David Stras

Nonpartisan

United States Court of Appeals for the 8th Circuit

Tenure

2018 - Present

Years in position

8

Prior offices:

Minnesota Supreme Court Seat 4

Year left office: 2018

Education

Bachelor's

University of Kansas, 1995

Law

University of Kansas, School of Law, 1999

Graduate

University of Kansas, 1999

Personal

Birthplace

Wichita, KS

Contact

Official website

David Stras is a judge on theUnited States Court of Appeals for the 8th Circuit. He was nominated to the court by PresidentDonald Trump (R) on May 8, 2017, and confirmed by theU.S. Senate on January 30, 2018, by a vote of 56-42.^[1] To see a full list of judges appointed byDonald Trump,click here.

TheUnited States Court of Appeals for the 8th Circuit is one of 13U.S. courts of appeal. They are the intermediateappellate courts of theUnited States federal courts. To learn more about the 8th Circuit Court,click here.

Stras was included on PresidentDonald Trump’s (R) June 2018 list of 25 potentialSupreme Court nominees to replace JusticeAnthony Kennedy on the court. Trump first released such a list during his 2016 presidential campaign and stated, “This list is definitive and I will choose only from it in picking future Justices of the United States Supreme Court.”^[2][3]

Stras was formerly an associate justice on theMinnesota Supreme Court. He was appointed to that court byRepublican GovernorTim Pawlenty inMay 2010 and elected to a full six-year term in 2012.^[4]

Judicial nominations, appointments, and elections

United States Court of Appeals for the 8th Circuit (2018-present)

See also:Federal judges nominated by Donald Trump

Stras was nominated to theUnited States Court of Appeals for the 8th Circuit by PresidentDonald Trump (R) on May 8, 2017. TheU.S. Senate confirmed Stras on January 30, 2018, by a vote of 56-42.^[5][6] He received commission on January 31, 2018.^[7] To read more about the federal nomination process,click here.

Nomination Tracker
Nominee Information
Name: David Stras
Court:United States Court of Appeals for the 8th Circuit
Progress
Confirmed 267 days after nomination.
ANominated: May 8, 2017
AABA Rating:Unanimously Well Qualified
Questionnaire:Questionnaire
AHearing: November 29, 2017
QFRs:(Hover over QFRs to read more)
AReported: January 18, 2018
AConfirmed: January 30, 2018
AVote: 56-42

Confirmation vote

The U.S. Senate confirmed Stras on January 30, 2020, on a vote of 56-42.^[6] To see a full breakdown of the vote on the official U.S. Senate website,click here.

David Stras confirmation vote (January 30, 2018)
Party	Yea	Nay	No vote
Democratic	7	40	0
Republican	49	0	2
Independent	0	2	0
Total	56	42	2

Senate Judiciary Committee hearing

Stras had his hearing before theSenate Judiciary Committee on January 18, 2018. The committee voted to advance Stras' nomination to the full Senate on January 18, 2018.^[6]

Nomination

Stras was nominated to replace JudgeDiana Murphy, who assumedsenior status on November 29, 2016 and passed away on May 16, 2018.

TheAmerican Bar Association unanimously rated Straswell qualified for the position.^[8] To read more about ABA ratings,click here.

Opposition to Stras' nomination

On September 5, 2017, in a statement released on hisFacebook page, U.S. SenatorAl Franken (D-Minn.) announced his intention to withhold hisblue slip on Stras' nomination. In his statement, Franken said, "Justice Stras’s professional background and record strongly suggest that, if confirmed, he would embrace the legacy of his role models and reliably rule in favor of powerful corporate interests over working people, and that he would place a high bar before plaintiffs seeking justice at work, at school, and at the ballot box. The president should be seeking out judges who bridge the issues that divide us, but I fear that Justice Stras’s views and philosophy would lead him to reinforce those divisions and steer the already conservative Eighth Circuit even further to the right."^[9]

