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Alice Batchelder

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Alice Batchelder
Image of Alice Batchelder

Nonpartisan

United States Court of Appeals for the 6th Circuit (senior status)
Tenure

2019 - Present

Years in position

6

Prior offices
United States District Court for the Northern District of Ohio
United States Court of Appeals for the 6th Circuit

Education

Bachelor's

Ohio Wesleyan University, 1964

Graduate

University of Virginia School of Law, 1988

Law

University of Akron School of Law, 1971

Personal
Birthplace
Wilmington, Del.


Alice Moore Batchelder is a federal judge on senior status on the United States Court of Appeals for the 6th Circuit. She first joined the court in 1991 after being nominated by President George H.W. Bush (R). She retired from full-time service, assuming senior status, on March 7, 2019. Batchelder served as chief judge of the court from 2009 to 2014.[1]

Early life and education

A native of Wilmington, Delaware, Batchelder graduated from Ohio Wesleyan with her bachelor's degree in 1964, from the University of Akron School of Law with her J.D. in 1971, and from the University of Virginia School of Law with her LL.M. in 1988.[1]

Professional career

  • 1971-1983: Private practice, Medina, Ohio[1]

Judicial career

Federal judicial nomination

Sixth Circuit Court of Appeals

See also: Federal judges nominated by George H.W. Bush
Nomination Tracker
Fedbadgesmall.png
Nominee Information
Name: Alice M. Batchelder
Court: United States Court of Appeals for the 6th Circuit
Progress
Confirmed 168 days after nomination.
ApprovedANominated: June 12, 1991
ApprovedAABA Rating: Unanimously Qualified
Questionnaire:
ApprovedAHearing: September 26, 1991
QFRs: (Hover over QFRs to read more)
ApprovedAReported: October 31, 1991 
ApprovedAConfirmed: November 27, 1991
ApprovedAVote: Unanimous consent

Batchelder was nominated to the United States Court of Appeals for the 6th Circuit by President George Bush (R) on June 12, 1991, to a seat vacated by Judge Pierce Lively. The American Bar Association rated Batchelder Unanimously Qualified for the nomination.[2] Hearings on Batchelder's nomination were held before the United States Senate Committee on the Judiciary on September 26, 1991, and her nomination was reported by then-U.S. Sen. Joseph Biden (D-Del.) on October 31, 1991. Batchelder was confirmed on the unanimous consent of the U.S. Senate on November 27, 1991, and she received her commission on December 2, 1991. She retired from full-time service, assuming senior status, on March 7, 2019. From 2009 to 2014, she served as chief judge of the Sixth Circuit.[1][3]

Northern District of Ohio

See also: Federal judges nominated by Ronald Reagan

Batchelder was first nominated to the United States District Court for the Northern District of Ohio by President Ronald Reagan (R) on October 5, 1984, to a new seat created by 98 Stat. 333. Batchelder's nomination failed under Rule XXXI, paragraph six of the standing rules of the Senate on October 12, 1984, and her nomination was returned to the president on October 18, 1984. President Reagan resubmitted Batchelder's nomination on February 28, 1985. Hearings on her nomination were held before the Senate Judiciary Committee on March 6, 1985, and her nomination was reported by U.S. Sen. Strom Thurmond (R-S.C.) on April 3, 1985. Batchelder was confirmed on a voice vote of the United States Senate on April 3, 1985, and she received her commission the next day. She resigned from the district court on January 4, 1992, upon her elevation to the Sixth Circuit Court of Appeals. She was succeeded in this position by Judge Solomon Oliver.[1][4][5]

U.S. Bankruptcy Court, Northern District of Ohio

Batchelder began her judicial career serving as a federal bankruptcy judge on the United States bankruptcy court, Northern District of Ohio from 1983-1985.[1]

Noteworthy cases

Sixth Circuit narrows applications of Chevron deference in criminal contexts (2021)

