Jonathan Kobes

Jonathan Allen Kobes is a judge on the United States Court of Appeals for the 8th Circuit. He was nominated to the court by President Donald Trump (R) on June 11, 2018, and confirmed by the U.S. Senate on December 11, 2018, by a vote of 50-50.^[1] His nomination was reported out of committee by an 11-10 vote October 11.Cite error: Closing </ref> missing for <ref> tag To see a full list of judges appointed by Donald Trump, click here.

The United States Court of Appeals for the 8th Circuit is one of 13 U.S. courts of appeal. They are the intermediate appellate courts of the United States federal courts. To learn more about the 8th Circuit Court, click here.

At the time of his nomination Kobes was the general counsel to U.S. Senator Mike Rounds (R-S.D.).^[2]

Judicial nominations and appointments

United States Court of Appeals for the 8th Circuit

See also: Federal judges nominated by Donald Trump

Kobes was nominated to the United States Court of Appeals for the 8th Circuit by President Donald Trump (R) on June 11, 2018. The U.S. Senate confirmed Kobes on December 11, 2018, by a vote of 50-50.^[1] He received commission on December 12, 2018.^[3] To read more about the federal nomination process, click here.

Nomination Tracker
Nominee Information
Name: Jonathan Kobes
Court: United States Court of Appeals for the 8th Circuit
Progress
Confirmed 187 days after nomination.
Nominated: June 7, 2018
ABA Rating: Substantial majority not qualified/Minority qualified
Questionnaire: Questionnaire
Hearing: August 22, 2018
QFRs: (Hover over QFRs to read more)
Reported: October 11, 2018
Confirmed: December 11, 2018
Vote: 51-50

Confirmation vote

The U.S. Senate confirmed Kobes on December, on a vote of 50-50.^[1] To see a full breakdown of the vote on the official U.S. Senate website, click here.

Jonathan Kobes confirmation vote (December 11, 2018)
Party	Yea	Nay	No vote
Democratic	0	47	0
Republican	50	1	0
Independent	0	2	0
Total	50	50	0

Vice President Mike Pence (R) cast a tie-breaking vote after senators voted 50-50 on the nomination. This was the 12th tie-breaking vote cast by Mike Pence. The tied vote occurred after Sen. Jeff Flake (R-Ariz.) joined Senate Democrats to oppose the nomination. Flake said on November 14 that he would oppose any judicial nominations until the Senate voted on legislation to limit authority to fire special counsels to senior Justice Department officials.^[4][5]

Senate Judiciary Committee hearing

Kobes had his hearing before the Senate Judiciary Committee on August 22, 2018. The committee voted to advance Kobes' nomination to the full Senate on October 11, 2018.^[1]

ABA rating

The American Bar Association (ABA) rated Kobes substantial majority not qualified/minority qualified for the position.^[6] The ABA released a letter to Senate Judiciary Committee Chairman Sen. Chuck Grassley (R-Iowa) and ranking member Sen. Dianne Feinstein (D-Calif.) with a brief explanation of the rating. Click here to read the letter.

In the letter, ABA Federal Judiciary Chairman Paul Moxley wrote, "The Committee believes that Mr. Kobes has neither the requisite experience nor evidence of his ability to fulfill the scholarly writing required of a United States Circuit Court Judge."^[7]

Grassley said the ABA was politicizing the nomination.^[4] Natalie Krings, a spokeswoman for Kobes' previous employer, U.S. Sen. Mike Rounds (R-S.D.), said of the rating, "The ABA's use of limited criteria when assessing nominees is well known. Jon's qualifications to be a circuit judge speak for themselves."^[8]

During his hearing before the Senate Judiciary Committee, Kobes said of his record:^[9]

Nomination

Kobes was nominated to replace Judge Roger Wollman, who assumed senior status on December 11, 2018.

