Judicial Confirmation Expert Carrie Severino to Speak at National Policy Conference

We are pleased to have Carrie Severino speak on one of our breakout panels on "Restoring the Rule of Law to the Judiciary" at RNLA’s National Policy Conference.  Carrie is one of the leading experts on the judicial confirmation process and the qualifications of federal judicial nominees.  Carrie has been in this role for years through both Republican and Democrat control of the White House and Senate.  A few of her recent views.

On Chairman Grassley’s leadership on the “blue slip” process.  

Senator Grassley's policy is completely consistent with the 100-year history of the blue slip. This CRS report gives lots of historical detail: https://t.co/OV5EmXIED0

— Carrie Severino (@JCNSeverino) February 16, 2018

Severino is a former clerk to Justice Clarence Thomas.  Unfortunately, part of her job is defending Justice Thomas from the periodic groundless attacks such as a cover story in New Yorker Magazine a few months ago.   

A boring rerun of discredited allegations from the 1990s, resurrected by a discredited journalist who was fired for lying and mistreating her own employees. https://t.co/msol7WsiK0

— Carrie Severino (@JCNSeverino) February 19, 2018

But Severino's expertise is not just limited to countering groundless Democrats' attacks or obstruction, she also provides insightful commentary on nominees.  A recent sample after President Trump nominated Britt Grant, a justice on the Georgia Supreme Court, and Patrick Wyrick, an associate justice on the Oklahoma Supreme Court.

Severino said the country would benefit from having more state justices serve on the federal bench. State supreme court justices often have the privilege of settling judicial matters whereas federal judges know that the buck does not stop on sensitive or controversial cases until the federal Supreme Court.

The process of nominating and confirming judicial nominees is needlessly complicated by often imagined or misinterpreted Senate procedures such as the blue slip.  Severino does a masterful job of cutting through the chatter and instead focusing on the abilities of the nominees.