Franken was the first senator in the115th United States Congress that has publicly withheld a blue slip for a federal appeals court nominee. ShouldSenate Judiciary Committee ChairmanChuck Grassley (R-Iowa) continue to adhere to the practice of blue slips, President Trump may be forced to submit other names for consideration, though a report in theStar Tribune indicated "several judicial nominees were eventually confirmed in 2004 despite moving ahead without the blessing of their home state senators." If he opted to submit different names, Trump would not be bound to select a nominee fromMinnesota, a point Sen.Amy Klobuchar (D-Minn.) acknowledged in her own release regarding the Stras nomination. Klobuchar said, "I am also concerned that this position could simply go to a less independent judge from another 8th Circuit state (Missouri, Arkansas, Iowa, Nebraska, North Dakota or South Dakota) since this is not a permanent Minnesota position."^[10][11]

On November 16, 2017, reports indicated that Senator Grassley would schedule confirmation hearings for Stras.^[12]

Minnesota Supreme Court (2010-2018)

Stras served as an associate justice on theMinnesota Supreme Court from 2010 to 2018. He was appointed to the court byRepublican GovernorTim Pawlenty inMay 2010 and elected to a full six-year term in 2012.^[4]

2012 election

See also:Minnesota judicial elections, 2012

Justice Stras defeatedTim Tingelstad in the November 6 general election, winning 55.95 percent of the vote. Another challenger,Alan Nelson, was defeated in the August 2012 primary.^[13][14]

Education

Stras received his bachelor's degree in 1995 and his M.B.A. in 1999, both from the University of Kansas. He also received hisJ.D. in 1999, Order of the Coif, from the University of Kansas School of Law. During his legal studies, he served as editor-in-chief of theKansas Law Review, Criminal Procedure edition.^[15][16]

Professional career

• 2018-present: Judge,United States Court of Appeals for the 8th Circuit
• 2014-present: Adjunct faculty member, University of Iowa College of Law
• 2013: Adjunct professor, Indiana University Maurer School of Law
• 2012: Visiting professor, Vanderbilt University Law School
• 2010-2018: Associate justice,Minnesota Supreme Court
• 2004-2010: Associate professor of law, University of Minnesota Law School
• 2002-2003: Law clerk, Hon.Clarence Thomas,Supreme Court of the United States
• 2001-2002: Associate, Sidley Austin Brown & Wood LLP,Washington, D.C.
• 2000-2001: Law clerk, Hon.Michael Luttig,United States Court of Appeals for the 4th Circuit
• 1999-2000: Law clerk, Hon.Melvin Brunetti,United States Court of Appeals for the 9th Circuit^[15][16][7]

Awards and associations

• 2009-2010: Vance K. Opperman research scholar, University of Minnesota Law School
• 2007-2010: Co-director, University of Minnesota Law School Institute for Law and Politics

Possible Donald Trump nominee to the U.S. Supreme Court

See also:Possible nominees to replace Anthony Kennedy on the United States Supreme Court

See also:Process to fill the vacated seat of Justice Antonin Scalia

2018

Stras was listed by PresidentDonald Trump (R) as a potential Supreme Court nominee to replace JusticeAnthony Kennedy. Kennedy announced he would retire from the court effective July 31, 2018.^[17] Trump ultimately choseBrett Kavanaugh as the nominee.Click here to learn more.

2017

On November 17, 2017, Stras was included in a third list of individuals from which PresidentDonald Trump would choose to fill vacancies on the U.S. Supreme Court.

A White House statement announcing the nominees stated,^[18]

Noteworthy cases

Court rules that guardians with medical-consent power are authorized to remove life support

Jeffers Tschumy was deemed incapacitated and awarded a guardian. His guardian was given medical consent power, meaning the guardian was authorized to “[g]ive any necessary consent to enable, or to withhold consent for, [Tschumy] to receive necessary medical or other professional care.” Some years later, Tschumy suffered respiratory and cardiac arrest. Hospital staff concluded that Tschumy had suffered irreversible brain damage and could not recover. The hospital believed that Tschumy's life support should be removed. Although the guardian agreed, the hospital filed a motion in state court, asking the court to expressly authorize the guardian to approve the removal of Tschumy's life support. The guardian argued that his power of medical consent already gave him the necessary authority.^[20]

Following testimony and the appointment of an attorney for Tschumy, the state district court ordered Tschumy’s life support to be removed. However, the court held that Minnesota law did not permit a guardian to authorize the removal of life support without a court order. Tschumy died shortly thereafter. Tschumy’s guardian appealed the district court’s determination regarding the scope of a guardian’s medical-consent power.

