Joan Larsen Explained

Joan Larsen
Office:Judge of the United States Court of Appeals for the Sixth Circuit
Appointer:Donald Trump
Term Start:November 2, 2017
Predecessor:David McKeague
Office1:Associate Justice of the Michigan Supreme Court
Appointer1:Rick Snyder
Term Start1:October 1, 2015
Term End1:November 2, 2017
Predecessor1:Mary Beth Kelly
Successor1:Elizabeth T. Clement
Birth Date:1 December 1968
Birth Place:Waterloo, Iowa, U.S.
Party:Republican
Spouse:Adam Pritchard
Education:University of Northern Iowa (BA)
Northwestern University (JD)

Joan Louise Larsen (born December 1, 1968) is an American attorney serving as a United States circuit judge of the United States Court of Appeals for the Sixth Circuit. She previously was an associate justice of the Michigan Supreme Court from 2015 to 2017.

Early life and education

Larsen was born on December 1, 1968, in Waterloo, Iowa. She earned her Bachelor of Arts from the University of Northern Iowa and received her Juris Doctor from the Northwestern University Pritzker School of Law,[1] where she graduated first in her class in 1993.[2] While at Northwestern, she served as articles editor of the Northwestern University Law Review.

Career

Larsen became a professor at the University of Michigan Law School in 1998. She clerked for Judge David B. Sentelle of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit and for Justice Antonin Scalia of the U.S. Supreme Court during the 1994 term.[3] She served as Deputy Assistant Attorney General in the U.S. Department of Justice Office of Legal Counsel from January 2002 to May 2003 in the administration of President George W. Bush.[4] Larsen did not contribute to the OLC's Torture Memos, and in March 2002 she authored a memo addressing detainee court access.[5]

Michigan Supreme Court

On October 1, 2015, Larsen was appointed to the Michigan Supreme Court by Governor Rick Snyder[1] to replace Justice Mary Beth Kelly, who announced plans to resign and return to private practice, effective October 1, 2015.[6] She was elected on November 8, 2016, to fill the remainder of Kelly's unexpired term, which ran through the end of 2018.[7] Larsen received 58.7% of the vote in a three-way race against Deborah Thomas and Kerry Morgan.[8] She was on Republican presidential nominee Donald Trump's May 2016 list of potential Supreme Court justices.[9] Her service was terminated due to her appointment to the United States Court of Appeals for the Sixth Circuit.

Federal judicial service

On May 8, 2017, President Donald Trump nominated Larsen to serve as a United States Circuit Judge of the United States Court of Appeals for the Sixth Circuit, to the seat soon to be vacated by Judge David McKeague.[10] [11] [12] Larsen's nomination was held up for months by Michigan's Senators, Debbie Stabenow and Gary Peters. The two Democrats initially refused to return their blue slips for Larsen, an informal United States Senate practice that essentially gives Senators veto power over federal judicial nominees from their home state.[13] Larsen met separately with Peters and Stabenow on July 26, 2017.[14] Stabenow and Peters both returned blue slips in August 2017, allowing Larsen's hearing to move forward.[15]

A hearing on Larsen's nomination before the Senate Judiciary Committee was held on September 6, 2017.[16] On October 5, 2017, the Judiciary Committee reported her nomination out of committee by an 11–9 vote.[17] [18] Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell filed a cloture motion to limit debate on Larsen's nomination on October 26, 2017,[19] clearing the path for the Senate to vote on Larsen's nomination in the first week of November 2017.[20] On October 31, 2017, the Senate invoked cloture on Larsen's nomination by a 60–38 vote, with Stabenow and Peters voted to proceed with her nomination and give Larsen a final up-or-down vote.[21] [22] On November 1, 2017, Larsen was confirmed by a 60–38 vote.[23] Both Stabenow and Peters, along with six other Senate Democrats, joined all 52 Senate Republicans to confirm Larsen.[24] She received her commission on November 2, 2017.[25]

