(Updated) Feeder Judge Rankings Forum

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Re: (Updated) Feeder Judge Rankings

Post by Anonymous User » Sat Sep 16, 2017 7:32 pm

Anonymous User wrote:Mods, can you sticky this thread? This is good content.

Does anyone have predictions on what effect a Kennedy retirement would have?
The most obvious and immediate effect would be the end of Kozinski as a big-time feeder judge.

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Re: (Updated) Feeder Judge Rankings

Post by SCOTUS Twerk » Sat Jan 06, 2018 10:41 am

Based on the most recent post from ATL, I've update the original post to include most of the OT 2018 hires and some OT 2019 hires.

https://abovethelaw.com/2018/01/supreme ... ew-hires-2

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Re: (Updated) Feeder Judge Rankings

Post by Anonymous User » Sun Feb 02, 2020 10:19 am

Can OP / anyone else update for the latest hires? https://abovethelaw.com/2020/01/supreme ... term-2019/

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Re: (Updated) Feeder Judge Rankings

Post by Anonymous User » Sat Feb 08, 2020 1:36 pm

Anonymous User wrote:Can OP / anyone else update for the latest hires? https://abovethelaw.com/2020/01/supreme ... term-2019/
[Mods: I've posted anonymously to speculate on which judges will be future feeders.]

Here are the top 10 feeders based on number of clerks sent to SCOTUS in the past 5 terms. This list excludes Kavanaugh and Gorsuch.

Garland: 13 (+2 Bristow Fellows)
Katzmann: 12 (+1 Bristow Fellow)
Sutton: 12
Griffith: 10 (+1 Bristow Fellow)
Srinivasan: 10 (+4 Bristow Fellows)
Pryor: 10
Thapar: 9
Tatel: 8
Wilkinson: 8 (+4 Bristow Fellows)
O’Scannlain: 7

Not much has changed. Srinivasan is currently the only Obama appointee on the list. All indications are that Pillard and Friedland will continue to rise. Expect Katsas to break into the top 10 in the next 1-2 terms.

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Re: (Updated) Feeder Judge Rankings

Post by Anonymous User » Sat Feb 08, 2020 1:51 pm

Anonymous User wrote:
Anonymous User wrote:Can OP / anyone else update for the latest hires? https://abovethelaw.com/2020/01/supreme ... term-2019/
[Mods: I've posted anonymously to speculate on which judges will be future feeders.]

Here are the top 10 feeders based on number of clerks sent to SCOTUS in the past 5 terms. This list excludes Kavanaugh and Gorsuch.

Garland: 13 (+2 Bristow Fellows)
Katzmann: 12 (+1 Bristow Fellow)
Sutton: 12
Griffith: 10 (+1 Bristow Fellow)
Srinivasan: 10 (+4 Bristow Fellows)
Pryor: 10
Thapar: 9
Tatel: 8
Wilkinson: 8 (+4 Bristow Fellows)
O’Scannlain: 7

Not much has changed. Srinivasan is currently the only Obama appointee on the list. All indications are that Pillard and Friedland will continue to rise. Expect Katsas to break into the top 10 in the next 1-2 terms.
Really interesting stuff. Is there any separation among the Millett / Watford / Barron (/ Owens?) group behind Pillard / Friedland? How close is Fletcher (CA9) to the top 10 list above?

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Re: (Updated) Feeder Judge Rankings

Post by Anonymous User » Sat Feb 08, 2020 7:06 pm

Anonymous User wrote:
Anonymous User wrote:
Anonymous User wrote:Can OP / anyone else update for the latest hires? https://abovethelaw.com/2020/01/supreme ... term-2019/
[Mods: I've posted anonymously to speculate on which judges will be future feeders.]

Here are the top 10 feeders based on number of clerks sent to SCOTUS in the past 5 terms. This list excludes Kavanaugh and Gorsuch.