On appeal, the Minnesota Supreme Court reversed. It ruled that “a guardian given the medical-consent power…has the authority to authorize removal of a ward’s life-sustaining treatment, without court approval, when all interested parties agree that removal is in the ward’s best interest.” The court acknowledged that since Tschumy had passed away, the case was technically moot. However, the court concluded that “because this case is functionally justiciable and the issue presented is one of public importance and statewide significance that we should decide now, our precedent provides us with the authority to decide this case.”

Justice Stras dissented. Stras argued that once Tschumy had passed away, there was nothing left for the district court, or any other court, to decide in order to resolve the parties’ dispute. He wrote that “[t]he Minnesota Constitution does not grant us the authority to ‘decide cases merely to make precedents.’” Given Tschumy’s death, he argued, “there is no case or controversy, [and] it is our duty under the Minnesota Constitution to dismiss the appeal.” Stras concluded that the supreme court justices “are not a junior-varsity legislature.”^[20]

Justice Anderson dissented separately. Anderson would have ruled that guardians must seek court approval before authorizing the removal of life support.^[20]

Political affiliation

Only nine states hold partisan elections for their appellate courts. Other states holdnonpartisan elections or use a combination ofappointments andretention elections.

Nonpartisan elections in some states require judges to declare their partisan affiliations; in other states, judges are not required to declare a political affiliation and in fact may be prohibited from doing so.

Ballotpedia collects information about the political and ideological leanings of judges to offer better context for court decisions.

Political contributions

Ballotpedia was unable to find any contributions made by Stras to partisan political candidates. However, the following information was available from the nonpartisan race Stras ran in 2012.

Ballotpedia collects information on campaign donors for each year in which a candidate or incumbent is running for election. See the table below for more information about the campaign donors who supported David Stras.^[21] Click [show] for more information.

Political ideology

See also:Political ideology of State Supreme Court Justices

In October 2012, political science professors Adam Bonica and Michael Woodruff of Stanford University attempted to determine the partisan ideology of state supreme court justices. They created a scoring system in which a score above 0 indicated a more conservative-leaning ideology, while scores below 0 were more liberal.

Stras received a campaign finance score of 0.96, indicating a conservative ideological leaning. This was more conservative than the average score of -0.07 that justices received inMinnesota.

The study was based on data from campaign contributions by the judges themselves, the partisan leaning of those who contributed to the judges' campaigns, or, in the absence of elections, the ideology of the appointing body (governor or legislature). This study was not a definitive label of a justice, but an academic summary of various relevant factors.^[22]

About the court

Eighth Circuit
Court of Appeals
Judgeships
Posts: 11
Judges: 11
Vacancies: 0
Judges
Chief:Steven Colloton
Active judges:William D. Benton,Steven Colloton,Ralph Erickson,L. Steven Grasz,Raymond Gruender,Jane Kelly,Jonathan Kobes,James Loken,Bobby Shepherd,Lavenski Smith,David Stras Senior judges: Morris Arnold,Clarence Arlen Beam,Pasco Bowman,David Hansen,Michael Melloy,Roger Wollman

TheUnited States Court of Appeals for the Eighth Circuit is afederal appellate court with appellatejurisdiction. It hears appeals from all of the circuit courts within its jurisdiction and its rulings may be appealed to theSupreme Court of the United States.

The Eighth Circuit has 11 authorized judicial posts. The chief judge of the court isLavenski Smith, who was appointed by PresidentGeorge W. Bush (R). Four of the judges on the court wereappointed by Donald Trump (R).

