Conservatives support the nomination of Sarah Pitlyk to be a federal judge on the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Missouri.
Ms. Pitlyk is a Yale Law school graduate, a former clerk to then-Judge Brett Kavanaugh, and a longtime litigator. She has also worked as a public interest lawyer defending constitutional and civil rights on behalf of the Thomas More Society.
However, her nomination has recently come under attack from abortion activists and the American Bar Association.
Abortion groups have assailed Ms. Pitlyk’s nomination, not only for her public interest advocacy, but also for her connection to Justice Kavanaugh. Their position is simple: no lawyer who has ever argued a pro-life position in a case should ever be allowed on the federal bench. We reject this view wholeheartedly.
The American Bar Association (ABA) has rated Ms. Pitlyk’s nomination negatively. This calls into question the organization’s fairness, as well as the overall consistency of their ratings. The ABA has been happy to give qualified or well-qualified ratings to nominees who have demonstrated far less litigation experience than Sarah Pitlyk.
Consider that the ABA rated Justice Elena Kagan as qualified in 1999 when she was nominated to the D.C. Circuit, despite having never argued a case in front of any court.
The ABA also rated as qualified Judge Allison Nathan on the Southern District of New York, despite being only 11 years out of law school and a longtime law clerk and academic with negligible practical experience.
Ms. Pitlyk’s legal experience is wide-ranging and significant, touching every stage of the litigation process. Moreover, her substantive experience with areas of law, especially constitutional law, makes clear that she will not hesitate to uphold the rule of law and constitutional principles. She is more than qualified to carry out the duties of a federal judge competently and fairly.
President Trump has pledged to select principled, originalist judges. Sarah Pitlyk is a nominee in this mold. We support her nomination and urge her swift confirmation by the Senate.