Garland: 13 (+2 Bristow Fellows)
Katzmann: 12 (+1 Bristow Fellow)
Sutton: 12
Griffith: 10 (+1 Bristow Fellow)
Srinivasan: 10 (+4 Bristow Fellows)
Pryor: 10
Thapar: 9
Tatel: 8
Wilkinson: 8 (+4 Bristow Fellows)
O’Scannlain: 7

Not much has changed. Srinivasan is currently the only Obama appointee on the list. All indications are that Pillard and Friedland will continue to rise. Expect Katsas to break into the top 10 in the next 1-2 terms.
Really interesting stuff. Is there any separation among the Millett / Watford / Barron (/ Owens?) group behind Pillard / Friedland? How close is Fletcher (CA9) to the top 10 list above?
Fletcher just missed the top 10. He had 6 SCOTUS clerks and 2 Bristow Fellows. Then came Kethledge with 6 SCOTUS clerks and 1 Bristow Fellow. As for the others: Watford had 4 SCOTUS clerks, Barron had 3, and Millett had 2 plus a Bristow Fellow. Not much separation at least for right now. That may change over the next few terms as these judges find more ways to distinguish themselves on the bench.

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Re: (Updated) Feeder Judge Rankings

Post by Anonymous User » Thu Feb 13, 2020 8:31 pm

Do you have the numbers for Friedland and Owens? Also looks like Friedland is +1 as of today: https://twitter.com/SCOTUSambitions

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Re: (Updated) Feeder Judge Rankings

Post by Anonymous User » Tue Jun 16, 2020 6:18 pm

Anonymous User wrote:
Thu Feb 13, 2020 8:31 pm
Do you have the numbers for Friedland and Owens? Also looks like Friedland is +1 as of today: https://twitter.com/SCOTUSambitions
Friedland has fed 4: Stevens (1), Breyer (1), Kagan (2)

Owens has fed 1: RBG (1).

Watford has fed 7: Roberts (1), RBG (4), Sotomayor (1), Kennedy (1).

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Re: (Updated) Feeder Judge Rankings

Post by Anonymous User » Wed Jun 17, 2020 2:36 pm

How does the Watford 7 align with the Watford 4 above? Were there three relatively new ones?

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Re: (Updated) Feeder Judge Rankings

Post by Anonymous User » Wed Jun 17, 2020 3:46 pm

Anonymous User wrote:
Wed Jun 17, 2020 2:36 pm
How does the Watford 7 align with the Watford 4 above? Were there three relatively new ones?
The Watford 4 is wrong

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Re: (Updated) Feeder Judge Rankings

Post by Anonymous User » Wed Jun 17, 2020 5:32 pm

Thanks! Are the other judges' metrics in that same post correct?

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Re: (Updated) Feeder Judge Rankings

Post by Anonymous User » Sat Jun 20, 2020 6:11 pm

Anonymous User wrote:
Wed Jun 17, 2020 3:46 pm
Anonymous User wrote:
Wed Jun 17, 2020 2:36 pm
How does the Watford 7 align with the Watford 4 above? Were there three relatively new ones?
The Watford 4 is wrong
I am the list OP. No, Watford had 4. The list ends with the 2019 term because not all justices filled for 2020 when I originally compiled the data. At that time Watford had 4: 2x Ginsburg, 1x Breyer, 1x Kennedy (shared with Ginsburg).

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Re: (Updated) Feeder Judge Rankings

Post by Anonymous User » Sat Jul 04, 2020 3:49 pm

Gotcha. What was the Pillard number as of your posting the list / can you confirm the Friedland 4 / Owens 1 the other poster cited?

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Re: (Updated) Feeder Judge Rankings

Post by Anonymous User » Sun Jul 19, 2020 4:07 pm

Now that the new hires are out, anyone want to take a crack at an update? Props to anyone who does the liberal / con sub-divide like OP as well

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Re: (Updated) Feeder Judge Rankings

Post by Anonymous User » Sun Jul 19, 2020 5:47 pm

Thomas just hired a Sykes clerk, per David Lat.

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Re: (Updated) Feeder Judge Rankings

Post by Anonymous User » Tue Feb 23, 2021 11:02 am

Bumping if anyone is down to update

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Re: (Updated) Feeder Judge Rankings

Post by Anonymous User » Tue Feb 23, 2021 2:51 pm

Here's a Top 10 excluding inactive judges such as Kavanaugh and Garland, only counting the filled up terms and not counting Barrett's new clerks.

1-T. Srinivasan / Katzmann [13]
3. W. Pryor [12]
4. Sutton [11]
5. Wilkinson [10]
6. Tatel [8]
7-T. O'Scannlain / Kethledge [7]
9-T. Katsas / Watford [6]
10. Pillard [5]

Katzmann and Tatel are now senior and will not feed the same in the future, and with Garland gone Srinivasan is now king of the liberal feeders. Maybe Pillard or Millett will feed more, or maybe Biden judges will become the new big feeders. As for conservatives, the last administration didn't change things. Pryor, Sutton, and Wilkinson show no signs of slowing down.

