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Rachel Kovner

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Rachel Kovner

Nonpartisan

United States District Court for the Eastern District of New York

Tenure

2019 - Present

Years in position

Education

Bachelor's

Harvard College, 2001

Law

Stanford Law School, 2006

Personal

Birthplace

New York, NY

Contact

Official website

Rachel P. Kovner is a judge on theUnited States District Court for the Eastern District of New York. On May 15, 2018, PresidentDonald Trump (R) nominated Kovner to a seat on this court.^[1] TheUnited 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 byDonald Trump,click here.

TheUnited States District Court for the Eastern District of New York is one of 94U.S. District Courts. They are the generaltrial courts of theUnited 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 theU.S. Department of Justice from 2013 to 2019. She was a law clerk toU.S. Supreme Court JusticeAntonin 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, PresidentDonald Trump (R) nominated Kovner to a seat on theUnited States District Court for the Eastern District of New York.^[1] TheUnited States Senate confirmed Kovner October 16, 2019, by a vote of 88-3.^[2] To read more about the federal nominations process,click here.

Nomination Tracker

Nominee Information
Name: Rachel Kovner
Court:United States District Court for the Eastern District of New York
Progress
Confirmed 519 days after nomination.
ANominated: May 15, 2018
AABA Rating:Substantial majority qualified/Minority well qualified
Questionnaire:Questionnaire
AHearing: August 1, 2018

QFRs:QFRs(Hover over QFRs to read more)

AReported: September 13, 2018 (first) / June 20, 2019 (second)
AConfirmed: October 16, 2019
AVote: 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

See also:

Filibuster and reconciliation in the United States Congress

Federal judges nominated by Donald Trump

United States federal courts

Kovner was confirmed to a U.S. District Court under a new precedent the Senate established.

On April 3, 2019, theU.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 todistrict court judgeships from 30 hours after invokingcloture to two.^[4]

The change was passed under a procedure, often referred to as thenuclear option, that requires 51 votes rather than 60.^[5]

It was the third use of thenuclear option in Senate history. In 2013, it was used to eliminate the 60-vote threshold to confirm presidential nominees, except those to theSupreme Court. In 2017, it was used to eliminate the 60-vote threshold required to confirm Supreme Court nominees.^[6] For more, seeFilibuster and reconciliation in the United States Congress.

Senate Judiciary Committee hearing

TheSenate 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

PresidentDonald Trump (R) nominated Kovner to theUnited States District Court for the Eastern District of New York on May 15, 2018.^[1] Kovner was nominated to succeed JudgeCarol Amon, who assumedsenior status on November 30, 2016.^[2]

At thesine die adjournment of the115th 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]

TheAmerican Bar Association rated Kovnerqualified by a substantial majority andwell qualified by a minority.^[12] To read more about ABA ratings,click here.

Early life and education

Kovner was born in 1979 inNew York, New York. Kovner received her undergraduate degree,magna cum laude, from Harvard College in 2001. She obtained herJ.D. from Stanford Law School in 2006. Kovner served on theStanford 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 JusticeAntonin Scalia,Supreme Court of the United States
2006-2007: Law clerk to JudgeHarvie 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: Carol Amon,Joan Azrack,Frederic Block,Brian Cogan,Raymond Dearie,Nicholas Garaufis,Nina Gershon,Leo Glasser,Denis Hurley,Dora Irizarry,Edward Korman,William Kuntz,Kiyo Matsumoto,Allyne Ross,Joanna Seybert,Eric Vitaliano

TheUnited States District Court for the Eastern District of New York is one of 94United States district courts. The courthouses are located in Brooklyn and Central Islip. When decisions of the court are appealed, they are appealed to theUnited 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 hasoriginal 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 followingcounties in the eastern part of the state ofNew York:

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.