David Stras
2018 - Present
7
David Stras is a judge on the United States Court of Appeals for the 8th Circuit. He was nominated to the court by President Donald Trump (R) on May 8, 2017, and confirmed by the U.S. Senate on January 30, 2018, by a vote of 56-42.[1] To see a full list of judges appointed by Donald Trump, click here.
The United States Court of Appeals for the 8th Circuit is one of 13 U.S. courts of appeal. They are the intermediate appellate courts of the United States federal courts. To learn more about the 8th Circuit Court, click here.
Stras was included on President Donald Trump’s (R) June 2018 list of 25 potential Supreme Court nominees to replace Justice Anthony Kennedy on the court. Trump first released such a list during his 2016 presidential campaign and stated, “This list is definitive and I will choose only from it in picking future Justices of the United States Supreme Court.”[2][3]
Stras was formerly an associate justice on the Minnesota Supreme Court. He was appointed to that court by Republican Governor Tim Pawlenty in May 2010 and elected to a full six-year term in 2012.[4]
Judicial nominations, appointments, and elections
United States Court of Appeals for the 8th Circuit (2018-present)
- See also: Federal judges nominated by Donald Trump
Stras was nominated to the United States Court of Appeals for the 8th Circuit by President Donald Trump (R) on May 8, 2017. The U.S. Senate confirmed Stras on January 30, 2018, by a vote of 56-42.[5][6] He received commission on January 31, 2018.[7] To read more about the federal nomination process, click here.
 |
| Nominee Information |
| Name: David Stras |
| Court: United States Court of Appeals for the 8th Circuit |
| Progress |
| Confirmed 267 days after nomination. |
 Nominated: May 8, 2017
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| ABA Rating: Unanimously Well Qualified
|
| Questionnaire: Questionnaire |
| Hearing: November 29, 2017
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| QFRs: (Hover over QFRs to read more) |
| Reported: January 18, 2018
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| Confirmed: January 30, 2018
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| Vote: 56-42
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Confirmation vote
The U.S. Senate confirmed Stras on January 30, 2020, on a vote of 56-42.[6] To see a full breakdown of the vote on the official U.S. Senate website, click here.
| David Stras confirmation vote (January 30, 2018) | |||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Party | Yea | Nay | No vote | ||||||
 Democratic |
7 | 40 | 0 | ||||||
 Republican |
49 | 0 | 2 | ||||||
 Independent |
0 | 2 | 0 | ||||||
| Total | 56 | 42 | 2 | ||||||
Senate Judiciary Committee hearing
Stras had his hearing before the Senate Judiciary Committee on January 18, 2018. The committee voted to advance Stras' nomination to the full Senate on January 18, 2018.[6]
Nomination
Stras was nominated to replace Judge Diana Murphy, who assumed senior status on November 29, 2016 and passed away on May 16, 2018.
The American Bar Association unanimously rated Stras well qualified for the position.[8] To read more about ABA ratings, click here.
Opposition to Stras' nomination
On September 5, 2017, in a statement released on his Facebook page, U.S. Senator Al Franken (D-Minn.) announced his intention to withhold his blue slip on Stras' nomination. In his statement, Franken said, "Justice Stras’s professional background and record strongly suggest that, if confirmed, he would embrace the legacy of his role models and reliably rule in favor of powerful corporate interests over working people, and that he would place a high bar before plaintiffs seeking justice at work, at school, and at the ballot box. The president should be seeking out judges who bridge the issues that divide us, but I fear that Justice Stras’s views and philosophy would lead him to reinforce those divisions and steer the already conservative Eighth Circuit even further to the right."[9]
Franken was the first senator in the 115th United States Congress that has publicly withheld a blue slip for a federal appeals court nominee. Should Senate Judiciary Committee Chairman Chuck Grassley (R-Iowa) continue to adhere to the practice of blue slips, President Trump may be forced to submit other names for consideration, though a report in the Star Tribune indicated "several judicial nominees were eventually confirmed in 2004 despite moving ahead without the blessing of their home state senators." If he opted to submit different names, Trump would not be bound to select a nominee from Minnesota, a point Sen. Amy Klobuchar (D-Minn.) acknowledged in her own release regarding the Stras nomination. Klobuchar said, "I am also concerned that this position could simply go to a less independent judge from another 8th Circuit state (Missouri, Arkansas, Iowa, Nebraska, North Dakota or South Dakota) since this is not a permanent Minnesota position."[10][11]
