WASHINGTON, D.C., January 10 – Following today’s confirmation hearing for Howard Nielson, President Trump’s nominee for a seat on the United States District Court for the District of Utah, Alliance for Justice President Nan Aron released the following statement:
“At his hearing today, Howard Nielson refused to back down from his position that Judge Vaughn Walker should have been disqualified from hearing a key California case on the constitutionality of same-sex marriage because he was gay. This is an unacceptable and inexcusable position for someone aspiring to the federal bench. Not only that, Nielson defended the notorious ‘torture memos’ written by his supervisor Steven Bradbury while he worked at the Office of Legal Counsel in the Bush Administration, conceding that he gave input during their creation. He also gave very unsatisfactory answers about his positions on gun policy and past representation of the NRA. In our view, Howard Nielson is someone who should not have the opportunity to become a federal judge.”
Read AFJ’s report on Nielson here.