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Rachel Kovner
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2019 - Present
5
Rachel P. Kovner is a judge on the United States District Court for the Eastern District of New York. On May 15, 2018, President Donald Trump (R) nominated Kovner to a seat on this court.[1] The United States Senate confirmed Kovner October 16, 2019, by a vote of 88-3.[2] She received commission on October 17, 2019. To see a full list of judges appointed by Donald Trump, click here.
The United States District Court for the Eastern District of New York 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.
Kovner was assistant to the solicitor general in the Solicitor General’s Office within the U.S. Department of Justice from 2013 to 2019. She was a law clerk to U.S. Supreme Court Justice Antonin Scalia from 2007 to 2008.[3]
Judicial nominations and appointments
United States District Court for the Eastern District of New York (2018)
- See also: Federal judges nominated by Donald Trump
On May 15, 2018, President Donald Trump (R) nominated Kovner to a seat on the United States District Court for the Eastern District of New York.[1] The United States Senate confirmed Kovner October 16, 2019, by a vote of 88-3.[2] To read more about the federal nominations process, click here.
 |
| Nominee Information |
| Name: Rachel Kovner |
| Court: United States District Court for the Eastern District of New York |
| Progress |
| Confirmed 519 days after nomination. |
 Nominated: May 15, 2018
|
| ABA Rating: Substantial majority qualified/Minority well qualified
|
| Questionnaire: Questionnaire |
| Hearing: August 1, 2018
|
| QFRs: QFRs (Hover over QFRs to read more) |
| Reported: September 13, 2018 (first) / June 20, 2019 (second)
|
| Confirmed: October 16, 2019
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| Vote: 88-3
|
Confirmation vote
The U.S. Senate confirmed Kovner on October 16, 2019, on a vote of 88-3.[2] To see a full breakdown of the vote on the official U.S. Senate website, click here.
| Kovner confirmation vote (October 16, 2019) | |||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Party | Yea | Nay | No vote | ||||||
 Democratic |
37 | 3 | 5 | ||||||
 Republican |
50 | 0 | 3 | ||||||
 Independent |
1 | 0 | 1 | ||||||
| Total | 88 | 3 | 9 | ||||||
Change in Senate rules
Kovner 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.[4]
The change was passed under a procedure, often referred to as the nuclear option, that requires 51 votes rather than 60.[5]
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.[6] For more, see Filibuster and reconciliation in the United States Congress.
Senate Judiciary Committee hearing
The Senate Judiciary Committee held a hearing on Kovner's nomination on August 1, 2018. Her nomination was reported out of committee September 13 by a 21-0 vote.[7][2] The committee voted a second time, 21-1, to advance her nomination to the full Senate on June 20, 2019.[8]
Nomination
President Donald Trump (R) nominated Kovner to the United States District Court for the Eastern District of New York on May 15, 2018.[1] Kovner was nominated to succeed Judge Carol Amon, who assumed senior status on November 30, 2016.[2]
At the sine die adjournment of the 115th Congress on January 3, 2019, the Senate returned Kovner's nomination to the president.[2][9]
Trump announced his intent to renominate Kovner on April 8, 2019.[10] The second nomination was officially sent to the Senate on May 21, 2019.[11]
The American Bar Association rated Kovner qualified by a substantial majority and well qualified by a minority.[12] To read more about ABA ratings, click here.
