Articles

Supreme Court nominee’s paper trail might color confirmation

Supreme Court nominee Brett Kavanaugh’s opponents are digging through documents at President George W. Bush’s library in Texas and other repositories around the country looking for anything that could help derail his nomination. The trail of documents is extensive, as Kavanaugh spent five years in the Bush White House and 12 years as a federal judge.

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Barnes partner tapped to fill last Indiana vacancy in federal judiciary

Damon R. Leichty, partner in the South Bend office of Barnes & Thornburg LLP, has been nominated to serve as a judge for the United States District Court for the Northern District of Indiana, potentially filling the last empty seat in the federal judiciary in Indiana. If confirmed by the U.S. Senate, Leichty will fill the vacancy created when Judge Robert L. Miller, Jr., took senior status in January 2016.

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Retention website created ahead of Slaughter, Altice November retention vote

Indiana’s state courts have established a website with information about two Indiana appellate judges facing retention on the November ballot. Voters will vote yes or no on retaining Indiana Supreme Court Justice Geoffrey G. Slaughter and Indianapolis Court of Appeals Second District Judge Robert R. Altice, Jr. in the November 2018 general election.

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Kavanaugh to address his past work involving Clinton, Bush

Before his Senate confirmation hearing, President Donald Trump’s pick for the Supreme Court will need to provide information about his past experience investigating President Bill Clinton and working for President George W. Bush. Requests for that information are included in questionnaires sent to Brett Kavanaugh by the Senate Judiciary Committee chairman, who will lead the confirmation hearing.

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Senate Democrats vow to block Trump SCOTUS pick Kavanaugh

Democratic senators from Connecticut and Michigan on Friday announced opposition to President Donald Trump’s Supreme Court nominee, saying Brett Kavanaugh’s judicial record clearly shows that he would limit access to health care and curtail environmental protections.

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Supreme Court enjoys relatively high public confidence

The next Supreme Court justice will join the bench at a time when the public has more confidence in the high court than in Congress or the presidency. A Gallup survey in June found 37 percent of Americans have a great deal or quite a lot of confidence in the court, while another 42 percent have “some” confidence. Only 18 percent have little or no confidence in the court.

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Kavanaugh’s professional life spent in GOP legal circles

Donald Trump’s Supreme Court nominee Judge Brett Kavanaugh is the embodiment of the Republican legal establishment: an Ivy Leaguer who worked for the justice he has been nominated to replace, investigated a Democratic president, served in a Republican White House and now is an influential member of what is often called the second-most powerful court in the country.

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Who are Trump’s top Supreme Court contenders?

President Donald Trump’s Supreme Court nomination is expected on Monday, with three federal judges leading the pack. Here's a look at who they are (plus three more who haven’t been completely counted out just yet):

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Barrett among 4 SCOTUS contenders Trump has interviewed

President Donald Trump has interviewed four prospective Supreme Court justices so far, including Notre Dame law professor and 7th Circuit Court of Appeals Judge Amy Coney Barrett. Trump said Tuesday he expects to interview two to three more contenders as his nominee to replace retiring Justice Anthony Kennedy.

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Justices appoint Lake Superior judge pro tempore

Lake Superior Court Judge Diane Kavadias Schneider will temporarily step down from her seat on the bench after informing the court she would be unable to perform the duties of her office. Serving in her place as judge pro tempore will be attorney Stephen A. Tyler.

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Vote on Indiana federal judicial nominees held over

The nominees for the Northern and Southern Indiana district courts will have to wait at least another week before they receive a vote from the U.S. Senate Committee on the Judiciary. The committee unanimously agreed Thursday to hold over a host of nominees to the federal bench, including Holly Brady and James Patrick Hanlon, nominees for the U.S. District Courts for the Northern and Southern Districts, respectively.

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