A divided three-judge panel of the United States Court of Appeals for the Sixth Circuit on March 25, 2021, limited applications Chevron deference in the criminal context in its Gun Owners of America v. Garland decision, which invalidated the Trump administration’s bump stock ban.[6][7]

The court declined to apply Chevron deference to the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, and Firearm's statutory interpretation supporting the agency’s rule that allowed bump stocks to be classified as machine guns. The court held that Chevron deference did not apply because the law in question was a criminal statute. The court also found that the district court should have permitted the plaintiffs’ request for an injunction to block the rule.[6][7]

“Consistent with our precedent and mandated by separation-of-powers and fair-notice concerns,” wrote Judge Alice Batchelder in the opinion, “we hold that an administering agency's interpretation of a criminal statute is not entitled to Chevron deference.”[6][7]

Judge Eric Murphy joined Judge Batchelder in the opinion. Judge Helene White dissented.[7]

Judge White disagreed with the court’s limitation on Chevron deference. “The Supreme Court has applied Chevron in the criminal context in three binding decisions—Chevron itself, Babbitt, and O'Hagan—and has never purported to overrule those cases,” she wrote.[6][7]

The court remanded the case to the district court and eliminated the possibility of a nationwide injunction by limiting any subsequent injunctions to the four states within the Sixth Circuit.[6][7]

Woman terminated for considering divorcing her husband cannot sue religious organization for discrimination (2015)

Alyce Conlon worked for InterVarsity Christian Fellowship/USA in 2011 when she and her husband began experiencing marital difficulties. She informed her superiors and was put on paid leave. The organization’s policies stated at that time that the organization had the right to consider an employee’s separation or divorce when making decisions about his or her continued employment with the company. When Conlon’s husband filed for divorce, InterVarsity fired her. She sued, claiming male employees who had gone through divorces were allowed to keep their jobs. A three-judge panel of the court consisting of Judges (Batchelder, Rogers and Beckwith (sitting by designation)) found that “[t]he government cannot dictate to a religious organization who its spiritual leaders” are.[8]

Judge Batchelder, writing for the panel, relied upon the Supreme Court’s 2012 decision in Hosanna-Tabor Evangelical Lutheran Church and School v. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission, which held that federal discrimination laws do not apply to religious leaders at religious organizations, and used Conlon’s work title (“spiritual director”) as the basis for their determination that Conlon was a religious leader at InterVarsity.

Articles:

See also

External links


Footnotes

  1. ↑ 1.0 1.1 1.2 1.3 1.4 1.5 Federal Judicial Center, "Batchelder, Alice Moore," accessed November 23, 2016
  2. ↑ American Bar Association, "Ratings of Article III judicial nominees, 102nd Congress," accessed November 23, 2016
  3. ↑ United States Congress, "PN397 — Alice M. Batchelder — The Judiciary," accessed November 23, 2016
  4. ↑ United States Congress, "PN1170 — Alice M. Batchelder — The Judiciary," accessed November 23, 2016
  5. ↑ United States Congress, "PN112-2 — Alice M. Batchelder — The Judiciary," accessed November 23, 2016
  6. ↑ 6.0 6.1 6.2 6.3 6.4 Reason, "Divided Sixth Circuit Panel Rejects Chevron Deference for Interpretation of Criminal Statute," March 25, 2021
  7. ↑ 7.0 7.1 7.2 7.3 7.4 7.5 United States Court of Appeals for the Sixth Circuit, "Gun Owners of America v. Garland," March 25, 2021
  8. ↑ ‘Courthouse News, “Woman Fired for Broken Marriage Cannot Sue,” February 9, 2015
Political offices
Preceded by:
Pierce Lively 		Sixth Circuit Court of Appeals
1991–2019 		Succeeded by:
Eric Murphy
Preceded by:
NA - New Seat
98 Stat. 333 		Northern District of Ohio
1985–1992
Seat #11 		Succeeded by:
Solomon Oliver





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