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Re: (Updated) Feeder Judge Rankings

Post by Anonymous User » Tue Feb 23, 2021 3:02 pm

Anonymous User wrote:
Tue Feb 23, 2021 2:51 pm
Here's a Top 10 excluding inactive judges such as Kavanaugh and Garland, only counting the filled up terms and not counting Barrett's new clerks.

1-T. Srinivasan / Katzmann [13]
3. W. Pryor [12]
4. Sutton [11]
5. Wilkinson [10]
6. Tatel [8]
7-T. O'Scannlain / Kethledge [7]
9-T. Katsas / Watford [6]
10. Pillard [5]

Katzmann and Tatel are now senior and will not feed the same in the future, and with Garland gone Srinivasan is now king of the liberal feeders. Maybe Pillard or Millett will feed more, or maybe Biden judges will become the new big feeders. As for conservatives, the last administration didn't change things. Pryor, Sutton, and Wilkinson show no signs of slowing down.
Really helpful, thanks. Do you have a quick and dirty of which D. Ct. / SSC judges top the ranks?

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Re: (Updated) Feeder Judge Rankings

Post by Anonymous User » Tue Feb 23, 2021 5:56 pm

Anonymous User wrote:
Tue Feb 23, 2021 3:02 pm
Anonymous User wrote:
Tue Feb 23, 2021 2:51 pm
Here's a Top 10 excluding inactive judges such as Kavanaugh and Garland, only counting the filled up terms and not counting Barrett's new clerks.

1-T. Srinivasan / Katzmann [13]
3. W. Pryor [12]
4. Sutton [11]
5. Wilkinson [10]
6. Tatel [8]
7-T. O'Scannlain / Kethledge [7]
9-T. Katsas / Watford [6]
10. Pillard [5]

Katzmann and Tatel are now senior and will not feed the same in the future, and with Garland gone Srinivasan is now king of the liberal feeders. Maybe Pillard or Millett will feed more, or maybe Biden judges will become the new big feeders. As for conservatives, the last administration didn't change things. Pryor, Sutton, and Wilkinson show no signs of slowing down.
Really helpful, thanks. Do you have a quick and dirty of which D. Ct. / SSC judges top the ranks?
Rakoff, Oetken, Furman, Boasberg are the big ones, plus a decent number who feed more occasionally like Feinerman, Leon, and Nathan

Fwiw I think it's foolish to include RBG's clerks in the rankings. The "Are feeders dead?" thread has some with hers removed and what's immediately apparent is that SCOTUS is really bleak for liberals. My guess is Srinivasan will be somewhat exceptional because he's a more all-purpose feeder like Garland was.

I also slightly disagree that Trump didn't change much, conservative feeding has become pretty dispersed because he nominated so many judges who feed occasionally. So far I haven't seen any signs that any but Katsas will become a huge feeder, but lots that will feed once every year or two, but then again Sutton and Pryor weren't mega-feeders in their early times on the bench.

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Re: (Updated) Feeder Judge Rankings

Post by Anonymous User » Tue Feb 23, 2021 10:55 pm

Anonymous User wrote:
Tue Feb 23, 2021 2:51 pm
Here's a Top 10 excluding inactive judges such as Kavanaugh and Garland, only counting the filled up terms and not counting Barrett's new clerks.

1-T. Srinivasan / Katzmann [13]
3. W. Pryor [12]
4. Sutton [11]
5. Wilkinson [10]
6. Tatel [8]
7-T. O'Scannlain / Kethledge [7]
9-T. Katsas / Watford [6]
10. Pillard [5]

Katzmann and Tatel are now senior and will not feed the same in the future, and with Garland gone Srinivasan is now king of the liberal feeders. Maybe Pillard or Millett will feed more, or maybe Biden judges will become the new big feeders. As for conservatives, the last administration didn't change things. Pryor, Sutton, and Wilkinson show no signs of slowing down.
This might also be the time that Obama's non-CADC judges start to break out. Friedland, Owens. Higginson, Watford, and Barron (probably a few more) have been trying to position themselves a regular feeders for a while, but the liberal side has so thoroughly dominated by Katzman and the CADC trio that it hasn't happened yet. It might be a year or two before Biden's judges start to feed so there will be an opening.

