A Recent Washington Post Graphic Charting Judicial Appointees by President
What president first comes to mind when you think of the longest currently serving federal judges? Trump’s recent spate of appointments? Obama’s legacy of filibuster-proof executive nominees? The Bush presidencies? Clinton appointees?
I’ve asked this question of what current judge has served the longest to many lawyers and even judges (of every level), and I often hear that their best guess was Reagan, Carter, or (gasp) Ford or even Nixon!
The answer…(drum roll please)…is… President Lyndon Baines Johnson. And if had asked this question as I had over the years as recently as one month ago, the answer would've President John Fitzgerald Kennedy. As of August 30th, 2018, William Joseph Nealon had served since his appointment in 1962 by JFK, and passed away on that day while still in senior status with the Middle District of Pennsylvania’s Federal Court, after nearly 56 years of continuous service in one court. Needless to say, he broke multiple records.
Judge William Joseph Nealon, Jr. - A Kennedy Judicial Appointee in Pennsylvania until August 30, 2018
On top of that, we have Judge Real. Yes, you read that right, a CURRENTLY SERVING Federal Judge was appointed by LBJ himself. Judge Manuel Lawrence Real is still serving on senior status in the Central District of California, at the bright old age of 94, the longest-serving member of the current Federal Bench. If that’s isn’t a crazy trip I don’t know what is. 1966 - back when the Beatles became ‘more popular than Jesus’ and the war in Vietnam began to take root, with the Civil Rights movement still ongoing, and in the thick of the Cold War and Space Race.
If you’re a history nerd like me, the longest serving federal Judge ever,
Judge Joseph William Woodrough, was a Woodrow Wilson appointee from 1916 (!) who served all the way until 1977 in the Carter era, for a grand total of 61 years and 182 days, serving in both a District Court and a Court of Appeals.
I’ve been meaning to diary here in general for years. I’m a long-time Daily Kos user since 2005 and a politics geek, having worked on campaigns at all levels in three states over the last 15 years, from roughly the Bush/Kerry election. As life has calmed down and the midterms have heated up, I’m hoping to get back in the habit more and that starts with writing my first diary at Daily Kos in 12 years.
One topic that has been on my mind extensively as of late has been the absurdity of lifetime tenure for our judicial appointments. It’s gotten attention across the board in the wake of the SCOTUS politics of the past few years, from Garland to Gorsuch to now Kavanaugh. Obviously the Garland decision was a particular tragedy in recent times, and it really just makes me think the end game for SCOTUS politics is an end to this system, either (debatably legal) legislative means, or constitutionally. Each party will pull us further down the path of packing the courts (
as Franklin Roosevelt attempted) and we’ll have to radically reform the system to end up with a fairer playing field. Until then, it’s a brutal war that Democrats cannot shy away from.
But when you think about the stakes of this battle, know that the federal bench is intensely shaped ever more so by each successive president, making appointments that can last for over a half-century. These judges are affecting every level of our lives, from the environment, to social issues, to workplace issues and more. My husband serves in the Social Security Administration working on their disability program, and their work is ultimately argued in the federal court system. Federal judges affect so many aspects of our lives, and the lifetime tenure system means each appointment ever more stamps our future world.
Judge Manuel William Real at 50 years of Service, an LBJ Judicial Appointee in California
One final note I wanted to make is that as the percentage of judges serving above the age of 80 climbs, I think our emphasis on having judges serve record breaking terms has led to a weakened judicial system where judges are not in the right place to be writing opinions and keeping up with complex legal nuances. There have been reports of judges as of late not even knowing what email is. In the 21st century!
We need to think about where this system and political conversation goes over the coming decades. The Supreme Court hasn’t always been nine justices, as Ted Cruz himself said in 2016, and the number of Federal Judges hasn’t always stayed constant. When Democrats come back to power, next year and in 2021 or later, we must push the boundaries of this political problem.
We need to continue to pack the courts and push the conversation in our direction. until we reach a consensus across party lines to end lifetime tenure and give each president an equivalent number of appointments based on their years in office. State court systems have also set great examples of mandatory retirement ages, fixed term lengths and more. I hope to diary about this topic and the history of judicial reform more down the road.
