Care to Guess Trump's Eventual Supreme Court Nominee? (Merry Christmas, Kennedy, Minnesota)

[Dequindre]

Trump said that he will "very soon" announce his choice to replace Justice Antonin Scalia on the Supreme Court, and that he has narrowed this down to three or four choices, so this seems as good of time as any to guess who the eventual nominee will be. Trump released a list of of 21 names earlier in the year, with help from the Federalist society, so guessing may be fun based on the different attributes of each possible nominee. Here is a rundown of the candidates:

1. Keith Blackwell: 42, Georgia Supreme Court

2. Charles Canady: 62, Florida Supreme Court

3. Steven Colloton: 53, U.S. Court of Appeals Eighth Circuit

4. Allison Eid: 51, Colorado Supreme Court

5. Neil Gorsuch: 49, U.S. Court of Appeals Tenth Circuit

6. Raymond Gruender: 53, U.S. Court of Appeals Eighth Circuit

7. Thomas Hardiman: 51, U.S. Court of Appeals Third Circuit

8. Raymond Kethledge: 49, U.S. Court of Appeals Sixth Circuit

9. Joan Larsen: 48, Michigan Supreme Court

10. Mike Lee: 45, U.S. Senator from Utah

11. Thomas Lee: 51, Utah Supreme Court

12. Edward Mansfield: 58, Iowa Supreme Court

13. Federico Moreno: 64, U.S. District Court for South Florida District Court

14. William Pryor: 54, U.S. Court of Appeals Eleventh District

15. Margaret A. Ryan: 52, U.S. Court of Appeals for Armed Forces

16. Amul Thapar: 47, U.S. District Court for Eastern Kentucky District Court

17. Timothy Tymkovich: 60, U.S. Court of Appeals Tenth Circuit

18. David Stras: 42, Minnesota Supreme Court

19. Diane Sykes: 68, U.S. Court of Appeals Seventh Circuit

20. Don Willett: 50, Texas Supreme Court

21. Robert Young: 65, Michigan Supreme Court


Ignoring the race-baiting title of this USA Today article, it provides a bit of information about each candidate: Trump's 21 potential court nominees are overwhelmingly white, male and from red states

Any guesses?

[Dequindre]

Most betting markets are giving Pryor and Sykes the highest chances of being nominated (likely based on earlier articles saying that they were the top two candidates, but sometimes information like that turns out to be wrong), but those two choices have some big drawbacks. Pryor is not well-liked by Democrats at all, and is only on the Court due to a recess appointment. At 58 years old, Sykes is on the upper-end age wise of many on this list. I don't think either will get nominated (at least at first).

My first choice is Justice Don Willett of Texas. He's a very well-liked Conservative judge (he is currently in an elected position). He's also well-known for having a very entertaining Twitter feed. He has a big, bold, fun personality, and I think those are likely qualities that Trump admires (because let's be real here: Trump likely doesn't think long and hard about the merits of Constitutional law, so he'll pick based on superficial qualities). I also noticed that Willett was in New York City the very day that Trump announced that his pick was coming "very soon", so I'm very confident that Willett made at least the last round of nominees.

My second choice is Justice Joan Larsen of Michigan. She's young, clerked for the late Justice Antonin Scalia, would be replaced by a Republican governor, and she's a woman (which would help tramp down the "Trump is a sexist" smear campaign).

My third choice is Thomas Lee (brother of Senator Mike Lee). He's also relatively young, has connections to the Senate, and was recently analyzed to be most like Antonin Scalia by measuring his voting history. Lee is likely as Conservative as Pryor, but without all of the negative badges.

[Dequindre]

Ted Cruz's name has also been thrown around, but because Trump said he would stick to the original list, Cruz probably won't be the nominee this time around. However, I could easily see him being nominated in the future (perhaps to replace Anthony Kennedy if he chooses to retire).

[froglipz]

Judge Judy! Trump and Judy have that TV experience in common, plus she is loaded.

[PedroMartinez]

Hopefully Cruz will replace Ruth.

[DJboutit]

For Trump it would be smart to pick someone his is no older than 48 yr old. they pick could screw America over a long as possible but this idea sucks in reality.

[SuperOscar]

He just picked Ben Carson to run HUD, so at this point, he could select just about anybody.

[evilnewbie]

Originally Posted by DJboutit

For Trump it would be smart to pick someone his is no older than 48 yr old. they pick could screw America over a long as possible but this idea sucks in reality.

You know it... Trump has the right people around to tell him to pick young judges... and females live longer... Merry Christmas..

[Dequindre]

Originally Posted by DJboutit

For Trump it would be smart to pick someone his is no older than 48 yr old. they pick could screw America over a long as possible but this idea sucks in reality.

I'm crossing my fingers that he does! Liberals may not like it, but Conservatives have been let down by other appointments like David Stevens, John Paul Stevens, Harry Blackmun, etc.

[Dequindre]

Originally Posted by PedroMartinez

Hopefully Cruz will replace Ruth.

He probably wouldn't get confirmed for Ruth's position, although he may be a viable replacement for Kennedy.