On November 16, 2017, reports indicated that Senator Grassley would schedule confirmation hearings for Stras.[12]
Minnesota Supreme Court (2010-2018)
Stras served as an associate justice on the Minnesota Supreme Court from 2010 to 2018. He was appointed to the court by Republican Governor Tim Pawlenty in May 2010 and elected to a full six-year term in 2012.[4]
2012 election
- See also: Minnesota judicial elections, 2012
Justice Stras defeated Tim Tingelstad in the November 6 general election, winning 55.95 percent of the vote. Another challenger, Alan Nelson, was defeated in the August 2012 primary.[13][14]
Education
Stras received his bachelor's degree in 1995 and his M.B.A. in 1999, both from the University of Kansas. He also received his J.D. in 1999, Order of the Coif, from the University of Kansas School of Law. During his legal studies, he served as editor-in-chief of the Kansas Law Review, Criminal Procedure edition.[15][16]
Professional career
- 2018-present: Judge, United States Court of Appeals for the 8th Circuit
- 2014-present: Adjunct faculty member, University of Iowa College of Law
- 2013: Adjunct professor, Indiana University Maurer School of Law
- 2012: Visiting professor, Vanderbilt University Law School
- 2010-2018: Associate justice, Minnesota Supreme Court
- 2004-2010: Associate professor of law, University of Minnesota Law School
- 2002-2003: Law clerk, Hon. Clarence Thomas, Supreme Court of the United States
- 2001-2002: Associate, Sidley Austin Brown & Wood LLP, Washington, D.C.
- 2000-2001: Law clerk, Hon. Michael Luttig, United States Court of Appeals for the 4th Circuit
- 1999-2000: Law clerk, Hon. Melvin Brunetti, United States Court of Appeals for the 9th Circuit[15][16][7]
Awards and associations
- 2009-2010: Vance K. Opperman research scholar, University of Minnesota Law School
- 2007-2010: Co-director, University of Minnesota Law School Institute for Law and Politics
Possible Donald Trump nominee to the U.S. Supreme Court
2018
Stras was listed by President Donald Trump (R) as a potential Supreme Court nominee to replace Justice Anthony Kennedy. Kennedy announced he would retire from the court effective July 31, 2018.[17] Trump ultimately chose Brett Kavanaugh as the nominee. Click here to learn more.
2017
On November 17, 2017, Stras was included in a third list of individuals from which President Donald Trump would choose to fill vacancies on the U.S. Supreme Court.
A White House statement announcing the nominees stated,[18]
| “ |
One year ago, President Donald J. Trump was elected to restore the rule of law and to Make the Judiciary Great Again. Following the successful confirmation of Justice Neil M. Gorsuch to the Supreme Court of the United States and the nomination of more than seventy Federal judges—including five individuals from his Supreme Court list—President Trump today announced that he is refreshing his Supreme Court list with five additional judges. President Trump will choose a nominee for a future Supreme Court vacancy, should one arise, from this updated list of 25 individuals. The President remains deeply committed to identifying and selecting outstanding jurists in the mold of Justice Gorsuch. These additions, like those on the original list released more than a year ago, were selected with input from respected conservative leaders.[19] |
” |
Noteworthy cases
Court rules that guardians with medical-consent power are authorized to remove life support
Jeffers Tschumy was deemed incapacitated and awarded a guardian. His guardian was given medical consent power, meaning the guardian was authorized to “[g]ive any necessary consent to enable, or to withhold consent for, [Tschumy] to receive necessary medical or other professional care.” Some years later, Tschumy suffered respiratory and cardiac arrest. Hospital staff concluded that Tschumy had suffered irreversible brain damage and could not recover. The hospital believed that Tschumy's life support should be removed. Although the guardian agreed, the hospital filed a motion in state court, asking the court to expressly authorize the guardian to approve the removal of Tschumy's life support. The guardian argued that his power of medical consent already gave him the necessary authority.[20]
Following testimony and the appointment of an attorney for Tschumy, the state district court ordered Tschumy’s life support to be removed. However, the court held that Minnesota law did not permit a guardian to authorize the removal of life support without a court order. Tschumy died shortly thereafter. Tschumy’s guardian appealed the district court’s determination regarding the scope of a guardian’s medical-consent power.
