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Michael Scudder

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Michael Scudder

Nonpartisan

United States Court of Appeals for the 7th Circuit

Tenure

2018 - Present

Years in position

Education

Bachelor's

Saint Joseph's College, 1993

Law

Northwestern University Pritzker School of Law, 1998

Personal

Birthplace

Fort Wayne, IN

Michael Y. Scudder, Jr. is a judge on theUnited States Court of Appeals for the 7th Circuit. He was nominated to the court by PresidentDonald Trump (R) on February 15, 2018, and confirmed by theU.S. Senate on May 14, 2018, by a vote of 90-0.^[1]^[2]^[3] To see a full list of judges appointed byDonald Trump,click here.

TheUnited States Court of Appeals for the 7th Circuit is one of 13U.S. courts of appeal. They are the intermediateappellate courts of theUnited States federal courts. To learn more about the 7th Circuit Court,click here.

At the time of his nomination, Scudder was a partner with Skadden, Arps, Slate, Meagher & Flom LLP in Chicago, IL.^[3]

Judicial nominations and appointments

United States Court of Appeals for the 7th Circuit

See also:Federal judges nominated by Donald Trump

Scudder was nominated to theUnited States Court of Appeals for the 7th Circuit by PresidentDonald Trump (R) on February 15, 2018. TheU.S. Senate confirmed Scudder on May 14, 2018, by a vote of 90-0.^[1] He received commission on May 21, 2018.^[2] To read more about the federal nomination process,click here.

Nomination Tracker

Nominee Information
Name: Michael Scudder
Court:United States Court of Appeals for the 7th Circuit
Progress
Confirmed 88 days after nomination.
ANominated: February 15, 2018
AABA Rating:Unanimously Well Qualified
Questionnaire:
AHearing: March 21, 2018

QFRs:(Hover over QFRs to read more)

AReported: April 19, 2018
AConfirmed: May 14, 2018
AVote: 90 - 0

Confirmation vote

The U.S. Senate confirmed Scudder on May 14, 2018, on a vote of 90-0.^[1] To see a full breakdown of the vote on the official U.S. Senate website,here.

Michael Scudder confirmation vote (May 14, 2018)
Party	Yea	Nay	No vote
Democratic	44	0	3
Republican	44	0	7
Independent	2	0	0
Total	90	0	10

Senate Judiciary Committee hearing

Scudder had his hearing before theSenate Judiciary Committee on March 21, 2018. The committee voted to advance Scudder's nomination to the full Senate on April 19, 2018.^[1]

Nomination

Scudder was nominated to replace JudgeRichard Posner, who retired from judicial service on September 2, 2017.

TheAmerican Bar Association unanimously rated Scudderwell qualified for the position.^[4] To read more about ABA ratings,click here.

Education

Scudder received his Bachelor of Business Administration from Saint Joseph’s College and hisJ.D. from Northwestern University Pritzker School of Law.^[3]

Professional career

2018-present: Judge,United States Court of Appeals for the 7th Circuit
2009-2018: Partner, Skadden, Arps, Slate, Meagher & Flom LLP in Chicago, Illinois
2007-2009: General counsel, National Security Council
2007: Associate counsel,President George W. Bush
2006: Counselor to the deputy attorney general,U.S. Department of Justice
2002-2006: Assistant U.S. attorney,Southern District of New York
2000-2002: Private practice in Cleveland, Ohio
1999-2000: Law clerk, Hon.Anthony Kennedy on theUnited States Supreme Court
1998-1999: Law clerk, Hon.Paul Niemeyer on theUnited States Court of Appeals for the 4th Circuit^[2]

About the court

Seventh Circuit
Court of Appeals

Judgeships
Posts: 11
Judges: 11
Vacancies: 0
Judges
Chief:Michael B. Brennan
Active judges:Michael B. Brennan,Frank Easterbrook,Candace Jackson-Akiwumi,Thomas L. Kirsch II,Joshua Kolar,John Z. Lee,Nancy Maldonado,Doris Pryor,Michael Scudder,Amy St. Eve,Rebecca Taibleson Senior judges: David Hamilton,Daniel Manion,Kenneth Ripple,Ilana Rovner,Diane Sykes,Diane Wood

TheUnited States Court of Appeals for the Seventh 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.

Appeals are heard in the Everett M. Dirksen Federal Building in downtownChicago.

Three judges of the Seventh Circuit went on to serve on theSupreme Court of the United States.Sherman Minton was appointed to the Supreme Court in 1949 byHarry Truman (D),John Paul Stevens was appointed in 1975 byGerald Ford (R), andAmy Coney Barrett was appointed in 2020 byDonald Trump (R).

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

The 7th 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 the 7th Circuit Court of Appeals are petitioned to theSupreme Court of the United States. JusticeBrett Kavanaugh is thecircuit justice for the 7th Circuit.

The United States Court of Appeals for the 7th Circuit has appellatejurisdiction over thecourts in the followingdistricts:

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.