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Re: (Updated) Feeder Judge Rankings

Post by Anonymous User » Tue Feb 23, 2021 11:45 pm

Anonymous User wrote:
Tue Feb 23, 2021 5:56 pm
Anonymous User wrote:
Tue Feb 23, 2021 3:02 pm
Anonymous User wrote:
Tue Feb 23, 2021 2:51 pm
Here's a Top 10 excluding inactive judges such as Kavanaugh and Garland, only counting the filled up terms and not counting Barrett's new clerks.

1-T. Srinivasan / Katzmann [13]
3. W. Pryor [12]
4. Sutton [11]
5. Wilkinson [10]
6. Tatel [8]
7-T. O'Scannlain / Kethledge [7]
9-T. Katsas / Watford [6]
10. Pillard [5]

Katzmann and Tatel are now senior and will not feed the same in the future, and with Garland gone Srinivasan is now king of the liberal feeders. Maybe Pillard or Millett will feed more, or maybe Biden judges will become the new big feeders. As for conservatives, the last administration didn't change things. Pryor, Sutton, and Wilkinson show no signs of slowing down.
Really helpful, thanks. Do you have a quick and dirty of which D. Ct. / SSC judges top the ranks?
Rakoff, Oetken, Furman, Boasberg are the big ones, plus a decent number who feed more occasionally like Feinerman, Leon, and Nathan

Fwiw I think it's foolish to include RBG's clerks in the rankings. The "Are feeders dead?" thread has some with hers removed and what's immediately apparent is that SCOTUS is really bleak for liberals. My guess is Srinivasan will be somewhat exceptional because he's a more all-purpose feeder like Garland was.

I also slightly disagree that Trump didn't change much, conservative feeding has become pretty dispersed because he nominated so many judges who feed occasionally. So far I haven't seen any signs that any but Katsas will become a huge feeder, but lots that will feed once every year or two, but then again Sutton and Pryor weren't mega-feeders in their early times on the bench.
The only SSC judges that might be classified as feeder-y in any way, and both are pretty minor, are Goodwin Liu on California, who is likely to be appointed to the Ninth, and Tom Lee in Utah. If Liu moves to the Ninth he could become a major feeder. Eid from Colorado fed once or twice but is now on the Tenth.

There are some SSC judges who could maybe eventually feed. Florentino-Cuellar, Groban, and Kruger on California all haven't fed as far as I know, but are young and plausibly could. Kruger's almost certainly going to CA9 if not SCOTUS. On the conservative side maybe Muniz on Florida, Papik on Nebraska, Blacklock or Busby on Texas. But very, very few SSC clerks go to SCOTUS and even Willett, who was very prominent in the conservative legal world and on a top SSC, never fed before he was given a federal seat.

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Re: (Updated) Feeder Judge Rankings

Post by Anonymous User » Wed Feb 24, 2021 1:31 am

Anonymous User wrote:
Tue Feb 23, 2021 5:56 pm
Anonymous User wrote:
Tue Feb 23, 2021 3:02 pm
Anonymous User wrote:
Tue Feb 23, 2021 2:51 pm
Here's a Top 10 excluding inactive judges such as Kavanaugh and Garland, only counting the filled up terms and not counting Barrett's new clerks.

1-T. Srinivasan / Katzmann [13]
3. W. Pryor [12]
4. Sutton [11]
5. Wilkinson [10]
6. Tatel [8]
7-T. O'Scannlain / Kethledge [7]
9-T. Katsas / Watford [6]
10. Pillard [5]

Katzmann and Tatel are now senior and will not feed the same in the future, and with Garland gone Srinivasan is now king of the liberal feeders. Maybe Pillard or Millett will feed more, or maybe Biden judges will become the new big feeders. As for conservatives, the last administration didn't change things. Pryor, Sutton, and Wilkinson show no signs of slowing down.
Really helpful, thanks. Do you have a quick and dirty of which D. Ct. / SSC judges top the ranks?
Rakoff, Oetken, Furman, Boasberg are the big ones, plus a decent number who feed more occasionally like Feinerman, Leon, and Nathan

Fwiw I think it's foolish to include RBG's clerks in the rankings. The "Are feeders dead?" thread has some with hers removed and what's immediately apparent is that SCOTUS is really bleak for liberals. My guess is Srinivasan will be somewhat exceptional because he's a more all-purpose feeder like Garland was.

