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James Cain, Jr.
2019 - Present
6
James David Cain, Jr. is a judge on the United States District Court for the Western District of Louisiana. On August 28, 2018, President Donald Trump (R) nominated Cain to a seat on this court.[1] The U.S. Senate confirmed Cain on June 19, 2019, by a vote of 77-21.[2] He received commission on June 25, 2019.[3] To see a full list of judges appointed by Donald Trump, click here.
The United States District Court for the Western District of Louisiana is one of 94 U.S. district courts. They are the general trial courts of the United States federal courts. To learn more about the court, click here.
Cain was a founding member and partner of the law firm Loftin, Cain & LeBlanc, LLC, in Lake Charles, Louisiana, from 2007 to 2019.[4]
Judicial nominations and appointments
U.S. District Court for the Western District of Louisiana (2019-present)
- See also: Federal judges nominated by Donald Trump
Cain was nominated by President Donald Trump (R) on August 28, 2018, to a seat on the United States District Court for the Western District of Louisiana. The U.S. Senate confirmed Cain on June 19, 2019, by a vote of 77-21.[1][2] To read more about the federal nominations process, click here.
 |
| Nominee Information |
| Name: James Cain, Jr. |
| Court: United States District Court for the Western District of Louisiana |
| Progress |
| Confirmed 295 days after nomination. |
 Nominated: August 28, 2018
|
| ABA Rating: Substantial majority well qualified / Minority qualified
|
| Questionnaire: Questionnaire |
| Hearing: November 13, 2018
|
| QFRs: (Hover over QFRs to read more) |
| Reported: February 7, 2019
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| Confirmed: June 19, 2019
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| Vote: 77-21
|
Confirmation vote
The U.S. Senate confirmed Cain on June 19, 2019, on a vote of 77-21.[2] To see a full breakdown of the vote on the official U.S. Senate website, click here.
| Cain confirmation vote (June 19, 2019) | |||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Party | Yea | Nay | No vote | ||||||
 Democratic |
23 | 20 | 2 | ||||||
 Republican |
53 | 0 | 0 | ||||||
 Independent |
1 | 1 | 0 | ||||||
| Total | 77 | 21 | 2 | ||||||
Change in Senate rules
Cain was confirmed to a U.S. District Court under a new precedent the Senate established.
On April 3, 2019, the U.S. Senate voted 51-48 in favor of a change to chamber precedent lowering the maximum time allowed for debate on executive nominees to posts below the Cabinet level and on nominees to district court judgeships from 30 hours after invoking cloture to two.[5]
The change was passed under a procedure, often referred to as the nuclear option, that requires 51 votes rather than 60.[6]
It was the third use of the nuclear option in Senate history. In 2013, it was used to eliminate the 60-vote threshold to confirm presidential nominees, except those to the Supreme Court. In 2017, it was used to eliminate the 60-vote threshold required to confirm Supreme Court nominees.[7] For more, see Filibuster and reconciliation in the United States Congress.
Senate Judiciary Committee hearing
The Senate Judiciary Committee held hearings on Cain's nomination on November 13, 2018.[8]
The Senate Judiciary Committee favorably reported Cain's nomination on February 7, 2019.[9] Click here to see how the committee voted. Cain's nomination was one of 44 that Sen. Lindsey Graham (R-S.C.) reported that day.
Nomination
On August 27, 2018, President Donald Trump (R) announced that he would nominate Cain to a seat on the U.S. District Court for the Western District of Louisiana[10] The U.S. Senate received the nomination on August 28, 2018.[1]
Cain was nominated to succeed Judge Patricia Minaldi, who retired on July 31, 2017.[1]
At the sine die adjournment of the 115th Congress on January 3, 2019, the Senate returned Cain's nomination to President Trump.[11] Cain was one of 51 individuals the president re-nominated on January 23, 2019.[12]
The American Bar Association rated Cain well qualified by a substantial majority and qualified by a minority for the position.[13] To read more about ABA ratings, click here.
Early life and education
Cain was born in DeRidder, Louisiana, in 1964. He earned a B.S. from McNeese State University in 1990 and a J.D., cum laude, from Southern University Law Center in Baton Rouge, Louisiana, in 1993.[4][10]
Professional career
- 2019-present: Judge, U.S. District Court for the Western District of Louisiana
- 2007-2019: Founding member and partner, Loftin, Cain & LeBlanc, LLC, in Lake Charles, Louisiana
- 1994-2006: Lundy & Davis, LLC
- 1998-2006: Partner
- 1994-1998: Attorney
- 1993-1994: Law clerk to Judge Henry Yelverton of the Louisiana Third Circuit Court of Appeal
- 1987-1993: Congressional aide, U.S. Rep. Jimmy Hayes (R-La.)[4][10]
About the court
| Western District of Louisiana |
|---|
| Fifth Circuit |
|
| Judgeships |
| Posts: 7 |
| Judges: 6 |
| Vacancies: 1 |
| Judges |
| Chief: Terry A. Doughty |
| Active judges: James D. Cain, Jr., Terry A. Doughty, Jerry Edwards Jr., Maurice Hicks, David C. Joseph, Robert Summerhays Senior judges: |
The United States District Court for the Western District of Louisiana is one of 94 United States district courts. When decisions of the court are appealed, they are appealed to the United States Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit, based in New Orleans, at the John Minor Wisdom Federal Courthouse.
