Donald Trump is packing the federal courts with as many extremist right-wing judges as possible including a current nominee for Florida’s federal court who has defended laws undermining voting rights, marriage equality and women’s reproductive rights.
Donald Trump is packing the federal courts with as many extremist right-wing judges as possible including a current nominee for Florida’s federal court who has defended laws undermining voting rights, marriage equality and women’s reproductive rights.
Judge Allen Winsor, who was appointed state court judge by Gov. Rick Scott in 2016, has been nominated by Trump for a lifetime seat to the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Florida. Winsor has a deeply troubling record in his previous capacity as Florida Solicitor General under Attorney General Pam Bondi, during which time he advocated for an extreme right-wing agenda that consistently attacked Floridians’ civil rights.
Appointments to District Courts are lifetime appointments. Judge Winsor is 42 years old. He could be on the bench for 40 years – or more.
Take action and tell Sen. Marco Rubio to oppose Allen Winsor’s nomination to the federal bench.
While working under Bondi, Judge Winsor defended efforts to make it harder for Floridians to vote, harder to protect children from guns, and easier for polluters to foul our air.1
Winsor also has a record of attacking marriage equality, with his arguments against same-sex marriage being called “an obvious pretext for discrimination” by U.S. District Judge Robert Hinkle, the judge Trump has nominated Winsor to replace. He has also defended efforts to undermine women’s access to abortion and birth control, including defending a 24-hour mandatory abortion delay that was ultimately ruled unconstitutional.
Winsor’s nomination is up for a Senate floor vote soon, and Sen. Bill Nelson has already announced his intention to vote against him. Now we need a groundswell of Floridians to urge Sen. Marco Rubio to reject this extremist nominee who would move our state backwards instead of forward.
Winsor has been a member of the Federalist Society since 2005, a radical right-wing legal organization. More than 80 percent of Trump’s circuit court nominees have been members of this group, even though only four percent of lawyers belong.
We want fair-minded constitutionalists appointed to the federal courts, who will value equality and justice for all and who fully understand the impact of the law on all Americans. We don’t want judges like Allen Winsor who will roll back the clock on rulings that protect and advance historically disadvantaged groups such as the LGBTQ community, women, workers and racial and ethnic minorities.
Judge Winsor’s record clearly demonstrates he does not possess the neutrality and fair-mindedness necessary to serve in a lifetime position as a federal judge. Thank you for urging Sen. Rubio to oppose his nomination.
—
1“Oppose the Confirmation of Allen Winsor to the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Florida.” The Leadership Conference On Civil and Human Rights, 6/13/18.