Texas Supreme Court Justice Don Willett was confirmed Wednesday afternoon to fill a long-open seat on the U.S. 5th Circuit Court of Appeals, a historically powerful and conservative court that represents Texas, Louisiana and Mississippi.

A confirmation vote on Jim Ho, a former state solicitor general and the other Texas nominee to the 5th Circuit, is expected later this week.

Willett — confirmed 50-47 by the U.S. Senate — was just the latest in a slew of judicial nominations recently passed through the upper chamber. The Republican-dominated Congress has been evaluating and confirming nominees at a comparatively bracing pace after years of partisan delay tactics under the Barack Obama administration.

Willett, who has served on the state's highest civil court since 2005, was first catapulted to the national stage during the 2016 presidential race, when Trump named him a potential U.S. Supreme Court pick. Willett has also drawn a great deal of attention for his 2015 concurrence in Patel v. Texas Department of Licensing and Regulation, an opinion involving state regulation of eyebrow threaders that some criticize as judicial activism. But he might be most famous for his Twitter presence — a subject that dominated his Senate Judiciary Committee hearing last month.

Willett's confirmation came over the objections of several Democratic senators. At a news conference Wednesday morning, U.S. Sen. Jeff Merkley, D-Ore., called Willett an "extreme individual" with a "frightening record."

"Can any woman coming before this individual expect a fair hearing?" Merkley asked. "The answer is probably not."

Before the afternoon vote, U.S. Sen. Ted Cruz, R-Texas, spoke on the Senate floor about Ho and Willett, describing the judges as "close friends" he has known for decades. He implored Democrats to set aside "partisan rancor" and confirm both.

"They are brilliant. They are principled. They are humble men of deep character," Cruz said. "And I am confident not only will they faithfully follow the law on the Court of Appeals, but...I predict that Jim Ho and Don Willett will become judicial superstars."

Willett will assume a seat that was vacated in 2012. All four openings on the 5th Circuit have been classified as "judicial emergencies."

Their confirmation process was relatively speedy — it's been less than three months since President Donald Trump first announced their names. Former Texas Supreme Court Justice Priscilla Owen, for example, was nominated to the 5th Circuit in 2001 but not confirmed until 2005. But in recent months, Congress has been moving relatively quickly to confirm federal appeals court judges, empowered in part by a rules change in the U.S. Senate.

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Even more good news.....

Confirmed with a 53-43 vote Thursday in the U.S. Senate, former Texas Solicitor General James Ho now has a seat on the U.S. 5th Circuit Court of Appeals.

Ho is President Donald Trump's 12th circuit court nominee to be confirmed — a record Republicans tout as highly effective and Democrats criticize as frenzied. Ho's 5th Circuit post has been vacant since 2013; partisan gridlock left it unfilled during President Barack Obama's administration, but a rules change in the U.S. Senate, along with the current Republican majority, has allowed Trump to shepherd his nominees through the upper chamber fairly quickly.

Ho's confirmation comes on the heels of a confirmation vote on Don Willett, a longtime Texas Supreme Court justice who will also serve on the 5th Circuit. Willett was approved 50-47 on Wednesday.

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Excellent.

Love it, when Ho made no apology for being an "originalist" and a member of the Federalist Society.

Shameful that not a single Democrat will agree that he is qualified to sit on the bench. With them, it's all ideology all the time. Even Sotomayor got 9 GOP senators voting to confirm.

quote:

Originally posted by JALLEN:

"They are brilliant. They are principled. They are humble men of deep character," Cruz said. "And I am confident not only will they faithfully follow the law on the Court of Appeals, but...I predict that Jim Ho and Don Willett will become judicial superstars."

Especially about Willett, I agree. Don't know much about Ho, but from what I have read, he is a prime choice also.

This in the Washington Post, no less:

www.washingtonpost.com/amphtml...justice-don-willett/

This is great news for the country. Willet is not only a brilliant jurist who writes easy to understand opinions, he is a great person with a superior sense of humor. I hope he gets appointed to SCOTUS one day.

quote:

Originally posted by Pipe Smoker:
This in the Washington Post, no less:

www.washingtonpost.com/amphtml...justice-don-willett/

Eugene Volokh wrote that piece. He is a brilliant legal writer who clerked for Alex Kozunski on the 9th Circuit and Justice O’Cinner on the Supreme Court, now a profesor at UCLA Law School. He has written several books and quite a few articles we would enjoy.

quote:

Originally posted by JALLEN:

quote:

Originally posted by Pipe Smoker:
This in the Washington Post, no less:

www.washingtonpost.com/amphtml...justice-don-willett/

Eugene Volokh wrote that piece. He is a brilliant legal writer who clerked for Alex Kozunski on the 9th Circuit and Justice O’Cinner on the Supreme Court, now a profesor at UCLA Law School. He has written several books and quite a few articles we would enjoy.

He's a good follow on Twitter as well:
https://twitter.com/VolokhC/with_replies

So is Willet:
https://twitter.com/JusticeWillett/with_replies

What is an "eyebrow threader"?

quote:

Originally posted by Poacher:
What is an "eyebrow threader"?

Someone who does eyebrow threading, in some respects like a beauty treatment, manicure, etc. http://www.cosmopolitan.com/uk...time-brows-threaded/

This comes up because Willett wrote an opinion striking down Texas rules on licensing.

quote:

"The requirement of 750 hours of training to become licensed is not just unreasonable or harsh," the Texas Supreme Court held in Patel v. Texas Department of Licensing and Regulation, it is "so burdensome as to be oppressive."

http://reason.com/blog/2015/07...ertarian-legal-opini

This message has been edited. Last edited by: JALLEN,

Thanks Jallen, and that does not seem like judicial activism to me.

Willett is hilarious and enjoyable to follow on Twitter.

Nice guy with a good sense of humor. Have a photo of him around here somewhere when he was presenting the MUCH better half an award on behalf of Governor Goodhair. Dude needs some fashion sense though. The suit he was wearing made me think he was late for a 70's prom date. But I've always thought after meeting him that he'd be great for the Fed bench.

Willett has been spotted repeatedly in dignified places sporting a bowtie, one that seldom matches his shirt or suit in the conventional sense.

OTOH, he remains undefeated on ugly tie Fridays.

I stumbled across this youtube of a speech at Reagan Ranch Center by Justice, soon to be Judge, Willett. It’s over an hour, but is probably more worthwhile than most anything else you might watch on NFL Sunday.




Link to original video: https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=7Y4X4DgVTik