His mother, Deborah, and father divorced in 1985 after nine years of marriage. Five days later, he gave his first interview pressing for the Kavanaugh confirmation. [21][19] 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.[22]. _____ OPINION _____ SUTTON, Circuit Judge. In summer 2002, while a student at Duke University, Judge Walker interned in Mr. McConnell’s office. Circuit, Law clerks of the Supreme Court of the United States, United States district court judges appointed by Donald Trump, United States court of appeals judges appointed by Donald Trump, Wikipedia articles incorporating text from the Biographical Directory of Federal Judges, Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike License, This page was last edited on 28 January 2021, at 20:32. On June 22, 2018, Judge Walker told Mr. McConnell that he was interested in a judgeship, according to his Senate questionnaire. Judge Justin Walker is the president’s pick for the contentious 11th seat on the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit. After his grandparents divorced, his grandmother, Barbara Metts, married Norton Cohen, president of the Acme Paper Stock Company and a prominent member of Louisville’s Jewish community. Judge Justin Walker embodies the toughness that is needed to serve on the bench and make critical decisions on key cases that affect millions of Americans. He left in 2019 to join Dinsmore & Scholl LLP as a Partner of Counsel. Bush. A profile in his high school alumni magazine said Judge Walker was “putting up political yard signs at age 4 or 5.” In a 1995 letter to the editor in The Courier-Journal in Louisville, a 13-year-old Justin Walker defended the Christian Coalition. "[28][4][29], Walker is married to Anne Walker and has one child. “It’s ironic,” Mr. Denbow added, “He’s probably better suited as a circuit court judge than a trial judge, given his lack of trial experience but his great experience as a clerk and an academic.”. Judge Justin Walker is a nominee for the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit, long seen as a potential springboard to the Supreme Court. He then moved back to Louisville for a job teaching legal writing at the University of Louisville, a McConnell power center. Walker believes the courts should invalidate the Affordable Care Act and take away health care from millions. Who is Justin Walker? His mother had supported a rising Republican star named Mitch McConnell when her son was just 8, Judge Walker recalled: “I’ve got to hand it to you, Mom. Select from premium Justin Walker Judge of the highest quality. Mr. Walker was a … Find the perfect Justin Walker Judge stock photos and editorial news pictures from Getty Images. [5][6] While at Harvard, now-Associate Justice Elena Kagan, then dean of Harvard Law School, recommended him for a clerkship with Justice Anthony Kennedy. Democrats see the appointment differently. [24] On May 6, 2020, a hearing on his nomination was held before the Senate Judiciary Committee. Trump’s latest nominee for the influential court is Judge Justin Walker, who currently serves as a federal trial judge in Kentucky. In June 2018, Walker expressed his interest in a judgeship with Sen. McConnell. U.S. District Judge Justin Walker of the Western District of Kentucky on Saturday issued a scathing opinion, in which he accused Fischer of attempting to criminalize the Christian holiday. Walker was nominated to the seat vacated by Judge Joseph H. McKinley Jr., who took senior status on June 9, 2019. Washington (CNN) Judge Justin Walker, now nominated to a powerful federal court dubbed "the second highest" in the nation, remains bitter that the … The appellate court’s chief judge, Sri Srinivasan, opened the door to an inquiry into whether Mr. McConnell had improperly pressured Judge Griffith to retire so he could replace him with a young conservative in case President Trump loses re-election. [12] The American Bar Association (ABA) rated Walker "not qualified," saying that Walker "has a very substantial gap, namely the absence of any significant trial experience. The loan was at the market interest rate at the time—4.25%—and […] The fifth installment is about Justin Walker, who has been nominated to the D.C. Walker compared the order to "the pages of a dystopian novel", and said that Fischer "criminalized the communal celebration of Easter". John Y. He is a former United States District Judge of the Western District of Kentucky. According to The New York Times, Walker's nomination was handpicked by Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell. [4] In early March 2020, McConnell flew to Kentucky to participate in an investiture ceremony for Walker. director, Judge Walker wrote a paper arguing that “calls