I also slightly disagree that Trump didn't change much, conservative feeding has become pretty dispersed because he nominated so many judges who feed occasionally. So far I haven't seen any signs that any but Katsas will become a huge feeder, but lots that will feed once every year or two, but then again Sutton and Pryor weren't mega-feeders in their early times on the bench.
I agree with the list of district court judges you named, but your take on liberals' chances is too pessimistic. Nowadays Roberts hires mostly liberals, and Kavanaugh and Gorsuch will hire liberals who meet certain specifications. Who knows who Barrett intends to hire. Only Alito and Thomas are known to impose ideological litmus tests, and even still there are exceptions (such as Dana Remus, a former clerk of Alito's and now an employee in Biden's White House). Liberals will still get their SCOTUS clerkships, although some will probably keep tight-lipped about their political leanings in law school.

I would also quibble with your characterization of conservative feeding as "diffuse." While it is indisputably true that Trump minted many new semi-feeder judges, these new judges often fed in tandem with a more established feeder judge like Pryor, Sykes, or O'Scannlain. Except for Katsas, who has now properly established himself.

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Re: (Updated) Feeder Judge Rankings

Post by Anonymous User » Wed Feb 24, 2021 4:11 pm

Anonymous User wrote:
Wed Feb 24, 2021 1:31 am
Anonymous User wrote:
Tue Feb 23, 2021 5:56 pm
Anonymous User wrote:
Tue Feb 23, 2021 3:02 pm
Anonymous User wrote:
Tue Feb 23, 2021 2:51 pm
Here's a Top 10 excluding inactive judges such as Kavanaugh and Garland, only counting the filled up terms and not counting Barrett's new clerks.

1-T. Srinivasan / Katzmann [13]
3. W. Pryor [12]
4. Sutton [11]
5. Wilkinson [10]
6. Tatel [8]
7-T. O'Scannlain / Kethledge [7]
9-T. Katsas / Watford [6]
10. Pillard [5]

Katzmann and Tatel are now senior and will not feed the same in the future, and with Garland gone Srinivasan is now king of the liberal feeders. Maybe Pillard or Millett will feed more, or maybe Biden judges will become the new big feeders. As for conservatives, the last administration didn't change things. Pryor, Sutton, and Wilkinson show no signs of slowing down.
Really helpful, thanks. Do you have a quick and dirty of which D. Ct. / SSC judges top the ranks?
Rakoff, Oetken, Furman, Boasberg are the big ones, plus a decent number who feed more occasionally like Feinerman, Leon, and Nathan

Fwiw I think it's foolish to include RBG's clerks in the rankings. The "Are feeders dead?" thread has some with hers removed and what's immediately apparent is that SCOTUS is really bleak for liberals. My guess is Srinivasan will be somewhat exceptional because he's a more all-purpose feeder like Garland was.

I also slightly disagree that Trump didn't change much, conservative feeding has become pretty dispersed because he nominated so many judges who feed occasionally. So far I haven't seen any signs that any but Katsas will become a huge feeder, but lots that will feed once every year or two, but then again Sutton and Pryor weren't mega-feeders in their early times on the bench.
I agree with the list of district court judges you named, but your take on liberals' chances is too pessimistic. Nowadays Roberts hires mostly liberals, and Kavanaugh and Gorsuch will hire liberals who meet certain specifications. Who knows who Barrett intends to hire. Only Alito and Thomas are known to impose ideological litmus tests, and even still there are exceptions (such as Dana Remus, a former clerk of Alito's and now an employee in Biden's White House). Liberals will still get their SCOTUS clerkships, although some will probably keep tight-lipped about their political leanings in law school.

I would also quibble with your characterization of conservative feeding as "diffuse." While it is indisputably true that Trump minted many new semi-feeder judges, these new judges often fed in tandem with a more established feeder judge like Pryor, Sykes, or O'Scannlain. Except for Katsas, who has now properly established himself.
Kavanaugh and Gorsuch might hire liberal students occasionally, but if you just look at the judges they've hired from so far on the Court, it must be very occasionally. I've heard there are a couple, and Kavanaugh certainly took some on the D.C. Circuit, but I'm not personally aware of any (the Boasberg/Srinivasan he took for 2023 maybe). Roberts does hire more politically indiscriminately than any other justice though. I'm confident Barrett will hire very far right, her hiring on the Seventh Circuit was probably closest to Thomas (and I do know some Barrett clerks), the only real question is if she takes counterclerks once in a while.

