Trump Announces Six More Judicial Nominees

WASHINGTON (CN) - President Donald Trump on Monday announced the nominations of six more judicial nominees, including one to the Fourth Circuit and one to the Ninth Circuit.

Allison Jones Rushing is currently a partner at the Washington D.C. firm Williams and Connolly, where she focuses on complex civil litigation. While at the firm, Rushing worked on several high-profile cases before the Supreme Court, including as a member of the team that in May won a case upholding the legality of individual arbitration clauses in employment agreements.

She also was part of two teams of attorneys at the firm that helped convinced the Supreme Court to narrow the scope of the Fair Debt Collection Practices Act, once in May 2017 on behalf of Midland Funding and again a month later for Santander Consumer USA.

Rushing clerked for then-Judge Neil Gorsuch when he was serving on the 10th Circuit and signed onto a letter with 10 other female former Gorsuch law clerks supporting his nomination. Rushing also clerked for Justice Clarence Thomas on the Supreme Court.

Just days after the death of Arizona Sen. John McCain, Trump also announced the nomination of Arizona U.S. Magistrate Judge Bridget Bade to a seat on the Ninth Circuit. The Arizona Republic reported McCain and Sen. Jeff Flake recommended Bade to the position earlier this year.

A former federal prosecutor in Arizona, Bade took a seat as a magistrate judge on the U.S. District Court for the District of Arizona in 2012.

Bade also worked as litigation counsel in the Phoenix office of the firm Steptoe Johnson and as a shareholder at the firm Beshears Wallwork Bellamy, where she worked on environmental, class action and intellectual property matters. In addition, she spent four years as a trial attorney with the Justice Department's environmental torts section as part of the attorney general's honors program, according to a White House press release.

Two of the other nominees Trump announced on Monday are up for seats on federal district courts, including Judge J.P. Boulee, who currently sits on the DeKalb County, Georgia Superior Court. Before taking the bench in 2015, Boulee worked at the Atlanta office of the firm Jones Day.

A former attorney in the Army, Boulee helped establish a veterans treatment court in DeKalb County, according to a White House press release.

Boulee ran unopposed in the 2016 election for his seat on the court and his campaign website says he supports "alternative sentencing programs for non-violent offenders."

"The law is a tool to keep our communities and families safe and prosperous," the website states. "That means understanding the difference between hard criminals and those who deserve a second chance. Prison is not always the most appropriate choice."

The final district court judge Trump nominated on Monday is James Cain Jr., who would serve on the U.S. District Court for the Western District of Louisiana if confirmed. Cain helped found the Lake Charles, La., firm Loftin, Cain and LeBlanc, where he focuses on civil litigation.

While attending McNeese State University on a basketball scholarship, Cain played behind future Hall of Fame guard Joe Dumars.

The other two nominees Trump announced on Monday are for specialty courts.

Travis Greaves, currently the deputy assistant attorney general for appellate and review at the Justice Department's Tax Division, is up for a seat on the U.S. Tax Court, while George Washington University Associate Dean Lisa Schenck is up for a seat on the Court of Military Commissions Review.

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