What does this even mean?

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The American Bar Association Standing Committee has three possible ratings it gives nominees to the Federal Judiciary: โ€œwell qualified,โ€ โ€œqualified,โ€ and โ€œnot qualified.โ€ The Standing Committee evaluates nominees based on โ€œprofessional competence, integrity, and judicial temperament.โ€

On March 18, 2022, the Standing Committee gave Judge Ketanji Brown Jackson the same โ€œwell qualifiedโ€ rating it bestowed on the most recent Supreme Court nominees making the differences between the Standing Committeeโ€™s ratings of nominees too subtle and unreliable to be useful.

For example, the Standing Committeeโ€™s โ€œwell qualifiedโ€ rating of Ketanji Brown Jackson was by unanimous vote, while Amy Coney Barrett only received the rating of โ€œwell qualifiedโ€ from a โ€œsubstantial majorityโ€ of the Standing Committee, and a rating of โ€œqualifiedโ€ by a minority of the Committee.

For Brett Kavanaugh, in 2006 the Standing Committee downgraded his rating to โ€œqualifiedโ€ citing concerns about his “professional experience and the question of his freedom from bias and open-mindedness,” and “the nominee’s ability to be balanced and fair should he assume a federal judgeship.”

However, the Standing Committee upgraded corrupt crybaby Kavanaughโ€™s rating to โ€œwell-qualifiedโ€ by unanimous vote on August 31, 2018, which Republicans love to tout. Never mind that, after the now infamous September 27, 2018 Senate Judiciary Committee hearings, the Standing Committee announced it would re-evaluate Kavanaughโ€™s rating, citing his โ€˜temperamentโ€™ during the hearings. But, on October 15th, the Committee dropped the review, saying it was no longer applicable after his narrow confirmation.

During the Senate hearings on Clarence Thomas, following the testimony by Anita Hill, on October 14, 1991, the Standing Committee told then Senate Judiciary Chairman Joe Biden its previous rating of โ€œwell qualifiedโ€ pre-dated the allegations, and it would find him โ€œnot qualifiedโ€ if they were proved true. But the Committee conceded and Thomas was confirmed the next day.

The unimpressive track record of the ABA Standing Committeeโ€™s ratings raises the question, what does it even stand for? It wonโ€™t matter, once again, because Democrats are on track to confirm Ketanji Brown Jackson before the April 8th recess.

Hi, it's Bill Palmer. I'm as sick of Donald Trump as you are. I'm expanding Palmer Report's operations so we can lead the fight against him. Click here to donate $25 or $50.