Early life and education
Kovner was born in 1979 in New York, New York. Kovner received her undergraduate degree, magna cum laude, from Harvard College in 2001. She obtained her J.D. from Stanford Law School in 2006. Kovner served on the Stanford Law Review from 2004 to 2006. She was senior article editor for the review from 2005 to 2006.[3]
Professional career
- 2019-present: Judge, U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of New York
- 2013-2019: Assistant to the solicitor general, Solicitor General’s Office, U.S. Department of Justice
- 2009-2013: Assistant United States Attorney, Southern District of New York
- 2007-2008: Law clerk to Justice Antonin Scalia, Supreme Court of the United States
- 2006-2007: Law clerk to Judge Harvie Wilkinson, United States Court of Appeals for the 4th Circuit[3]
Awards and associations
Awards
- 2008: Temple Bar Scholar, Americans Inns of Court[3]
Associations
- 2013-present: Member, Edward Coke Appellate Inn of Court
- 2011-2014: Member, Federal Bar Council
- 2007-2010: Green Bag Almanac & Reader Board of Advisers[3]
About the court
| Eastern District of New York |
|---|
| Second Circuit |
|
| Judgeships |
| Posts: 16 |
| Judges: 16 |
| Vacancies: 0 |
| Judges |
| Chief: Margo Brodie |
| Active judges: Margo Brodie, Gary R. Brown, Sanket Bulsara, Pamela Ki Mai Chen, Nusrat Choudhury, LaShann Moutique DeArcy Hall, Ann M. Donnelly, Hector Gonzalez, Diane Gujarati, Eric Komitee, Rachel Kovner, Roslynn Mauskopf, Orelia Merchant, Natasha Merle, Nina Morrison, Ramon Reyes Jr. Senior judges: |
The United States District Court for the Eastern District of New York is one of 94 United States district courts. The courthouses are located in Brooklyn and Central Islip. When decisions of the court are appealed, they are appealed to the United States Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit based in Lower Manhattan at the Daniel Patrick Moynihan Federal Courthouse.
The Eastern District of New York 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 Eastern District of New York consists of the following counties in the eastern part of the state of New York:
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 District Court for the Eastern District of New York
- United States Court of Appeals for the 2nd Circuit
External links
- Search Google News for this topic
- Biography from the Federal Judicial Center
- United States District Court for the Eastern District of New York
- United States Court of Appeals for the 2nd Circuit
- White House press release announcing intent to renominate Kovner (2019)
- White House press release announcing intent to nominate Kovner (2018)
Footnotes
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 1.2 White House, "President Donald J. Trump Announces Fourteenth Wave of Judicial Nominees, Thirteenth Wave of United States Attorney Nominees, and Eighth Wave of United States Marshal Nominees," May 15, 2018
- ↑ 2.0 2.1 2.2 2.3 2.4 2.5 Congress.gov, "PN777 — Rachel P. Kovner — The Judiciary," accessed October 17, 2019 Cite error: Invalid
<ref>tag; name "congress" defined multiple times with different content - ↑ 3.0 3.1 3.2 3.3 3.4 U.S. Senate Committee on the Judiciary, "Questionnaire for judicial nominees: Rachel Kovner," accessed April 9, 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
- ↑ Senate Judiciary Committee, "Results of the Executive Business Meeting," September 13, 2018
- ↑ U.S. Senate Committee on the Judiciary, "Results of Executive Business Meeting," June 20, 2019
- ↑ 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
- ↑ White House, "President Donald J. Trump Announces Judicial Nominations," April 8, 2019
- ↑ White House, "Twelve Nominations Sent to the Senate," May 21, 2019
- ↑ American Bar Association, "Ratings of Article III and Article IV judicial nominees: 115th Congress," accessed September 14, 2018
| Political offices | ||
|---|---|---|
| Preceded by - |
United States District Court for the Eastern District of New York 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:
Second Circuit Court of Appeals • U.S. District Court: Eastern District of New York, Western District of New York, Northern District of New York, Southern District of New York • U.S. Bankruptcy Court: Eastern District of New York, Western District of New York, Northern District of New York, Southern District of New York
State courts:
New York Court of Appeals • New York Supreme Court, Appellate Division • New York Supreme Court • New York County Courts • New York City Courts • New York Town and Village Courts • New York Family Courts • New York Surrogates' Courts • New York City Civil Court • New York City Criminal Courts • New York Court of Claims • New York Problem Solving Courts
State resources:
Courts in New York • New York judicial elections • Judicial selection in New York
