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Stephen Schwartz (United States Court of Federal Claims)

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Stephen Schwartz

Nonpartisan

United States Court of Federal Claims Judge

Tenure

2020 - Present

Term ends

2035

Years in position

Education

Bachelor's

Yale College, 2005

Law

University of Chicago Law School, 2008

Contact

Official website

Stephen S. Schwartz is a judge on theUnited States Court of Federal Claims. He was nominated to the court by PresidentDonald Trump (R) on June 7, 2017, and confirmed by a 49-47United States Senate vote on December 8, 2020. To see a full list of judges appointed byDonald Trump,click here.

TheUnited States Court of Federal Claims is anArticle I tribunal, afederal court organized underArticle I of theUnited States Constitution. To learn more about the court,click here.

Schwartz was a partner at Schaerr Duncan LLP inWashington, 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 theUnited States Court of Federal Claims by PresidentDonald 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.

Nomination Tracker

Nominee Information
Name: Stephen Schwartz
Court:United States Court of Federal Claims
Progress
Confirmed 1280 days after nomination.
ANominated: June 7, 2017
AABA Rating:Not rated by the ABA
Questionnaire:Questionnaire
AHearing: July 25, 2017

QFRs:QFRs(Hover over QFRs to read more)

AReported: September 14, 2017; May 14, 2020
AConfirmed: December 8, 2020
AVote: 49-47

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
Democratic	0	45	1
Republican	49	0	3
Independent	0	2	0
Total	49	47	4

Senate Judiciary Committee

Hearings on Schwartz's nomination were held before theSenate 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 PresidentDonald Trump (R) on June 7, 2017, to a seat on theUnited States Court of Federal Claims. His nomination was returned to the president at thesine die adjournment of the115th Congress on January 3, 2018.^[4]

On October 2, 2019, PresidentDonald Trump (R) announced his intent to renominate Schwartz to a seat on theUnited 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 thesine die adjournment of theU.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 inRochester, New York. He earned his bachelor's degree from Yale College in 2005. He obtained hisJ.D., graduating with honors, from the University of Chicago Law School in 2008. During his legal studies, Schwartz was an editor of theUniversity of Chicago Law Review.^[8]

Professional career

2020-present: Judge,United States Court of Federal Claims
2016-2020: Partner, Schaerr Duncan LLP inWashington, 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: Susan G. Braden,Eric G. Bruggink,Lynn J. Bush,Edward J. Damich,Nancy B. Firestone,Robert H. Hodges Jr.,Marian Blank Horn,Charles F. Lettow,Loren A. Smith,Margaret M. Sweeney,Thomas C. Wheeler,John Paul Wiese,Mary Ellen Coster Williams,Victor J. Wolski

TheUnited States Court of Federal Claims is aUnited States federal court that hears claims against the U.S. government. It was created in 1982 as anArticle I tribunal.

Judgments of the court may be appealed to theFederal Circuit.

The court has jurisdiction over claims across the United States for over $10,000 and congruent jurisdiction with theUnited 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 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.