Thursday, August 01, 2013

Justice Moritz nominated for Tenth Circuit

President Obama has nominated Justice Nancy Moritz to sit on the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Tenth Circuit.  According to an AP article, the nomination has already earned praise from Senator Jerry Moran.  Justice Moritz will fill the seat vacated by Judge Deanell Tacha, who retired in 2011 to become dean of Pepperdine University School of Law.

Justice Moritz has been on the Kansas Supreme Court for the last two and a half years, after serving for seven years on the Kansas Court of Appeals.  Before that, she was the appellate coordinator for the U.S. Attorney's office in Kansas.  In praising the selection, Senator Moran noted that Justice Moritz's professional credentials and her "commitment to the Rule of Law" are "well documented."  Frankly, I could not agree more.

I have appeared in front of Justice Moritz many times when she was on the Court of Appeals and on the Supreme Court.  I also served briefly with her on the Board of Court Reporter Examiners.  In every situation, she was always extremely prepared, active, and keenly aware of the most important issues at hand.  Although her departure will be a loss for the Kansas Supreme Court, she will represent Kansas extremely well on the Tenth Circuit.

Here is a link to the White House press release regarding the nomination.