Your feedback ensures we stay focused on the facts that matter to you most—take our survey.
Stephen Schwartz (United States Court of Federal Claims)
2020 - Present
2035
4
Stephen S. Schwartz is a judge on the United States Court of Federal Claims. He was nominated to the court by President Donald Trump (R) on June 7, 2017, and confirmed by a 49-47 United States Senate vote on December 8, 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.
Schwartz was a partner at Schaerr Duncan LLP in Washington, D.C. from 2016 to 2020.
Judicial nominations and appointments
United States Court of Federal Claims (2020-present)
- See also: Federal judges nominated by Donald Trump
On June 7, 2017, Schwartz was nominated to a seat on the United States Court of Federal Claims by President Donald Trump (R).[1] He was confirmed by a 49-47 vote of the U.S. Senate on December 8, 2020.[2] Schwartz joined the court on December 23, 2020.[3] To read more about the federal nominations process, click here.
Nominee Information |
---|
Name: Stephen Schwartz |
Court: United States Court of Federal Claims |
Progress |
Confirmed 1280 days after nomination. |
![]() |
![]() |
Questionnaire: Questionnaire |
![]() |
QFRs: QFRs (Hover over QFRs to read more) |
![]() |
![]() |
![]() |
Confirmation vote
The U.S. Senate confirmed Schwartz by a vote of 49-47 on December 8, 2020.[2] To see a full breakdown of the vote on the official U.S. Senate website, click here.
Schwartz confirmation vote (December 8, 2020) | |||||||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Party | Yea | Nay | No vote | ||||||
![]() |
0 | 45 | 1 | ||||||
![]() |
49 | 0 | 3 | ||||||
![]() |
0 | 2 | 0 | ||||||
Total | 49 | 47 | 4 |
Senate Judiciary Committee
Hearings on Schwartz's nomination were held before the Senate Judiciary Committee on July 25, 2017, and his nomination was reported by U.S. Sen. Chuck Grassley (R-Iowa) on September 14, 2017.[4] The committee voted a second time to advance Schwartz's nomination on May 14. His nomination moved forward on a 12-10 vote.[5]
Nomination
Schwartz was nominated by President Donald Trump (R) on June 7, 2017, to a seat on the United States Court of Federal Claims. His nomination was returned to the president at the sine die adjournment of the 115th Congress on January 3, 2018.[4]
On October 2, 2019, President Donald Trump (R) announced his intent to renominate Schwartz to a seat on the United States Court of Federal Claims.[6] The president officially renominated Schwartz on October 17, 2019.[7]
The nomination was returned to the president a second time at the sine die adjournment of the U.S. Senate on January 3, 2020.[7] The president officially renominated Schwartz on January 9.[2]
Early life and education
Schwartz was born in 1983 in Rochester, New York. He earned his bachelor's degree from Yale College in 2005. He obtained his J.D., graduating with honors, from the University of Chicago Law School in 2008. During his legal studies, Schwartz was an editor of the University of Chicago Law Review.[8]
Professional career
- 2020-present: Judge, United States Court of Federal Claims
- 2016-2020: Partner, Schaerr Duncan LLP in Washington, D.C.
- 2015-2016: Counsel, Cause of Action Institute
- 2009-2015: Associate, Kirkland & Ellis LLP
- 2008-2009: Law clerk to Hon. Jerry E. Smith, United States Court of Appeals for the 5th Circuit[8]
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: |
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.[9]
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.[9]
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
- United States Court of Federal Claims
- United States Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit
- LinkedIn profile
Footnotes
- ↑ The White House, "President Donald J. Trump announces judicial candidate nominations," June 7, 2017
- ↑ 2.0 2.1 2.2 Congress.gov, "PN1384 — Stephen Sidney Schwartz — The Judiciary," accessed January 10, 2020
- ↑ United States Court of Federal Claims, "Stephen S. Schwartz took the oath of office on December 23, 2020, as a Judge of the United States Court of Federal Claims," accessed December 23, 2020
- ↑ 4.0 4.1 congress.gov, "PN590 — Stephen S. Schwartz — The Judiciary, accessed March 15, 2018
- ↑ Senate Judiciary Committee, "Results of the Executive Business Meeting," May 14, 2020
- ↑ WhiteHouse.gov, "President Donald J. Trump Announces Judicial Nominees," October 2, 2019
- ↑ 7.0 7.1 Congress.gov, "PN1243 — Stephen Sidney Schwartz — The Judiciary," accessed October 21, 2019
- ↑ 8.0 8.1 Senate Judiciary Committee, "Questionnaire for judicial nominees: Stephen Schwartz," accessed October 4, 2019
- ↑ 9.0 9.1 Court of Federal Claims, About the Court
Political offices | ||
---|---|---|
Preceded by - |
United States Court of Federal Claims Judge 2020-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:
Fourth Circuit Court of Appeals • U.S. District Court: Eastern District of Virginia, Western District of Virginia • U.S. Bankruptcy Court: Eastern District of Virginia, Western District of Virginia
State courts:
Virginia Supreme Court • Virginia Court of Appeals • Virginia Circuit Courts • Virginia District Courts • Virginia Magistrates
State resources:
Courts in Virginia • Virginia judicial elections • Judicial selection in Virginia