Lee Rudofsky

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Lee Rudofsky
Image of Lee Rudofsky

Nonpartisan

United States District Court for the Eastern District of Arkansas
Tenure

2019 - Present

Years in position

4

Education

Bachelor's

Cornell University, 2001

Graduate

Cornell Institute of Public Affairs, 2002

Law

Harvard Law School, 2005

Personal
Birthplace
New York, N.Y.
Profession
Attorney
Contact

Official website

Lee Philip Rudofsky is a judge on the United States District Court for the Eastern District of Arkansas. On July 8, 2019, President Donald Trump (R) nominated Rudofsky to a seat on this court. The U.S. Senate confirmed Rudofsky on November 7, 2019, by a vote of 51-41.[1] He received commission on November 8, 2019.[2] To see a full list of judges appointed by Donald Trump, click here.

The U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Arkansas is one of 94 U.S. district courts. They are the general trial courts of the United States federal courts. To learn more about the court, click here.

Rudofsky was the senior director for global anti-corruption compliance at Walmart Inc. from 2018 to 2019.

Judicial nominations and appointments

United States District Court for the Eastern District of Arkansas

See also: Federal judges nominated by Donald Trump

On July 8, 2019, President Donald Trump (R) nominated Rudofsky to a seat on the United States District Court for the Eastern District of Arkansas.[3] The U.S. Senate confirmed Rudofsky on November 7, 2019, by a vote of 51-41.[1] To read more about the federal nominations process, click here.

Nomination Tracker
Fedbadgesmall.png
Nominee Information
Name: Lee Rudofsky
Court: United States District Court for the Eastern District of Arkansas
Progress
Confirmed 122 days after nomination.
ApprovedANominated: July 8, 2019
ApprovedAABA Rating: Substantial majority qualified/Minority well qualified
Questionnaire: Questionnaire
ApprovedAHearing: July 31, 2019
QFRs: QFRs (Hover over QFRs to read more)
ApprovedAReported: October 17, 2019 
ApprovedAConfirmed: November 7, 2019
ApprovedAVote: 51-41

Confirmation vote

The U.S. Senate confirmed Rudofsky on November 7, 2019, on a vote of 51-41.[1] To see a full breakdown of the vote on the official U.S. Senate website, click here.

Rudofsky confirmation vote (November 7, 2019)
Party Yea Nay No vote
Electiondot.png Democratic 0 40 5
Ends.png Republican 51 0 2
Grey.png Independent 0 1 1
Total 51 41 8
Change in Senate rules
See also:
Filibuster and reconciliation in the United States Congress
Federal judges nominated by Donald Trump
United States federal courts

Rudofsky was confirmed to a U.S. District Court under a new precedent the Senate established.

On April 3, 2019, the U.S. Senate voted 51-48 in favor of a change to chamber precedent lowering the maximum time allowed for debate on executive nominees to posts below the Cabinet level and on nominees to district court judgeships from 30 hours after invoking cloture to two.[4]

The change was passed under a procedure, often referred to as the nuclear option, that requires 51 votes rather than 60.[5]

It was the third use of the nuclear option in Senate history. In 2013, it was used to eliminate the 60-vote threshold to confirm presidential nominees, except those to the Supreme Court. In 2017, it was used to eliminate the 60-vote threshold required to confirm Supreme Court nominees.[6] For more, see Filibuster and reconciliation in the United States Congress.


Senate Judiciary Committee hearing

Rudofsky had his hearing before the Senate Judiciary Committee on July 31, 2019.[7] On October 17, 2019, the committee voted 12-10 to advance Rudofsky's nomination to the full U.S. Senate.[8]

Nomination

On July 1, 2019, President Donald Trump (R) announced his intent to nominate Rudofsky to a seat on the Eastern District of Arkansas.[9] The president submitted the official nomination on July 8, 2019.[3]

Rudofsky was nominated to replace Judge Leon Holmes, who assumed senior status on March 31, 2018.[10]

Senator Tom Cotton (R) of Arkansas supported Rudofsky's nomination. In a statement, Cotton said, "Lee is an exceptionally qualified attorney, and has served honorably as the Solicitor General of Arkansas as well as a Senior Director of Walmart's Global Anti-Corruption Compliance program. Lee understands that the proper role for a judge is to interpret the constitution and the laws as written and I look forward to his confirmation."[10]

The American Bar Association rated Rudofsky qualified by a substantial majority and well qualified by a minority.[11] To read more about ABA ratings, click here.