for an independent F.B.I. Washington (CNN) The American Bar Association rated Judge Justin Walker, President Donald Trump's nominee for a powerful appeals court, "Well … “I remember on Halloween once or more than once, his costume was a G.O.P. Walker, born in 1982, is set to become one of the youngest federal appeals court judges confirmed under Trump. “My father believed strongly in his children working to make their own way in the world,” Deborah Walker said in emailed comments. In mid-August, Walker ruled in favor of an anti-LGBTQ conservative Christian photographer, Chelsey Nelson, who doesn’t want to photograph same-sex weddings. Confirmed by the Senate on October 24, 2019, and received commission on October 25, 2019. Walker, 37, is a former University of Louisville law professor who graduated from St. Xavier High School. By Elizabeth Williamson and Rebecca R. Ruiz. Circuit Judge for the District of Columbia Circuit) United States Senate, June 21, 2020, "Re: Nomination of Justin Reed Walker to the United States Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit", "American Bar Association: Trump court pick now 'Well Qualified, "Majority Leader McConnell Introduces Kentuckian at Judicial Nomination Hearing", https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Justin_R._Walker&oldid=1003402213, Judges of the United States District Court for the Western District of Kentucky, Judges of the United States Court of Appeals for the D.C. After making millions on land deals, his grandfather became Kentucky transportation secretary in the administration of Gov. In April 2020, Walker blocked Louisville Mayor Greg Fischer from implementing an order preventing drive-in church services on Easter to prevent the spread of the coronavirus. “He’s young, brilliant and conservative,” said Mike Davis, who leads the Article III Project, a judicial advocacy group that has pushed President Trump’s appointments to the federal bench. Judge Walker cited St. Paul again last month in a decision in favor of the On Fire Christian Church, in Louisville, which had sued Mayor Greg Fischer over his urging faith leaders to avoid large gatherings such as the church’s drive-in Easter services amid the coronavirus pandemic. Judge Walker’s views on the ACA are no different. Select from premium Justin Walker Judge of the highest quality. Judge Walker clerked for Justice Kavanaugh when he was a judge on the District of Columbia Circuit Court, and then for Justice Anthony M. Kennedy on the Supreme Court, working for brief periods in between at the law firm Gibson, Dunn & Crutcher. - When Justin Walker was nominated to the district court, more than 100 of Walker’s law students wrote to the Senate Judiciary Committee to say that "Given the concern and compassion he shows for students, his commitment to diversity and equality, his humility, his open-mindedness, and his ability to teach and inspire, we believe Professor Walker will be an excellent federal judge.” He tapped Judge Justin Walker, 37, for the promotion a year after his confirmation to U.S. District Court for the Western District of Kentucky drew criticism of his age and lack of experience. Walker says that he was raised by a "a single working mom" who "made indescribable sacrifices to provide me, the first in my family to graduate from college, with the opportunities she didn’t have herself. Two months later, in September 2018, Judge Walker was interviewed by White House lawyers to replace Justice Kavanaugh on the District of Columbia Circuit, well before he was being considered for the lower court. President Trump nominated Walker to the seat being vacated by Judge Thomas B. Griffith, who will retire on September 1, 2020. [7], Upon graduating from law school, Walker served as a law clerk to then-Judge Brett Kavanaugh of the United States Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit. [8][9][10] 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. Walker, Justin Reed. On June 18, 2020, the Senate confirmed his nomination by a vote of 51–42. Judge Walker’s parents were barely into their 20s when they married in 1976. All indications are that President Donald Trump is ready and raring to replace soon-to-be retiring George W. Bush-appointed Judge Thomas Griffith with the young, inexperienced—and, per the American Bar Association—”not qualified” U.S. District Judge Justin Walker, 37. Senator Mitch McConnell, the majority leader, has spent the last few years focused on placing conservative judges in the courts. The Judge: Justin R. Walker of the U.S. District Court for the Western District of Kentucky. 