Biden’s Judicial Nominees Have Been Consistently Bad

Nominating federal judges is one of Trump’s most powerful powers. The Supreme Court, if Trump were to lose in 2016, would now be made up of six leftists. OSHA mandating was made constitutional. This would have been its most severe consequence. For the foreseeable future, the country would see the Constitution be subject to progressive interpretation. Two^http://nd.It would have made amendment a mere shell. Elections have their consequences, and judgeships can carry long-lasting consequences.

Joe Biden is set to nominate Black women for the Supreme Court. These two inextricable traits are what we know about his decision-making. America won Kamala Harris last time Joe Biden set these characteristics as his most important requirements. I don’t believe that this selection will produce a qualified candidate. There are many smart Black women that could fill this vacancy, and they can do it with distinction. But I am skeptical.

Biden’s choices for the federal bench in his first year in office have been what one would expect.  In reality, Biden doesn’t make the choices for nominations, his puppet masters do, and they have placed a number of unqualified lawyers, first on the list, then with the help of a Democrat-controlled Senate, on the bench. Biden has appointed 42 judges to the bench so far, most of them women and two white men. Around 38 percent of American lawyers are women. Thus, filling 79 percent of vacancies with women seems…unbalanced. Nonetheless, it isn’t gender or color that should concern anyone. During my career as a litigator, I was in front of many judges. I was the best judge, a woman. The worst, an Asian male. It didn’t matter to me if the judge was able to understand the facts and leave behind any prejudices. I just cared that the judge followed the law. Common sense is a nice touch.

Too many of Biden’s selections have lacked those qualities. Nancy Gbana Abudu is a recent candidate. Before her nomination, she was the Southern Poverty Law Center’s counsel. She’s stated that ID laws are racist vestiges of Jim Crow. She believes felons ought to vote, and that the majority of states don’t allow them is an equivalent to slavery.

The Senate is currently considering her nomination. She doesn’t belong anywhere near the federal bench but she will gain enough votes in the Senate soon and have a job for life. Abudu would support no voter harvesting and ID verification in any case involving voting.

Kenly Kiyakato is also a nominee. Her qualifications seem to be excellent. A Bar license, UCLA cum Laude, JD Harvard. She’s been in the profession for 29 years. She’s been a Federal magistrate for eight years. Federal magistrates can manage the day to-day of a federal judge, and oversee motions and discovery. They are something like a “Judge-light,” for “lighter” cases.

She should be removed from the federal bench after I saw her perform during a hearing. Ted Cruz is asking her if racial prejudice is wrong. She couldn’t answer without prompting.

Today I asked Kenly Kiya Kato, President Biden’s nominee to be judge of the Central District of California, if racial discrimination is wrong.

That simple question she was unable answer. pic.twitter.com/Zgxe4MIjJU

— Senator Ted Cruz (@SenTedCruz) February 1, 2022

She literally, could not simply answer: “Yes, Senator, racial discrimination is wrong.”

She hesitated for several seconds and said that our Constitution prohibits discrimination “on the basis of race.” Cruz again asked: Is it “wrong”? Kato then began a dodge by saying that as a judge, she can’t deal with issues of “morality.”

Actually, judges are constantly making moral and ethical decisions. A man convicted of killing someone because he killed his daughter’s rapist will be judged almost certainly on a moral plane different than a murderer who killed a woman over a parking spot.

Cruz asked again if it was “right or wrong” she dodged again by saying:

“Because that is an issue that is frequently litigated before the court pursuant to Canon 3 of the Code of Conduct…” and trailed off.

Canon 3 demands that a judge be impartial. I have not the slightest understanding as to why she thinks she could not answer if discrimination is “wrong” based on Canon 3.

The questioning concluded with Kato meandering about the Constitution like a law student being asked to explain a case she didn’t read and pretending she did.  Cruz bailed her out — finally getting her answer that yes, the Constitution prohibits race discrimination. Law school professors used to be adamant about ending the anguish of law students who couldn’t answer their questions and added tips. That was in law school. This is the Senate’s Judiciary Committee.

If Kato is unable to answer the most basic question of Constitutional principle, she isn’t qualified to fill a life-term judgeship. She will, however, be confirmed by Senate.

Biden will make his announcement for selection to the Supreme Court later this month. Because Biden will nominate a Black woman (being the Supreme Court’s nominee), I am afraid that the questions will be misinterpreted and used to attack Black women rather than to examine their qualifications for the top court.

Nonetheless, I hope that Cruz asks Biden’s SCOTUS pick a question like the one he asked Kato. “Is race discrimination wrong?” and if she answers yes, then the follow-up should be:

“President Biden nominated you solely because you are a Black woman – was that race and gender discrimination? Yes or No.”