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Re: (Updated) Feeder Judge Rankings

Post by Anonymous User » Fri Feb 26, 2021 3:24 pm

Anonymous User wrote:
Wed Feb 24, 2021 4:11 pm
Anonymous User wrote:
Wed Feb 24, 2021 1:31 am
Anonymous User wrote:
Tue Feb 23, 2021 5:56 pm
Anonymous User wrote:
Tue Feb 23, 2021 3:02 pm
Anonymous User wrote:
Tue Feb 23, 2021 2:51 pm
Here's a Top 10 excluding inactive judges such as Kavanaugh and Garland, only counting the filled up terms and not counting Barrett's new clerks.

1-T. Srinivasan / Katzmann [13]
3. W. Pryor [12]
4. Sutton [11]
5. Wilkinson [10]
6. Tatel [8]
7-T. O'Scannlain / Kethledge [7]
9-T. Katsas / Watford [6]
10. Pillard [5]

Katzmann and Tatel are now senior and will not feed the same in the future, and with Garland gone Srinivasan is now king of the liberal feeders. Maybe Pillard or Millett will feed more, or maybe Biden judges will become the new big feeders. As for conservatives, the last administration didn't change things. Pryor, Sutton, and Wilkinson show no signs of slowing down.
Really helpful, thanks. Do you have a quick and dirty of which D. Ct. / SSC judges top the ranks?
Rakoff, Oetken, Furman, Boasberg are the big ones, plus a decent number who feed more occasionally like Feinerman, Leon, and Nathan

Fwiw I think it's foolish to include RBG's clerks in the rankings. The "Are feeders dead?" thread has some with hers removed and what's immediately apparent is that SCOTUS is really bleak for liberals. My guess is Srinivasan will be somewhat exceptional because he's a more all-purpose feeder like Garland was.

I also slightly disagree that Trump didn't change much, conservative feeding has become pretty dispersed because he nominated so many judges who feed occasionally. So far I haven't seen any signs that any but Katsas will become a huge feeder, but lots that will feed once every year or two, but then again Sutton and Pryor weren't mega-feeders in their early times on the bench.
I agree with the list of district court judges you named, but your take on liberals' chances is too pessimistic. Nowadays Roberts hires mostly liberals, and Kavanaugh and Gorsuch will hire liberals who meet certain specifications. Who knows who Barrett intends to hire. Only Alito and Thomas are known to impose ideological litmus tests, and even still there are exceptions (such as Dana Remus, a former clerk of Alito's and now an employee in Biden's White House). Liberals will still get their SCOTUS clerkships, although some will probably keep tight-lipped about their political leanings in law school.

I would also quibble with your characterization of conservative feeding as "diffuse." While it is indisputably true that Trump minted many new semi-feeder judges, these new judges often fed in tandem with a more established feeder judge like Pryor, Sykes, or O'Scannlain. Except for Katsas, who has now properly established himself.
Kavanaugh and Gorsuch might hire liberal students occasionally, but if you just look at the judges they've hired from so far on the Court, it must be very occasionally. I've heard there are a couple, and Kavanaugh certainly took some on the D.C. Circuit, but I'm not personally aware of any (the Boasberg/Srinivasan he took for 2023 maybe). Roberts does hire more politically indiscriminately than any other justice though. I'm confident Barrett will hire very far right, her hiring on the Seventh Circuit was probably closest to Thomas (and I do know some Barrett clerks), the only real question is if she takes counterclerks once in a while.
Gorsuch doesn't hire liberals. He hasn't hired a single one as far as I can tell. The first step in his interview process is a screening interview with former clerks to ensure that the candidate shares a similar judicial philosophy. That's very much like the CT process.

BK hires liberals though. One of his clerks from his first term was a liberal. His couple of his clerks last term were relatively moderate. And he has a Srinivasan/Boasberg clerk for either 2022 or 2023, though I think the clerk in question was supposed to clerk for him on the DC Circuit.