3:18-cv-00722—Justin Reed Walker, District Judge. No stranger to partisan warfare at 37, Judge Justin Walker will go before the Senate Judiciary Committee, which is considering him for a seat on the Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia. Judge Walker interviewed Mr. McConnell for a treatise on the Republicans’ 1994 takeover of Congress, a paper that Mr. McConnell hailed as equivalent to “a Ph.D. dissertation” at his protégé’s first judicial confirmation hearing last year. Circuit, but first he’s inflicting maximum damage in Western Kentucky’s federal court on his way out. [30], For other people named Justin Walker, see, United States Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit, United States District Court for the Western District of Kentucky, "United States Senate Committee on the Judiciary: Questionnaire for Judicial Nominees: Justin Reed Walker", "Walker confirmed as federal judge for Western District of Kentucky", "Young McConnell Protégé Faces Scrutiny as He Seeks Powerful Judgeship", "Trump's judicial nominee clashes with Democrats over his comments critical of health care law", "President Donald J. Trump Announces Judicial Nominees and United States Attorney Nominee", "Trump nominates former Brett Kavanaugh clerk for federal judge in Kentucky", "30 Under 30: Law and Policy: Justin Walker, Law clerk, U.S. Supreme Court, 29", "Ex-Kavanaugh Clerk Justin Walker Gets Trump Nod for Kentucky Court", "Justin Walker is a litigation lawyer in Dinsmore's Louisville office", "Professor Justin Walker confirmed to federal bench", "Thirteen Nominations and One Withdrawal Sent to the Senate", "Senate confirms Trump judicial pick labeled 'not qualified' by American Bar Association", "Bar association panel finds Trump's Kentucky judicial nominee Justin Walker unqualified", "Nominations | United States Senate Committee on the Judiciary", "Results of Executive Business Meeting – October 17, 2019, Senate Judiciary Committee", "On the Cloture Motion (Motion to Invoke Cloture: Justin Reed Walker to be U.S. District Judge for the Western District of Kentucky)", "On the Nomination (Confirmation: Justin Reed Walker, of Kentucky, to be U.S. District Judge for the Western District of Kentucky )", "The controversy over a Trump judge's oddly partisan "religious liberty" opinion, explained", "Drive-in Easter service is allowed, so what will Sunday look like in KY and IN? Lion’s Den displays a billboard, affixed to a tractor-trailer, on a neighbor’s property that advertises its nearby adult bookstore. Circuit) and then for Justice Anthony Kennedy. Justin Walker, a 37-year-old protege of Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell and Supreme Court Justice Brett Kavanaugh, said he will have an open mind on the Obama-era health care law if it comes before him as a district or appeals court judge. [3] His father is Terry Martin Walker, a real estate appraiser. 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. Republicans promote Judge Walker as a “drain the swamp” Washington outsider, who triumphed over a hardscrabble upbringing in Kentucky to reach the heights of American jurisprudence 11 years out of law school. Walker suggested that Fischer had committed an act of Orwellian proportions. It has been extremely important to me that Kentucky’s senior senator is Mitch McConnell.”, Then he turned to Justice Kavanaugh as he addressed the justice’s liberal opponents: “What can I say that I haven’t already said on Fox News?” said Judge Walker, who gave 119 interviews to the news media and several speeches paid for by the Federalist Society rebutting Kavanaugh critics. “Justin and I had a great, great relationship. Mitch McConnell, Judge Justin Walker and the dangerous death of qualifications Thus far, President Donald Trump has appointed more than 190 judges to the federal bench . Justin Reed Walker (born 1982 ) is a United States Circuit Judge of the United States Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit. In July 2018, with Mr. Trump embroiled in the special counsel investigation stemming from his firing of James B. Comey as the F.B.I. President Trump announced Friday he is nominating 37-year-old Justin Walker, a U.S. district judge in Kentucky, to fill a vacancy on the D.C. [10][1], From 2015 to 2019, Walker served as an associate professor at the University of Louisville School of Law, where he taught legal writing. Walker left the firm on hiatus to clerk for Justice Brett Kavanaugh (when he was on the D.C. Circuit after just a few months as a federal district judge. Barely two months later, Judge Walker will appear Wednesday before the Senate Judiciary Committee as Mr. McConnell’s handpicked nominee to a new seat: the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit, long seen as the second-most powerful court in the land and a potential springboard to the most powerful, the