The Worst Trump Judge in America is Lawrence VanDyke
The federal judge the ABA called “arrogant”, “lazy” and “lacking in knowledge.”
Welcome to the FedSoc Twelve, a Balls & Strikes series about some of Donald Trump’s most unhinged judicial appointees. These judges, whether in their legal opinions or their off-the-clock conduct, have continued to push Trump’s agenda from the bench, forming something of a life-tenured Originalism Caucus within the federal judiciary. This summer, we’ll be checking in on these men and women now that they’ve gotten a chance to spread their wings under the Biden administration—and as they fight to be first in line for a Supreme promotion the next time Republicans control the White House.
The Resume:
Lawrence VanDyke graduated from a Denver-based bible college that still teaches that “God’s original plan, from the beginning, was one man and one woman for life,” that remarriage after divorce is a sin, and that women must “assum[e] a submissive position” in the church. Worse, he went to Harvard Law School.
Before joining Harvard Law Review in 2003, VanDyke was an editor for the school’s Journal of Law and Public Policy. This particular Journal has a fancy name, but it is a right-wing rag; it sells itself as “the nation’s leading forum for conservative and libertarian legal scholarship” and is a “sister organization” of Harvard’s Federalist Society. VanDyke is, of course, a member of the Federalist Society.
Safely ensconced in the heights of the conservative legal movement, VanDyke never left. His resume is a who’s-who of right-wing government law offices. After clerking for Judge Janice Rogers Brown, a George W. Bush appointee, he joined the Texas Solicitor General’s office before becoming Solicitor General in both Montana and Nevada.
In Nevada, VanDyke had his dream job, signing on to other states’ high-profile lawsuits against the Obama administration and doing very little day-to-day legal work. Before that, he had hoped to do the same in Montana, but Montana’s Attorney General actually expected him to take depositions, respond to discovery requests, and otherwise do the grunt work of litigating the cases he decided to bring. Faced with the prospect of having to actually practice law, VanDyke quit in a huff, ran for the Montana Supreme Court, lost, then fled to Nevada. In 2019, Trump appointed him to work in the DOJ’s Environment and Natural Resources Division before nominating him to the Ninth Circuit later that year.
VanDyke faced an unusual Senate confirmation battle in part because the American Bar Association rated him not qualified to be a judge. The ABA said former colleagues described him as “arrogant, lazy, an ideologue, and lacking in knowledge of the day-to-day practice.” The ABA went on to say that he “lacks humility … does not have an open mind, and does not always have a commitment to being candid or truthful.” But what the Judiciary Committee found even more troubling were concerns his colleagues raised that he may not “be fair to persons who are … part of the LGBTQ community.” When asked about this last remark during his confirmation hearing, VanDyke broke down in tears, replying while crying that “It is a fundamental belief of mine that all people are created in the image of God, and they should all be treated with dignity and respect.” Stay tuned on that!
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