On appeal, the Minnesota Supreme Court reversed. It ruled that “a guardian given the medical-consent power…has the authority to authorize removal of a ward’s life-sustaining treatment, without court approval, when all interested parties agree that removal is in the ward’s best interest.” The court acknowledged that since Tschumy had passed away, the case was technically moot. However, the court concluded that “because this case is functionally justiciable and the issue presented is one of public importance and statewide significance that we should decide now, our precedent provides us with the authority to decide this case.”
Justice Stras dissented. Stras argued that once Tschumy had passed away, there was nothing left for the district court, or any other court, to decide in order to resolve the parties’ dispute. He wrote that “[t]he Minnesota Constitution does not grant us the authority to ‘decide cases merely to make precedents.’” Given Tschumy’s death, he argued, “there is no case or controversy, [and] it is our duty under the Minnesota Constitution to dismiss the appeal.” Stras concluded that the supreme court justices “are not a junior-varsity legislature.”[20]
Justice Anderson dissented separately. Anderson would have ruled that guardians must seek court approval before authorizing the removal of life support.[20]
Political affiliation
Only nine states hold partisan elections for their appellate courts. Other states hold nonpartisan elections or use a combination of appointments and retention elections.
Nonpartisan elections in some states require judges to declare their partisan affiliations; in other states, judges are not required to declare a political affiliation and in fact may be prohibited from doing so.
Ballotpedia collects information about the political and ideological leanings of judges to offer better context for court decisions.
Political contributions
Ballotpedia was unable to find any contributions made by Stras to partisan political candidates. However, the following information was available from the nonpartisan race Stras ran in 2012.
Ballotpedia collects information on campaign donors for each year in which a candidate or incumbent is running for election. See the table below for more information about the campaign donors who supported David Stras.[21] Click [show] for more information.
| David Stras Campaign Contributions | |||||||||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2012 Minnesota Supreme Court | |||||||||||||||||||
| Total raised | $66,663 | ||||||||||||||||||
| Total raised by opponents | $9,053 | ||||||||||||||||||
| Top 5 contributors | Robins Kaplan Miller& Ciresi | $2,500 | |||||||||||||||||
| Dorsey & Whitney | $2,500 | ||||||||||||||||||
| Adam Mortara | $2,000 | ||||||||||||||||||
| Charles F Webber | $2,000 | ||||||||||||||||||
| Leonard B Goldstein | $2,000 | ||||||||||||||||||
| Individuals | $35,547 | ||||||||||||||||||
| Institutions | $9,400 | ||||||||||||||||||
| In-state donations | $54,862 | ||||||||||||||||||
| Out-of-state donations | $11,801 | ||||||||||||||||||
Political ideology
In October 2012, political science professors Adam Bonica and Michael Woodruff of Stanford University attempted to determine the partisan ideology of state supreme court justices. They created a scoring system in which a score above 0 indicated a more conservative-leaning ideology, while scores below 0 were more liberal.
Stras received a campaign finance score of 0.96, indicating a conservative ideological leaning. This was more conservative than the average score of -0.07 that justices received in Minnesota.
The study was based on data from campaign contributions by the judges themselves, the partisan leaning of those who contributed to the judges' campaigns, or, in the absence of elections, the ideology of the appointing body (governor or legislature). This study was not a definitive label of a justice, but an academic summary of various relevant factors.[22]
About the court
| Eighth Circuit |
|---|
| Court of Appeals |
|
| Judgeships |
| Posts: 11 |
| Judges: 11 |
| Vacancies: 0 |
| Judges |
| Chief: Steven Colloton |
| Active judges: William D. Benton, Steven Colloton, Ralph Erickson, L. Steven Grasz, Raymond Gruender, Jane Kelly, Jonathan Kobes, James Loken, Bobby Shepherd, Lavenski Smith, David Stras Senior judges: |
The United States Court of Appeals for the Eighth Circuit is a federal appellate court with appellate jurisdiction. It hears appeals from all of the circuit courts within its jurisdiction and its rulings may be appealed to the Supreme Court of the United States.
The Eighth Circuit has 11 authorized judicial posts. The chief judge of the court is Lavenski Smith, who was appointed by President George W. Bush (R). Four of the judges on the court were appointed by Donald Trump (R).
Appeals are heard in the Thomas Eagleton U.S. Courthouse in St. Louis, Missouri.