Supreme Court. Justin Walker testifies before the Senate Judiciary Committee during his confirmation hearing to be U.S. district judge for the Western District of Kentucky, on July 31, 2019. Judge Walker’s estranged father, Terry Martin Walker, earned his college degree in 1979, several years before he and Judge Walker’s mother divorced in 1985. [3] In 2004, he worked on the re-election campaign of George W. are misguided and dangerous.”, The F.B.I.’s history of “infringements on liberty,” he wrote, “shows why the F.B.I. Additionally, since our last rating, Judge Walker has served as a federal trial judge." Justin Reed Walker puts on a mask after testifying before a Senate Judiciary Committee hearing on his nomination to be United States Circuit Judge for … Judge Justin Walker testifies during a Senate Judiciary Committee hearing on his nomination to be United States Circuit Judge for the District of Columbia Circuit, May 6, 2020 on Capitol Hill in... Obtenez des photos d'actualité haute résolution de qualité sur Getty Images Ms. Walker disputed that. Justin Reed Walker (born 1982[1]) is a United States Circuit Judge of the United States Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit. On July 31, 2019, a hearing on his nomination was held before the Senate Judiciary Committee. “He’s a good guy.”, McConnell Protégé Takes Center Stage in Fight to Remake Judiciary. Judge Justin Walker departs after testifying before a Senate Judiciary Committee confirmation hearing on his nomination to be a U.S. circuit court judge on Wednesday. Born 1982 in Louisville, KY Federal Judicial Service: Judge, U.S. District Court for the Western District of Kentucky Nominated by Donald J. Trump on June 24, 2019, to a seat vacated by Joseph H. McKinley, Jr. He is a former United States District Judge of the Western District of Kentucky. Circuit. Judge Walker served as ring bearer when his father remarried, and in his younger years, he was close to the three children his father had with his second wife. Although we celebrate today, we cannot take for granted tomorrow — or we will lose our courts and our country to critics who call us terrifying and who describe us as deplorable.”. ", "Courts should not decide issues that are not there", "Judge blocks enforcement of Fairness law against photographer who opposes same-sex weddings", "Trump nominates former Kavanaugh clerk for influential appeals court", "Thirty Nominations and One Withdrawal Sent to the Senate", "Results of Executive Business Meeting – June 4, 2020, Senate Judiciary Committee", On the Nomination (Confirmation: Justin Reed Walker, of Kentucky, to be U.S. He then earned degrees from … “It’s the ultimate wielding of power,” he added, “and that’s what Mitch lives for.”, Judge Walker’s biography has received something of a makeover during his judicial ascent. A graduate of Duke University and Harvard Law School, he clerked for then-Judge Brett Kavanaugh and Justice Anthony Kennedy. He clerked for Justice Anthony Kennedy on the Supreme Court, and for Justice Brett Kavanaugh when Kavanaugh was a judge on the D.C. [11] In July 2018, Walker had a paper published in The George Washington Law Review reflecting on President Trump's dismissal of FBI Director James Comey and arguing, "calls for an independent F.B.I. “I don’t think Mitch cares much about who is appointed to these spots as long as it’s someone he knows and he has confidence will be a conservative,” said Representative John Yarmuth, a Democrat who represents Mr. McConnell’s hometown, Louisville, and who has known Mr. McConnell for decades. [3] Walker later worked as a speechwriter for Secretary of Defense Donald Rumsfeld in the Bush Administration. Circuit. He is a model of the type of young conservative judges whom Trump and Senate Republicans have sought to put on the federal bench. Walker is currently a federal district judge in the Western District of Kentucky. But his maternal grandfather, Frank R. Metts, was a millionaire real estate developer and a Kentucky transportation secretary who was one of the state’s most powerful officials in the early 1980s. a speech that touched nerves after the bitter Kavanaugh. The American Bar Association concurred with that assessment. "[3], Walker grew up in a Democratic household, though his mother had supported Republican Mitch McConnell when Walker was 8 years old. Justin Walker testifies before a Senate Judiciary Committee hearing on his nomination to be a U.S. circuit judge for the District of Columbia Circuit on Capitol Hill in … Judge Justin Walker: A Warrior for Religious Liberty May 6, 2020. Mr. Walker clerked for Justice Kavanaugh and defended him in many interviews. Walker, Justin Reed. “His mom was doing a fantastic job raising him.