TAMPA – U.S. District Judge Catherine Kimball Misel of Tampa made a splash across the country Monday with a ruling that lifted a federal requirement to wear masks for passengers.
The judge’s decision quickly became political food, with commentators on the left and right alternately criticizing and praising him.
Social media critics have been quick to revive controversy over Misel’s nomination for judge in 2020. She was just 33 when she was appointed a judge in Florida’s Middle County, which includes the Tampa Bay area. She had eight years of experience as a lawyer – court nominees usually have more – which raises questions about her qualifications for lifelong employment.
Legal observers noted the comprehensiveness of her 59-page opinion – its comprehensiveness and complexity made it as interesting as the judge herself.
“I’ve seen headlines about how she’s now a heroine on the right, if you will,” said Carl Tobias, a professor of law at the University of Richmond who studies judicial selection. “That may be true, even though she may have been a heroine before. Judicial reputation has been built for a lifetime and it has a long way to go. “
Here are five things you need to know about Misel and her origins.
What is her education?
Misel, 35, is from Polk County and graduated from a Christian school in Lakeland in 2005. She received her bachelor’s degree in 2009 from Covenant College, a private Christian school of liberal arts in northwest Georgia. Her law degree came in 2012 from the University of Florida. She won both her bachelor’s and law degrees with honors.
What was her experience before becoming a judge?
Although she was not well known in the Tampa legal community before her appointment, her autobiography has some emphasis. She spent a year as an employee of U.S. Supreme Court Justice Clarence Thomas. She is also an employee of U.S. District Judge James C. Moody Jr. of Tampa and William H. Pryor Jr. of the Atlanta-based U.S. Court of Appeals for the 11th District.
She became a federal prosecutor in 2014, working in Virginia and Washington, DC. She was an adviser to the Deputy Attorney General from 2017 to 2018, then an employee of Gregory G. Katzas of the U.S. District Court of Appeals for DC, before serving as Thomas. Prior to being nominated to the federal bench, she was an assistant attorney at Jones Day, an international law firm in Washington, D.C.
What is her judicial philosophy?
Misel is a member of the Federalist Society, an influential legal organization that is considered to have a conservative or libertarian view of the law. Members support philosophy or originality, the main idea of which is to interpret the Constitution in the way it would have been understood when it was written. They also advocate the philosophy of textualism, which is a theory that the law should be interpreted according to the ordinary meaning of its text, and not according to things like legislative intentions.
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In January 2020, Misel spoke at a congress of the Federal Society in Orlando, where Thomas attended. She called him “the greatest living American” and admired his commitment to originalism.
What was the dispute over her nomination as a judge?
After Trump nominated Misel for the federal bench in 2020, a committee of the American Bar Association sent a letter to the Senate Judiciary Committee, which expressed the opinion that it is not qualified. They pointed in particular to the eight years in which she had practiced law. Federal candidates must have at least 12 years of experience, they write.
“Miss. Mizel has a very sharp intellect, a strong work ethic and an impressive autobiography,” wrote Randall D. Noel, chairman of the association’s standing committee on the federal judiciary. her nomination. Her integrity and demeanor are not in question. However, these qualities simply do not compensate for the short time she has actually practiced law and her lack of meaningful experience in the process. “
Her lack of experience became a feature of her confirmation hearing in the Senate.
Misel was confirmed by party line, with 49 Republicans voting in her favor and 41 Democrats voting against her.
Related: With eight years of experience, she will be Tampa’s next federal judge
Are there other prominent members of her family?
She is married to Chad Misel, a lawyer who served as a senior adviser to the Department of Homeland Security and senior White House officials during the Trump administration. In January 2021, he joined Jones Day in the practice of state regulation of the company. Last September, Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis appointed him to the Judicial Nomination Commission of the 13th Judicial District, the committee that selects candidates for judicial appointments at Hillsborough County State Court.
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