternal grandfather, Frank R. Metts, was a millionaire real estate broker who the New York Times characterized as a "power broker in Kentucky."[3]

Walker grew up in a

interned for McConnell as a college student.[3]

After high school, Walker studied political science at Duke University, graduating in 2004 with a Bachelor of Arts, summa cum laude, and Phi Beta Kappa membership. From 2005 to 2006, Walker was a speechwriter for U.S. Secretary of Defense Donald Rumsfeld. He then attended Harvard Law School, where he was a notes editor on the Harvard Law Review. He graduated in 2009 with a Juris Doctor, magna cum laude.[5][6]

Legal career

After law school, Walker spent one year in private practice at the law firm Gibson Dunn. From 2010 to 2011, he was a law clerk to then-judge Brett Kavanaugh of the District of Columbia Circuit. He then clerked for justice Anthony Kennedy of the U.S. Supreme Court from 2011 to 2012.[7][8][9]

After his clerkships, Walker returned to Gibson Dunn from 2012 to 2013. During the Brett Kavanaugh confirmation hearings for the Supreme Court, Walker gave 119 interviews to the media defending Kavanaugh, and gave several paid speeches to the Federalist Society.[3] He has been a member of the Federalist Society since 2006.[9][1]

From 2015 to 2019, Walker was a professor at the

F.B.I. are misguided and dangerous... the F.B.I. must not operate as an independent agency. It must be accountable to the President."[3]

Federal judicial service

District court

On June 19, 2019, President Donald Trump announced his intent to nominate Walker to serve as a United States district judge for the United States District Court for the Western District of Kentucky. Walker was nominated to the seat vacated by Judge Joseph H. McKinley Jr., who assumed senior status on June 9, 2019.[11] The American Bar Association (ABA) rated Walker "not qualified,"[12] saying that Walker "has a very substantial gap, namely the absence of any significant trial experience."[13] The ABA stated that "Mr. Walker does not meet the minimum professional competence standard necessary to perform the responsibilities required by the high office of a federal district court judge."[14]

On June 24, 2019, his nomination was sent to the Senate. On July 31, 2019, a hearing on his nomination was held before the Senate Judiciary Committee.[15] On October 17, 2019, his nomination was reported out of committee by a 12–10 vote.[16] On October 24, 2019, the United States Senate invoked cloture on his nomination by a 50–39 vote[17] and later that day his nomination was confirmed by a 50–41 vote.[18] He received his judicial commission on October 25, 2019. His service terminated on September 2, 2020, due to elevation to the court of appeals.[19]

In April 2020, Walker blocked

dystopian novel", and said that Fischer "criminalized the communal celebration of Easter".[4] Vox described Walker's opinion as "oddly partisan", noting that there was no actual ban on drive-in church services,[20] and that Fischer had twice attempted to contact the court to communicate this fact, which would have rendered the case moot.[21] The Volokh Conspiracy described the opinion's rhetoric as "over-the-top"; the decision irrelevantly listed deceased former Klan members affiliated with the Democratic Party.[22][20] In August 2020, Walker ruled that photographer Chelsey Nelson is not bound by the Louisville Fairness Ordinance and cannot be compelled to photograph same-sex weddings, which she opposes due to her Christian faith.[23]

Justin R. Walker U.S. Senate Judiciary Committee hearing - July 31, 2019

D.C. Circuit

On April 3, 2020, President Donald Trump announced his intent to nominate Walker to serve as Circuit Judge on the

protégé.[4] In early March 2020, McConnell flew to Kentucky to participate in an investiture ceremony for Walker.[4] At the time of his nomination, Walker had no trial experience and had less than six months of experience as a judge.[3] On May 5, 2020, the American Bar Association rated Walker as "Well-Qualified" to serve on the Circuit Court. The ABA sent a letter to the Senate Judiciary Committee explaining their rating after deeming Walker "Not Qualified" when he was nominated for his district court judgeship. The letter said "the Standing Committee believes that Judge Walker possesses a keen intellect, and his writing ability is exemplary. Judge Walker also has significant appellate experience, having clerked for both the D.C. Circuit and the Supreme Court of the United States. Additionally, since our last rating, Judge Walker has served as a federal trial judge."[26][4][27] On May 6, 2020, a hearing on his nomination was held before the Senate Judiciary Committee.[28] On June 4, 2020, his nomination was reported out of committee by a 12–10 vote.[29] On June 17, 2020, the Senate invoked cloture on his nomination by a 52–46 vote.[30] On June 18, 2020, his nomination was confirmed by a 51–42 vote.[31] He received his judicial commission on September 2, 2020.[19]

Personal life

Walker is married to Anne Walker and has one child.[32]

Selected scholarly works

  • Walker, Justin R. (2016). "The Execution of the Innocent in Military Tribunals: Problems from the Past and Solutions for the Future". West Virginia Law Review. 119 (1): 1–66.
  • Walker, Justin R. (2018). "FBI Independence as a Threat to Civil Liberties: An Analogy to Civilian Control of the Military" (PDF). The George Washington Law Review. 86 (4): 1011–78.
  • Walker, Justin R. (2020). "The Kavanaugh Court and the Schechter-to-Chevron Spectrum: How the New Supreme Court Will Make the Administrative State More Democratically Accountable". Indiana Law Journal. 95 (3): 923–75.