Appeals are heard in the Thomas Eagleton U.S. Courthouse inSt. Louis, Missouri.

Three judges of the Eighth Circuit went on to serve on theSupreme Court of the United States. Willis Van Devanter was appointed to the Supreme Court in 1910 byWilliam Howard Taft, Charles Evans Whittaker was appointed in 1957 byDwight Eisenhower, and Harry Blackmun was appointed in 1970 byRichard Nixon.

Map of the Eighth Circuit. Click on a district to find out more about it.

The Eighth Circuit hasappellate jurisdiction over cases heard in one of its subsidiary districts. These cases can include civil and criminal matters that fall under federal law. Appeals of rulings by theEighth Circuit Court of Appeals are petitioned to theSupreme Court of the United States. JusticeNeil Gorsuch is thecircuit justice for the Eighth Circuit.

The United States Court of Appeals for the 8th Circuit hasjurisdiction over the United States district courts in the following federal judicial districts:

To read opinions published by this court, clickhere.

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 theSenate 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 ablue 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 Appeals for the 8th Circuit

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External links

Suggest a link

• Minnesota courts
• Biography from theFederal Judicial Center

Footnotes

v • e Federal judges who have served theU.S. Court of Appeals for the Eighth Circuit
Active judges	Chief Judge: Steven Colloton  •  Lavenski Smith  •  Ralph Erickson  •  Bobby Shepherd  •  James Loken  •  Raymond Gruender  •  William D. Benton  •  David Stras  •  Jane Kelly  •  Steven Grasz  •  Jonathan Kobes
Senior judges	David R. Hansen  •  Morris Arnold  •  Roger Wollman  •  Pasco Bowman  •  Arlen Beam  •  Michael Melloy  •
Former judges	Myron Bright  •  Diana Murphy  •  William Riley (Eighth Circuit)  •  Henry Clay Caldwell  •  George Fagg  •  Elmer Bragg Adams  •  John Emmett Carland  •  Amos Madden Thayer  •  Walter Henry Sanborn  •  William Cather Hook  •  John Hazelton Cotteral  •  Robert E. Lewis (Colorado judge)  •  Willis Van Devanter  •  Walter Inglewood Smith  •  Arba Seymour Van Valkenburgh  •  Wilbur Franklin Booth  •  Charles Breckenridge Faris  •  Kimbrough Stone  •  Joseph William Woodrough  •  William Squire Kenyon  •  John Benjamin Sanborn  •  John D. Kelly  •  Archibald Gardner  •  Seth Thomas  •  John Collet  •  Charles Joseph Vogel  •  Jesse Henley  •  Roy Stephenson  •  William Webster  •  Floyd Gibson  •  Albert Ridge  •  Charles Whittaker  •  Harvey Johnsen  •  Harry Blackmun  •  Gerald Heaney  •  Donald Lay  •  Marion Matthes  •  Theodore McMillian  •  Pat Mehaffy  •  Walter Riddick  •  Martin Van Oosterhout  •  Donald Ross  •
Former Chief judges	Lavenski Smith  •  David R. Hansen  •  Morris Arnold  •  Roger Wollman  •  James Loken  •  Pasco Bowman  •  William Riley (Eighth Circuit)  •  Archibald Gardner  •  Charles Joseph Vogel  •  Floyd Gibson  •  Harvey Johnsen  •  Donald Lay  •  Marion Matthes  •  Pat Mehaffy  •  Martin Van Oosterhout  •

v • e Federal judges nominated to Article III courts byDonald Trump
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 •
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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•Maria Lanahan•Jennifer Mascott•Anne-Leigh Gaylord Moe•Chad Meredith•Harold Mooty•Jordan Pratt•Edmund LaCour•Bill Lewis•Eric Tung•Rebecca Taibleson•Joshua D. Dunlap•Bill Mercer•Susan Rodriguez•Robert Chamberlin•Matthew Orso•David Bragdon•Jimmy Maxwell•Lindsey Freeman•William J. Crain
2026	Alexander Van Hook•Megan Benton•Aaron Peterson

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