Biden judicial nominee stumped by basic: ‘I’m not sure’; White House provided previous questions

Biden judicial nominee appears stumped by basic legal terms: ‘I’m not sure’

Biden’s History-Making Native American Judicial Nominee Botches Simple Legal Question Posed by Louisiana Senator John Kennedy

On 11/15/2023, Sen. John Kennedy (R-LA) stumped one of President Joe Biden’s judicial nominees about legal terms during a Senate Judiciary Committee hearing. When Kennedy got his opportunity to question Judge Sara Hill regarding the U.S. legal system, she completely dropped the ball. She was asked to differentiate between a “stay order” and an “injunction.”

An order of stay indicates stoppage, arrest or suspension of judicial proceedings. An injunction is an order of the court compelling a person to do or not to carry out a particular action. Hill had to pause to gather her thoughts before finally defining an injunction. But she has no clue what a stay order is thus leaving her unable to answer Kennedy’s question. “A stay — a stay order would prohibit — sorry — an injunction would restrain the parties from taking action. A stay order — I’m not sure that I actually can give you the—” Hill said.

Judicial Crisis Network President Carrie Severino aptly points out district judges have to handle injunctions and stays all the time. How can Hill hope to carry out her professional duties if she cannot answer a question a first year law student likely already knows? Severino noted that at the end of Kennedy’s probe, committee Chair Sen. Dick Durbin, D-Ill., “even congratulated Hill afterward for ‘passing the Kennedy bar exam’ – talk about grading on a curve!”

Hill had previously made history by being the first Native American woman nominated to serve as a federal judge in Oklahoma. Hill previously served as the attorney general of Cherokee Nation prior to her nomination for the District Court. She also was the Secretary of Natural Resources for the Cherokee Nation. The Biden administration has touted its diverse nominees to the federal bench.

After Kennedy’s questioning concluded, Judiciary Committee Chairman Dick Durbin (D-IL) joked by congratulating Hill on “surviving the John Kennedy six-minute bar exam.” Hill responded to Durbin by saying, “My contracts teacher is going to be appalled, and I’m gonna have to live with that.”

Source

Biden judicial nominee stumped by basic: ‘I’m not sure’; White House provided previous questions

Transcript Highlights

Transcribed from the video audio:

• I’m finding that the bright lights of the moment are Me to recall it
• Okay Miss Hill I congratulate you on surviving the John Kennedy six-minute bar exam my contracts teacher is going to be appalled and I’m gonna have to live with that senator, but thank you chair
• Thank you If you promised to spare miss Hill Did the White House give any of you any written materials to use to prepare They gave our digital materials They gave us You know questions previous questions that had been asked by the and answers I think we had to go find the answers ourselves
• I think we had to go watch the various communities I have a copy of that
• I Don’t have one, but I am sure that It’s just it is literally just a list of questions
• I don’t have a copy I don’t have any of you
• I’m easy to find Would you send me a copy myself I will okay, would you need send me a copy
• Yes, I can compare and make sure they’re all the same Okay, thank you senator
• Can we have a copy of your list of questions to share with sure other members
• It’s like a bar It’s like a bar review course