The Western District of Louisiana has original jurisdiction over cases filed within its jurisdiction. These cases can include civil and criminal matters that fall under federal law.
The geographic jurisdiction of the Western District of Louisiana consists of all the following parishes in the western part of the state of Louisiana.[14]
- Acadia Parish
- Allen Parish
- Avoyelles Parish
- Beauregard Parish
- Bienville Parish
- Bossier Parish
- Caddo Parish
- Calcasieu Parish
- Caldwell Parish
- Cameron Parish
- Catahoula Parish
- Claiborne Parish
- Concordia Parish
- Jefferson Davis Parish
- De Soto Parish
- East Carroll Parish
- Evangeline Parish
- Franklin Parish
- Grant Parish
- Iberia Parish
- Jackson Parish
- Lafayette Parish
- LaSalle Parish
- Lincoln Parish
- Madison Parish
- Morehouse Parish
- Natchitoches Parish
- Ouachita Parish
- Rapides Parish
- Red River Parish
- Richland Parish
- Sabine Parish
- St. Landry Parish
- St. Martin Parish
- St. Mary Parish
- Tensas Parish
- Union Parish
- Vermilion Parish
- Vernon Parish
- Webster Parish
- West Carroll Parish
- Winn Parish, Louisiana
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 District Court for the Western District of Louisiana
- United States Court of Appeals for the 5th Circuit
External links
- Search Google News for this topic
- United States District Court for the Western District of Louisiana
- United States Court of Appeals for the 5th Circuit
- Biography from the Federal Judicial Center
- Profile from Loftin, Cain & LeBlanc, LLC (archived July 2017)
Footnotes
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 1.2 1.3 Congress.gov, "PN2472 — James David Cain Jr. — The Judiciary," accessed June 20, 2019
- ↑ 2.0 2.1 2.2 Congress.gov, "PN225 — James David Cain Jr. — The Judiciary," accessed June 20, 2019
- ↑ Federal Judicial Center, "Cain, James David, Jr.," accessed June 27, 2019
- ↑ 4.0 4.1 4.2 Senate Judiciary Committee, "Questionnaire for judicial nominees: James David Cain, Jr.," accessed June 20, 2019
- ↑ The Hill, "GOP triggers 'nuclear option' to speed up Trump picks," April 3, 2019
- ↑ Axios, "Senate GOP invokes 'nuclear option' to speed up confirmations of Trump nominees," April 3, 2019
- ↑ NBC News, "McConnell to use 'nuclear option' to confirm lower-level nominees," April 2, 2019
- ↑ Committee on the Judiciary, "Nominations," November 13, 2018
- ↑ U.S. Senate Judiciary Committee, "Results of Executive Business Meeting," February 7, 2019
- ↑ 10.0 10.1 10.2 The White House, "President Donald J. Trump Announces Seventeenth Wave of Judicial Nominees," August 27, 2018
- ↑ Under Senate Rule XXXI, paragraph 6 of the Standing Rules of the Senate, pending nominations are returned to the president if the Senate adjourns sine die or recesses for more than 30 days. Congressional Research Service, "Senate Consideration of Presidential Nominations: Committee and Floor Procedure," April 11, 2017
- ↑ WhiteHouse.gov, "Nominations Sent to the Senate," January 23, 2019
- ↑ American Bar Association, "Ratings of Article III and Article IV Judicial Nominees: 116th Congress," accessed March 7, 2019
- ↑ Legal Information Institute, "28 U.S.C. § 98(a) - Louisiana," accessed April 24, 2014
| Political offices | ||
|---|---|---|
| Preceded by - |
United States District Court for the Western District of Louisiana 2019-Present |
Succeeded by - |
| |||
|---|---|---|---|
| 2017 |
Thomas Parker • Elizabeth Branch • Neil Gorsuch • Amul Thapar • David C. Nye • John K. Bush • Kevin Newsom • Timothy J. Kelly • Ralph Erickson • Scott Palk • Trevor McFadden • Joan Larsen • Amy Coney Barrett • Allison Eid • Stephanos Bibas • Donald Coggins Jr. • Dabney Friedrich • Greg Katsas • Steven Grasz • Don Willett • James Ho • William L. Campbell Jr. • David Stras • Tilman E. Self III • Karen Gren Scholer • Terry A. Doughty • Claria Horn Boom • John Broomes • Rebecca Grady Jennings • Kyle Duncan • Kurt Engelhardt • Michael B. Brennan • Joel Carson • Robert Wier • Fernando Rodriguez Jr. • Annemarie Carney Axon • | ||
| 2018 |