See also

References

  1. ^ a b "United States Senate Committee on the Judiciary: Questionnaire for Judicial Nominees: Justin Reed Walker" (PDF).
  2. ^ "Walker confirmed as federal judge for Western District of Kentucky". The Lane Report. October 29, 2019. Retrieved November 4, 2019.
  3. ^
    ISSN 0362-4331
    . Retrieved May 5, 2020.
  4. ^ a b c d e Kane, Paul; Kim, Seung Min (May 6, 2020). "Trump's judicial nominee clashes with Democrats over his comments critical of health care law". The Washington Post.
  5. ^ "List of staff, 2008–2009". Harvard Law Review. Retrieved November 2, 2019.
  6. National Archives
    .
  7. ^ "30 Under 30: Law and Policy: Justin Walker, Law clerk, U.S. Supreme Court, 29". Forbes. Retrieved November 2, 2019.
  8. ^ Scarcella, Mike (June 19, 2019). "Ex-Kavanaugh Clerk Justin Walker Gets Trump Nod for Kentucky Court". Law.com. Retrieved November 2, 2019.
  9. ^ a b "Justin Walker is a litigation lawyer in Dinsmore's Louisville office". Dinsmore & Shohl LLP. Archived from the original on June 20, 2019. Retrieved June 20, 2019.
  10. ^ "Professor Justin Walker confirmed to federal bench". Louis D. Brandeis School of Law. Retrieved May 7, 2020.
  11. National Archives
    .
  12. ^ "Senate Confirms Mitch McConnell's 38-Year-Old Protege to Powerful Court Seat". June 18, 2020.
  13. ^ Carney, Jordain (October 24, 2019). "Senate confirms Trump judicial pick labeled 'not qualified' by American Bar Association". The Hill. Retrieved October 25, 2019.
  14. ^ Moxley, Paul (July 30, 2019). "Re: Nomination of Justin R. Walker to the United States District Court for the Western District of Kentucky" (PDF). www.americanbar.org.
  15. ^ "Nominations | United States Senate Committee on the Judiciary". www.judiciary.senate.gov. July 31, 2019.
  16. ^ "Results of Executive Business Meeting – October 17, 2019, Senate Judiciary Committee" (PDF).
  17. ^ "On the Cloture Motion (Motion to Invoke Cloture: Justin Reed Walker to be U.S. District Judge for the Western District of Kentucky)". United States Senate. October 24, 2019. Retrieved November 7, 2019.
  18. ^ "On the Nomination (Confirmation: Justin Reed Walker, of Kentucky, to be U.S. District Judge for the Western District of Kentucky)". United States Senate. October 24, 2019. Retrieved November 7, 2019.
  19. ^ a b Justin R. Walker at the Biographical Directory of Federal Judges, a publication of the Federal Judicial Center.
  20. ^
    Vox.com
    . Retrieved September 18, 2020.
  21. ^ Rust, Kaitlin (April 11, 2020). "Drive-in Easter service is allowed, so what will Sunday look like in KY and IN?". Wave 3 News. Retrieved September 18, 2020.
  22. ^ Blackman, Josh (April 12, 2020). "Courts should not decide issues that are not there". The Volokh Conspiracy. Reason.
  23. ^ Wolfson, Andrew (August 14, 2020). "Judge blocks enforcement of Fairness law against photographer who opposes same-sex weddings". The Courier-Journal. Retrieved August 16, 2020.
  24. ^ Mali, Meghashyam (April 3, 2020). "Trump nominates former Kavanaugh clerk for influential appeals court". The Hill. Retrieved April 3, 2020.
  25. National Archives
    .
  26. ^ "Re: Nomination of Justin Reed Walker to the United States Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit" (PDF). May 5, 2020.
  27. ^ Coleman, Justine (May 6, 2020). "American Bar Association: Trump court pick now 'Well Qualified'". The Hill. Retrieved May 7, 2020.
  28. ^ Record, Walker Responses to Questions for the (May 6, 2020). "Nominations | United States Senate Committee on the Judiciary". www.judiciary.senate.gov.
  29. ^ "Results of Executive Business Meeting – June 4, 2020, Senate Judiciary Committee" (PDF).
  30. ^ On the Cloture Motion (Motion to Invoke Cloture: Justin Reed Walker to be U.S. Circuit Judge for the District of Columbia Circuit) United States Senate, June 17, 2020
  31. ^ On the Nomination (Confirmation: Justin Reed Walker, of Kentucky, to be U.S. Circuit Judge for the District of Columbia Circuit) United States Senate, June 21, 2020
  32. ^ Hitchcock, Paul (July 31, 2019). "Majority Leader McConnell Introduces Kentuckian at Judicial Nomination Hearing". WMKY. Retrieved November 21, 2019.

External links

Legal offices
Preceded by Judge of the United States District Court for the Western District of Kentucky
2019–2020 		Succeeded by
Preceded by Judge of the United States Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit
2020–present 		Incumbent
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