Zachary Somers

Zachary N. Somers is a judge on the United States Court of Federal Claims. He was nominated by President Donald Trump (R) on September 8, 2020, and confirmed by a 52-43 vote of the U.S. Senate on December 17, 2020. To see a full list of judges appointed by Donald Trump, click here.

The United States Court of Federal Claims is an Article I tribunal, a federal court organized under Article I of the United States Constitution. To learn more about the court, click here.

Somers was previously the chief investigative counsel for the United States Senate Committee on the Judiciary, where he handled oversight and investigations for Chairman Lindsey Graham (R-S.C.).

Judicial nominations and appointments

United States Court of Federal Claims (2020-present)

See also: Federal judges nominated by Donald Trump

On September 8, 2020, President Donald Trump (R) nominated Somers to a seat on the United States Court of Federal Claims. He was confirmed by a 52-43 vote of the U.S. Senate on December 17, 2020.^[1] Somers joined the court on December 23, 2020.^[2] To read more about the federal nominations process, click here.

Nomination Tracker
Nominee Information
Name: Zachary Somers
Court: United States Court of Federal Claims
Progress
Confirmed 100 days after nomination.
Nominated: September 8, 2020
ABA Rating: Not rated by the ABA
Questionnaire: Questionnaire
Hearing: November 18, 2020
QFRs: QFRs (Hover over QFRs to read more)
Reported: December 10, 2020
Confirmed: December 17, 2020
Vote: 52-43

Confirmation vote

The U.S. Senate confirmed Somers by a vote of 52-43 on December 17, 2020.^[1] To see a full breakdown of the vote on the official U.S. Senate website, click here.

Somers confirmation vote (December 17, 2020)
Party	Yea	Nay	No vote
Democratic	4	41	1
Republican	48	0	4
Independent	0	2	0
Total	52	43	5

Senate Judiciary Committee hearing

Somers had his hearing before the Senate Judiciary Committee on November 18, 2020.^[1] The committee voted 13-9 to advance his nomination to the full Senate on December 10, 2020.^[3]

Nomination

On August 26, 2020, President Donald Trump (R) announced his intent to nominate Somers to a seat on the United States Court of Federal Claims.^[4] The president officially submitted the nomination on September 8, 2020.^[1]

Somers was nominated to replace Judge Thomas C. Wheeler, whose term expired on October 24, 2020.

Early life and education

Somers was born in 1979 in Washington, D.C. He earned his undergraduate degree, cum laude, from Georgetown University in 2001. He received his J.D. from the Georgetown University Law Center, where he served as the editor-in-chief of the Georgetown Journal of Law & Public Policy, in 2004.^[5]

Professional career

• 2020-present: Judge, United States Court of Federal Claims
• 2019-2020: Chief investigative counsel, U.S. Senate Judiciary Committee
• 2007-2019: U.S. House Judiciary Committee
  • 2015-2019: General counsel and parliamentarian
  • 2012-2015: Deputy chief counsel, Subcommittee on the Constitution
  • 2011-2012: Majority counsel, Subcommittee on the Constitution
  • 2007-2011: Minority counsel
• 2005-2007: Associate, Marzulla & Marzula
• 2004-2005: Law clerk to Judge Victor J. Wolski, United States Court of Federal Claims^[5]

Associations

• 2017-2018: American Bar Association
• 2004-2005: Maryland State Bar Association^[5]

About the court

Court of Federal Claims
Federal Circuit
Judgeships
Posts: 16
Judges: 16
Vacancies: 0
Judges
Chief: Elaine Kaplan
Active judges: Armando Omar Bonilla, Kathryn Davis, Thompson Michael Dietz, Philip Hadji, Richard Hertling, Ryan Holte, Elaine Kaplan, Carolyn Lerner, Robin M. Meriweather, Edward Meyers, Eleni Roumel, Stephen Schwartz, Molly Silfen, Matthew Solomson, Zachary Somers, David A. Tapp Senior judges: Susan G. Braden, Eric G. Bruggink, Lynn J. Bush, Edward J. Damich, Nancy B. Firestone, Robert H. Hodges Jr., Marian Blank Horn, Charles F. Lettow, Loren A. Smith, Margaret M. Sweeney, Thomas C. Wheeler, John Paul Wiese, Mary Ellen Coster Williams, Victor J. Wolski

The United States Court of Federal Claims is a United States federal court that hears claims against the U.S. government. It was created in 1982 as an Article I tribunal.

Judgments of the court may be appealed to the Federal Circuit.

The court has jurisdiction over claims across the United States for over $10,000 and congruent jurisdiction with the United States District Courts on claims under $10,000.^[6]

The court has original jurisdiction over all money claims against the federal government based in federal statute, executive order, or contract. This jurisdiction also includes bid protests and vaccine compensations. The approximate breakdown of the cases by jurisdiction includes:

• Tax Refund Suits

25%

• Contract Claims

33%

• Fifth Amendment takings

10%

The rest constitute other varieties of claims.^[6]

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 Federal Claims
• United States Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit
• Article I tribunal

External links

• Search Google News for this topic
• Biography from the United States Court of Federal Claims
• United States Court of Federal Claims
• United States Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit

Footnotes