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Re: (Updated) Feeder Judge Rankings

Post by Anonymous User » Fri Feb 26, 2021 6:37 pm

Anonymous User wrote:
Fri Feb 26, 2021 3:24 pm
Anonymous User wrote:
Wed Feb 24, 2021 4:11 pm
Anonymous User wrote:
Wed Feb 24, 2021 1:31 am
Anonymous User wrote:
Tue Feb 23, 2021 5:56 pm
Anonymous User wrote:
Tue Feb 23, 2021 3:02 pm
Anonymous User wrote:
Tue Feb 23, 2021 2:51 pm
Here's a Top 10 excluding inactive judges such as Kavanaugh and Garland, only counting the filled up terms and not counting Barrett's new clerks.

1-T. Srinivasan / Katzmann [13]
3. W. Pryor [12]
4. Sutton [11]
5. Wilkinson [10]
6. Tatel [8]
7-T. O'Scannlain / Kethledge [7]
9-T. Katsas / Watford [6]
10. Pillard [5]

Katzmann and Tatel are now senior and will not feed the same in the future, and with Garland gone Srinivasan is now king of the liberal feeders. Maybe Pillard or Millett will feed more, or maybe Biden judges will become the new big feeders. As for conservatives, the last administration didn't change things. Pryor, Sutton, and Wilkinson show no signs of slowing down.
Really helpful, thanks. Do you have a quick and dirty of which D. Ct. / SSC judges top the ranks?
Rakoff, Oetken, Furman, Boasberg are the big ones, plus a decent number who feed more occasionally like Feinerman, Leon, and Nathan

Fwiw I think it's foolish to include RBG's clerks in the rankings. The "Are feeders dead?" thread has some with hers removed and what's immediately apparent is that SCOTUS is really bleak for liberals. My guess is Srinivasan will be somewhat exceptional because he's a more all-purpose feeder like Garland was.

I also slightly disagree that Trump didn't change much, conservative feeding has become pretty dispersed because he nominated so many judges who feed occasionally. So far I haven't seen any signs that any but Katsas will become a huge feeder, but lots that will feed once every year or two, but then again Sutton and Pryor weren't mega-feeders in their early times on the bench.
I agree with the list of district court judges you named, but your take on liberals' chances is too pessimistic. Nowadays Roberts hires mostly liberals, and Kavanaugh and Gorsuch will hire liberals who meet certain specifications. Who knows who Barrett intends to hire. Only Alito and Thomas are known to impose ideological litmus tests, and even still there are exceptions (such as Dana Remus, a former clerk of Alito's and now an employee in Biden's White House). Liberals will still get their SCOTUS clerkships, although some will probably keep tight-lipped about their political leanings in law school.

I would also quibble with your characterization of conservative feeding as "diffuse." While it is indisputably true that Trump minted many new semi-feeder judges, these new judges often fed in tandem with a more established feeder judge like Pryor, Sykes, or O'Scannlain. Except for Katsas, who has now properly established himself.
Kavanaugh and Gorsuch might hire liberal students occasionally, but if you just look at the judges they've hired from so far on the Court, it must be very occasionally. I've heard there are a couple, and Kavanaugh certainly took some on the D.C. Circuit, but I'm not personally aware of any (the Boasberg/Srinivasan he took for 2023 maybe). Roberts does hire more politically indiscriminately than any other justice though. I'm confident Barrett will hire very far right, her hiring on the Seventh Circuit was probably closest to Thomas (and I do know some Barrett clerks), the only real question is if she takes counterclerks once in a while.
Gorsuch doesn't hire liberals. He hasn't hired a single one as far as I can tell. The first step in his interview process is a screening interview with former clerks to ensure that the candidate shares a similar judicial philosophy. That's very much like the CT process.

BK hires liberals though. One of his clerks from his first term was a liberal. His couple of his clerks last term were relatively moderate. And he has a Srinivasan/Boasberg clerk for either 2022 or 2023, though I think the clerk in question was supposed to clerk for him on the DC Circuit.
A SCOTUS clerk who's hired would know better than me, but my impression is that there may just not be enough sterling-credentialed, ideologically-consistent Fed Soc students in the country to fill up 24 spots each year, which might be part of why BK and JR are willing to hire more liberals. There were some pretty mediocre Fed Soc students who got some very not mediocre Fed Soc clerkships in my class and there's an upcoming conservative SCOTUS clerk who has unwisely left up their UG/LS GPAs on LinkedIn and would not be competitive for an average 2/9/DC liberal chambers. (Undoubtedly they're probably brilliant, had incredible recs or story, etc., but still.)

Seriously? What are you waiting for?

Now there's a charge.
Just kidding ... it's still FREE!


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