Education

Kobes earned his bachelor's degree from Dordt College in 1996 and his J.D. from Harvard Law School in 2000. During a period of his legal studies, Kobes served as an editor and as the business manager of the Harvard Journal of Law & Public Policy.^[2][11]

Professional career

• 2018-present: Judge, Eighth Circuit Court of Appeals
• 2014-2018: Office of U.S. Sen. Mike Rounds (R-S.D.)
  • 2016-2018: General counsel
  • 2014-2018: Ethics certification officer
  • 2015-2016: Deputy chief of staff and counsel
  • 2014-2016: Political fund designee
  • 2014-2015: Deputy director, transition
• 2013-2014: Director of corporate compliance, Raven Industries, Inc.
• 2012-2013: Senior regulatory counsel, DuPont Pioneer
• 2008-2012: Counsel, advisor, and senior counsel, POET, LLC
• 2005-2008: Litigation associate, Murphy, Goldammer & Prendergast, LLP, in Sioux Falls, South Dakota
• 2003-2005: Assistant United States attorney, District of South Dakota
• 2002-2003: Honors attorney, Central Intelligence Agency litigation division
• 2000-2001: Law clerk to Judge Roger Wollman of the United States Court of Appeals for the 8th Circuit^[2][3]

About the court

Eighth Circuit
Court of Appeals
Judgeships
Posts: 11
Judges: 11
Vacancies: 0
Judges
Chief: Steven Colloton
Active judges: William D. Benton, Steven Colloton, Ralph Erickson, L. Steven Grasz, Raymond Gruender, Jane Kelly, Jonathan Kobes, James Loken, Bobby Shepherd, Lavenski Smith, David Stras Senior judges: Morris Arnold, Clarence Arlen Beam, Pasco Bowman, David Hansen, Michael Melloy, Roger Wollman

The United States Court of Appeals for the Eighth Circuit is a federal appellate court with appellate jurisdiction. It hears appeals from all of the circuit courts within its jurisdiction and its rulings may be appealed to the Supreme Court of the United States.

The Eighth Circuit has 11 authorized judicial posts. The chief judge of the court is Lavenski Smith, who was appointed by President George W. Bush (R). Four of the judges on the court were appointed by Donald Trump (R).

Appeals are heard in the Thomas Eagleton U.S. Courthouse in St. Louis, Missouri.

Three judges of the Eighth Circuit went on to serve on the Supreme Court of the United States. Willis Van Devanter was appointed to the Supreme Court in 1910 by William Howard Taft, Charles Evans Whittaker was appointed in 1957 by Dwight Eisenhower, and Harry Blackmun was appointed in 1970 by Richard Nixon.

The Eighth Circuit has appellate jurisdiction over cases heard in one of its subsidiary districts. These cases can include civil and criminal matters that fall under federal law. Appeals of rulings by the Eighth Circuit Court of Appeals are petitioned to the Supreme Court of the United States. Justice Neil Gorsuch is the circuit justice for the Eighth Circuit.

The United States Court of Appeals for the 8th Circuit has jurisdiction over the United States district courts in the following federal judicial districts:

To read opinions published by this court, click here.

The federal nomination process

Federal judges are nominated by the president of the United States and confirmed by the Senate. There are multiple steps to the process:

• The president nominates an individual for a judicial seat.
• The nominee fills out a questionnaire and is reviewed by the Senate Judiciary Committee.
• The Senate Judiciary Committee holds a hearing with the nominee, questioning them about things like their judicial philosophy, past rulings or opinions, etc.

• As part of this process, the committee sends a blue slip to senators from the home state in which the judicial nomination was received, allowing them to express their approval or disapproval of the nominee.

• After the hearing, the Senate Judiciary Committee will vote to approve or return the nominee.

• If approved, the nominee is voted on by the full Senate.
• If the Committee votes to return the nominee to the president, the president has the opportunity to re-nominate the individual.

• The Senate holds a vote on the candidate.

• If the Senate confirms the nomination, the nominee receives a commission to serve a lifelong position as a federal judge.
• If the Senate does not confirm the nomination, that nominee does not become a judge.

See also

• United States Court of Appeals for the 8th Circuit

External links

• Search Google News for this topic
• Biography from the Federal Judicial Center
• United States Court of Appeals for the 8th Circuit
• President Donald J. Trump Announces Fifteenth Wave of Judicial Nominees

Footnotes