Notable cases as a circuit court judge

Electoral history

2016

See also

Further reading

External links

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Notes and References

  1. News: Snyder appoints Joan Larsen to Supreme Court . . Paul . Egan . September 30, 2015 . November 4, 2015 .
  2. Web site: Justice Joan L. Larsen . . November 4, 2015 .
  3. News: Larsen . Joan L. . What I Learned From Justice Scalia . April 13, 2017 . . February 16, 2016 .
  4. News: Snyder picks UM law professor Larsen for Supreme Court . . Gary . Heinlein . September 30, 2015 . November 5, 2015 .
  5. News: Howe . Amy . Potential nominee profile: Joan Larsen . 30 June 2018 . . 9 January 2017 .
  6. Web site: Kelly stepping down from Michigan Supreme Court . Paul . Egan . Detroit Free Press . August 17, 2015 . November 1, 2017 .
  7. Web site: UM law professor Joan Larsen appointed to Michigan Supreme Court . David . Eggert . Crain's Detroit Business . Associated Press . September 30, 2015 . November 5, 2015 .
  8. News: Michigan Supreme Court Partial Term Results: Joan Larsen Wins . 26 April 2018 . . August 1, 2017 .
  9. News: Colvin . Jill . Trump Unveils List of His Top Supreme Court Picks . May 18, 2016 . Associated Press . dead . https://web.archive.org/web/20160519104509/http://hosted.ap.org/dynamic/stories/U/US_GOP_2016_TRUMP_SUPREME_COURT?SITE=AP&SECTION=HOME&TEMPLATE=DEFAULT&CTIME=2016-05-18-14-08-40 . May 19, 2016 .
  10. Web site: President Trump names Justice Joan Larsen to U.S. 6th Circuit. Paul. Egan. Detroit Free Press. May 8, 2017.
  11. President Donald J. Trump Announces Judicial Candidate Nominations . https://web.archive.org/web/20170509012131/https://www.whitehouse.gov/the-press-office/2017/05/08/president-donald-j-trump-announces-judicial-candidate-nominations . dead . May 9, 2017 . May 8, 2017 . .
  12. Web site: Presidential Nomination 371, 115th United States Congress . May 8, 2017 . . June 30, 2018 .
  13. Web site: Trump's Michigan judicial nominee hits a snag. Melissa. Nann Burke. The Detroit News. July 4, 2017. October 6, 2017.
  14. Web site: Stabenow, Peters to meet with judicial nominee Larsen . Melissa . Nann Burke . The Detroit News . July 24, 2017 . October 6, 2017 .
  15. Web site: Stabenow, Peters let Joan Larsen nomination move forward . Todd . Spangler . Detroit Free Press . August 4, 2017 . October 6, 2017 .
  16. https://www.judiciary.senate.gov/meetings/08/08/2017/nominations United States Senate Committee on the Judiciary: Nominations for September 6, 2017
  17. Web site: Results of Executive Business Meeting – October 5, 2017. United States Senate Committee on the Judiciary. April 25, 2023.
  18. Web site: Michigan Justice Joan Larsen inches closer to becoming federal appeals court judge . Todd . Spangler . Detroit Free Press . October 5, 2017 . October 6, 2017 .
  19. Web site: Cloture Motions - 115th Congress . United States Senate . October 26, 2017 .
  20. Web site: McConnell Sets Table for Full Week of Judicial Wars . October 26, 2017 . Roll Call . Niels . Lesniewski .
  21. Web site: On the Cloture Motion (Motion to Invoke Cloture: Joan Louise Larsen to be U.S. Circuit Judge for the Sixth Circuit). United States Senate. October 31, 2017.
  22. Web site: Senate set to vote this week on Larsen nomination. Melissa. Nann Burke. The Detroit News. October 31, 2017.
  23. Web site: U.S. Senate confirms appointment of Joan Larsen to federal appeals court. Paul. Egan. Detroit Free Press. November 1, 2017.
  24. Web site: On the Nomination (Confirmation Joan Louise Larsen, of Michigan, to be U.S. Circuit Judge for the Sixth Circuit). United States Senate. November 1, 2017.
  25. Web site: Judges. United States Court of Appeals for the Sixth Circuit. November 18, 2017.
  26. https://www.opn.ca6.uscourts.gov/opinions.pdf/21a0287p-06.pdf
  27. https://www.supremecourt.gov/opinions/21pdf/21a244_hgci.pdf