Three judges of the Eighth Circuit went on to serve on the Supreme Court of the United States. Willis Van Devanter was appointed to the Supreme Court in 1910 by William Howard Taft, Charles Evans Whittaker was appointed in 1957 by Dwight Eisenhower, and Harry Blackmun was appointed in 1970 by Richard Nixon.
The Eighth Circuit has appellate jurisdiction over cases heard in one of its subsidiary districts. These cases can include civil and criminal matters that fall under federal law. Appeals of rulings by the Eighth Circuit Court of Appeals are petitioned to the Supreme Court of the United States. Justice Neil Gorsuch is the circuit justice for the Eighth Circuit.
The United States Court of Appeals for the 8th Circuit has jurisdiction over the United States district courts in the following federal judicial districts:
To read opinions published by this court, click here.
The federal nomination process
Federal judges are nominated by the president of the United States and confirmed by the Senate. There are multiple steps to the process:
- The president nominates an individual for a judicial seat.
- The nominee fills out a questionnaire and is reviewed by the Senate Judiciary Committee.
- The Senate Judiciary Committee holds a hearing with the nominee, questioning them about things like their judicial philosophy, past rulings or opinions, etc.
- As part of this process, the committee sends a blue slip to senators from the home state in which the judicial nomination was received, allowing them to express their approval or disapproval of the nominee.
- After the hearing, the Senate Judiciary Committee will vote to approve or return the nominee.
- If approved, the nominee is voted on by the full Senate.
- If the Committee votes to return the nominee to the president, the president has the opportunity to re-nominate the individual.
- The Senate holds a vote on the candidate.
- If the Senate confirms the nomination, the nominee receives a commission to serve a lifelong position as a federal judge.
- If the Senate does not confirm the nomination, that nominee does not become a judge.
See also
External links
Footnotes
- ↑ StarTribune, "Senate confirms Justice Stras to federal bench," January 30, 2018
- ↑ CBS News, "Trump says Justice Kennedy's replacement will come from list of 25," June 27, 2018
- ↑ FindLaw, "Trump Revises His Supreme Court Picks," September 26, 2016
- ↑ 4.0 4.1 Star-Tribune, "Pawlenty names Lorie Gildea new chief justice," May 13, 2010
- ↑ congress.gov, "PN376 - David Ryan Stras - The Judiciary," accessed April 28, 2020
- ↑ 6.0 6.1 6.2 congress.gov, "PN1423 - David Ryan Stras - The Judiciary," accessed April 28, 2020
- ↑ 7.0 7.1 Federal Judicial Center, "Stras, David Ryan," accessed April 28, 2020
- ↑ American Bar Association, "Ratings of Article III and Article IV judicial nominees," accessed April 28, 2020
- ↑ Facebook, "U.S. Senator Al Franken," September 5, 2017
- ↑ Cite error: Invalid
<ref>tag; no text was provided for refs namedklobuchar - ↑ Star Tribune, "Franken opposition raises doubts about Stras nomination," September 5, 2017
- ↑ Politico, "Grassley rips up 'blue slip' for a pair of Trump court picks," November 16, 2017
- ↑ Minnesota Secretary of State, "Unofficial General Election Results: Judicial"
- ↑ Minnesota Secretary of State, "Candidates of Judicial Offices"
- ↑ 15.0 15.1 Northlands News Center, "Pawlenty Names Chief Justice & Makes Supreme Court Appointment," May 13, 2010
- ↑ 16.0 16.1 National Review, "Who is Justice David Stras?" May 7, 2017
- ↑ CBS News, "Trump says Justice Kennedy's replacement will come from list of 25," June 27, 2018
- ↑ The White House, "President Donald J. Trump Announces Five Additions to Supreme Court List," November 17, 2017
- ↑ Note: This text is quoted verbatim from the original source. Any inconsistencies are attributable to the original source.
- ↑ 20.0 20.1 20.2 Minnesota Supreme Court, In re Guardianship of: Jeffers J. Tschumy, Ward Opinion, filed September 17, 2014
- ↑ Follow the Money.org, "Home," accessed May 7, 2021
- ↑ Stanford University, "State Supreme Court Ideology and 'New Style' Judicial Campaigns," October 31, 2012
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|---|---|---|---|
| 2017 |
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United States Court of Appeals for the 8th Circuit 2018-Present |
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