Please take a moment to oppose the confirmation of an unqualified political ideologue, Justin R. Walker, to a lifetime seat on the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit. The Senate hearing is this Wednesday, May 6. It is unfortunate that the Trump administration continues to prioritize packing the federal courts even in these difficult times.
Walker currently sits on the U.S. District Court for the Western District of Kentucky. During his confirmation late last year, he was rated “unqualified” by the nonpartisan American Bar Association, which noted that Walker “lacked any significant trial experience.” Prior to his recent nomination to the circuit court, he had issued only five judicial opinions.
Last month, Walker issued an outrageously sectarian decision granting an emergency restraining order to allow large Christian church gatherings in the Louisville, Ky., area for Easter church services — despite the demonstrated risks of such gatherings spreading COVID-19. His 20-page order was rife with inflammatory language, bible quotes and false history, including the claim that the mayor of Louisville “criminalized the communal celebration of Easter” by including churches in social distancing restrictions on large crowds.
It is unconscionable that Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell is calling Congress back into session during this public health crisis not to provide relief for those impacted by COVID-19, but to confirm another hyperpartisan judge to carry out this administration’s anti-religious liberty agenda.
Please use our fast and easy automated system to contact your senators and urge them to vote no on Walker’s confirmation. Feel free to use or adapt the talking points provided. Personalized messages are always most effective.