Andrew Oldham • Amy St. Eve • Michael Scudder • John Nalbandian • Mark Bennett • Andrew Oldham • Britt Grant • Colm Connolly • Maryellen Noreika • Jill Otake • Jeffrey Beaverstock • Emily Coody Marks • Holly Lou Teeter • Julius Richardson • Charles B. Goodwin • Barry Ashe • Stan Baker • A. Marvin Quattlebaum Jr. • Terry F. Moorer • Susan Baxter • William Jung • Alan Albright • Dominic Lanza • Eric Tostrud • Charles Williams • Nancy E. Brasel • James Sweeney • Kari A. Dooley • Marilyn J. Horan • Robert Summerhays • Brett Kavanaugh • David Porter • Liles Burke • Michael Juneau • Peter Phipps • Lance Walker • Richard Sullivan • Eli Richardson • Ryan Nelson • Chad F. Kenney, Sr. • Susan Brnovich • William M. Ray, II • Jeremy Kernodle • Thomas Kleeh • J.P. Hanlon • Mark Norris • Jonathan Kobes • Michael Brown • David Counts | ||
| 2019 |
Eric Miller • Chad Readler • Eric Murphy • Neomi Rao • Paul Matey • Allison Jones Rushing • Bridget S. Bade • Roy Altman • Patrick Wyrick • Holly Brady • David Morales • Andrew Brasher • J. Campbell Barker • Rodolfo Ruiz • Daniel Domenico • Michael Truncale • Michael Park • Joseph Bianco • Raúl Arias-Marxuach • Daniel Collins • Joshua Wolson • Wendy Vitter • Kenneth Kiyul Lee • Kenneth Bell • Stephen Clark • Howard Nielson • Rodney Smith • Jean-Paul Boulee • Sarah Daggett Morrison • Rossie Alston • Pamela A. Barker • Corey Maze • Greg Guidry • Matthew Kacsmaryk • Allen Winsor • Carl Nichols • James Cain, Jr. • Tom Barber • J. Nicholas Ranjan • Clifton L. Corker • Peter Phipps • Daniel Bress • Damon Leichty • Wendy W. Berger • Peter Welte • Michael Liburdi • William Shaw Stickman • Mark Pittman • Karin J. Immergut • Jason Pulliam • Brantley Starr • Brian Buescher • James Wesley Hendrix • Timothy Reif • Martha Pacold • Sean Jordan • Mary Rowland • John M. Younge • Jeff Brown • Ada Brown • Steven Grimberg • Stephanie A. Gallagher • Steven Seeger • Stephanie Haines • Mary McElroy • David J. Novak • Frank W. Volk • Charles Eskridge • Rachel Kovner • Justin Walker • T. Kent Wetherell • Danielle Hunsaker • Lee Rudofsky • Jennifer Philpott Wilson • William Nardini • Steven Menashi • Robert J. Luck • Eric Komitee • Douglas Cole • John Sinatra • Sarah Pitlyk • Barbara Lagoa • Richard Myers II • Sherri Lydon • Patrick Bumatay • R. Austin Huffaker • Miller Baker • Anuraag Singhal • Karen Marston • Jodi Dishman • Mary Kay Vyskocil • Matthew McFarland • John Gallagher • Bernard Jones • Kea Riggs • Robert J. Colville • Stephanie Dawkins Davis • Gary R. Brown • David Barlow • Lewis Liman | ||
| 2020 |
Lawrence VanDyke • Daniel Traynor • John Kness • Joshua Kindred • Philip Halpern • Silvia Carreno-Coll • Scott Rash • John Heil • Anna Manasco • John L. Badalamenti • Drew Tipton • Andrew Brasher • Cory Wilson • Scott Hardy • David Joseph • Matthew Schelp • John Cronan • Justin Walker • Brett H. Ludwig • Christy Wiegand • Thomas Cullen • Diane Gujarati • Stanley Blumenfeld • Mark Scarsi • John Holcomb • Stephen P. McGlynn • Todd Robinson • Hala Jarbou • David Dugan • Iain D. Johnston • Franklin U. Valderrama • John Hinderaker • Roderick Young • Michael Newman • Aileen Cannon • James Knepp • Kathryn Kimball Mizelle • Benjamin Beaton • Kristi Johnson • Toby Crouse • Philip Calabrese • Taylor McNeel • Thomas Kirsch • Stephen Vaden • Katherine Crytzer • Fernando Aenlle-Rocha • Charles Atchley • Joseph Dawson | ||
| 2025 |
Whitney Hermandorfer • Joshua Divine • Cristian M. Stevens • Zachary Bluestone • Emil Bove • Edward Artau • Kyle Dudek | ||
Federal courts:
Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals • U.S. District Court: Eastern District of Louisiana, Middle District of Louisiana, Western District of Louisiana • U.S. Bankruptcy Court: Eastern District of Louisiana, Middle District of Louisiana, Western District of Louisiana
State courts:
Louisiana Supreme Court • Louisiana Courts of Appeal • Louisiana District Courts • Louisiana City Courts • Louisiana Family Courts • Louisiana Justice of the Peace Courts • Louisiana Juvenile Courts • Louisiana Mayor’s Courts • Louisiana Municipal Courts • Louisiana Parish Courts • Louisiana Traffic Courts
State resources:
Courts in Louisiana • Louisiana judicial elections • Judicial selection in Louisiana
