Trump's Supreme Justice Preview

Trump’s press release does not commit to choosing from this list. Rather, it states: “The following list of potential Supreme Court justices is representative of the kind of constitutional principles I value and, as President, I plan to use this list as a guide to nominate our next United States Supreme Court Justices.” So Trump has a “plan” to use the list as a “guide.” That’s nice, but it’s not a commitment to choosing from the list.

It’s true that Trump said in March that when he someday announced a Supreme Court list, he would pick only from the list. But he doesn’t say that now.

  WaPo

Okay, enough nit-picking on whether or not he'd choose someone from the list. Let's suppose he became president. Who's on the list? What are we looking at?

It includes moderates, conservatives and libertarians. It includes those more committed to judicial restraint and those more committed to judicial activism. It includes some distinguished judges and some with less of a national reputation. I assume Trump is counting on conservative and libertarian lawyers to look at the list, see at least one person they like, and decide to support Trump and just hope for the best.

I want names.

Among the judges on Trump's list is Joan Larsen, who serves on the Michigan Supreme Court. A former law clerk to Scalia, Larson delivered one of the tributes to the late justice at his memorial service. She served in the Justice Department office that produced the legal justifications for the enhanced interrogation techniques, including waterboarding, that critics have called torture.

[...]

Another pick is Don Willett, a justice on the Texas Supreme Court perhaps best known outside his state for his Twitter account, @justicewillett. Willett has openly mocked Trump to his more than 35,000 followers, including on Aug. 27, when he wrote, "Can't wait till Trump rips off his face Mission Impossible-style & reveals a laughing Ruth Bader Ginsburg."

  AP

The federal judges on Mr. Trump’s short list are Steven Colloton, Raymond Gruender, Thomas Hardiman, Raymond Kethledge, William Pryor and Diane Sykes.

[...]

The five state Supreme Court justices on Mr. Trump’s list are Allison Eid of Colorado, Joan Larsen of Michigan, Thomas Lee of Utah, David Stras of Minnesota and Don Willett of Texas.

[...]

Judge Colloton was on an Eighth U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals panel that last year ruled the Obama administration hadn’t done enough to accommodate religious employers who objected to the Affordable Care Act’s contraception insurance requirement.

[...]

The abortion-rights group Naral Pro-Choice America called the candidates “a woman’s worst nightmare,” because they could threaten Roe v. Wade, the high-court decision that established the right to an abortion.

  WSJ

...but hey, do what you want...you will anyway.