Early life and education

Rudofsky was born in 1979 in New York, New York. He obtained a B.S. from Cornell University in 2001, a master of public administration (M.P.A.) from the Cornell Institute of Public Affairs in 2002, and a J.D. from Harvard Law School in 2005.[9][12][13]

Professional career

Associations

  • Alaska Bar Association
  • American Inns of Court, Judge Henry Woods Chapter
  • Arkansas Bar Association
  • Arkansas Republican Party
  • Benton County Republican Party
  • Congregation Etz Chaim
  • District of Columbia Bar Association
  • The Federalist Society
  • Jewish Institute for National Security Affairs
  • New York State Bar Association
  • Republican National Lawyers' Association[13]

About the court

Eastern District of Arkansas
Eighth Circuit
Arkansas-eastern.gif
Judgeships
Posts: 5
Judges: 5
Vacancies: 0
Judges
Chief: Kristine Gerhard Baker
Active judges:
Kristine Gerhard Baker, D.P. Marshall Jr., Brian Miller, James Moody Jr., Lee Rudofsky

Senior judges:
William Wilson, Susan Webber Wright


The United States District Court for the Eastern District of Arkansas is one of 94 United States district courts. It is divided into three divisions with courthouses in Little Rock, Helena, and Jonesboro. When decisions of the court are appealed, they are appealed to the United States Court of Appeals for the Eighth Circuit, based in downtown St. Louis, Missouri, at the Thomas F. Eagleton Federal Courthouse and Building.

The Counties of the Eastern District of Arkansas (click for larger map)

The Eastern District of Arkansas has original jurisdiction over cases filed within its jurisdiction. These cases can include civil and criminal matters that fall under federal law.

There are five court divisions, each covering the following counties:

The Eastern Division, covering Cross, Lee, Monroe, Phillips, St. Francis, and Woodruff counties.

The Jonesboro Division, covering Clay, Craighead, Crittenden, Greene, Lawrence, Mississippi, Poinsett, and Randolph counties.

The Northern Division, covering Cleburne, Fulton, Independence, Izard, Jackson, Sharp, and Stone counties.

The Pine Bluff Division, covering Arkansas, Chicot, Cleveland, Dallas, Desha, Drew, Grant, Jefferson, and Lincoln counties.

The Western Division, covering Conway, Faulkner, Lonoke, Perry, Pope, Prairie, Pulaski, Saline, Van Buren, White, and Yell counties.

To read opinions published by this court, click here.

The federal nomination process

Federal judges are nominated by the president of the United States and confirmed by the Senate. There are multiple steps to the process:

  • The president nominates an individual for a judicial seat.
  • The nominee fills out a questionnaire and is reviewed by the Senate Judiciary Committee.
  • The Senate Judiciary Committee holds a hearing with the nominee, questioning them about things like their judicial philosophy, past rulings or opinions, etc.
  • As part of this process, the committee sends a blue slip to senators from the home state in which the judicial nomination was received, allowing them to express their approval or disapproval of the nominee.
  • After the hearing, the Senate Judiciary Committee will vote to approve or return the nominee.
  • If approved, the nominee is voted on by the full Senate.
  • If the Committee votes to return the nominee to the president, the president has the opportunity to re-nominate the individual.
  • The Senate holds a vote on the candidate.
  • If the Senate confirms the nomination, the nominee receives a commission to serve a lifelong position as a federal judge.
  • If the Senate does not confirm the nomination, that nominee does not become a judge.


See also

External links

Footnotes

  1. ↑ 1.0 1.1 1.2 Congress.gov, "PN905 — Lee Philip Rudofsky — The Judiciary," accessed November 8, 2019
  2. ↑ Federal Judicial Center, "Rudofsky, Lee Philip," accessed November 13, 2019
  3. ↑ 3.0 3.1 WhiteHouse.gov, "Four Nominations Sent to the Senate," July 8, 2019
  4. ↑ The Hill, "GOP triggers 'nuclear option' to speed up Trump picks," April 3, 2019
  5. ↑ Axios, "Senate GOP invokes 'nuclear option' to speed up confirmations of Trump nominees," April 3, 2019
  6. ↑ NBC News, "McConnell to use 'nuclear option' to confirm lower-level nominees," April 2, 2019
  7. ↑ Senate Judiciary Committee, "Nominations," July 31, 2019
  8. ↑ U.S. Senate Committee on the Judiciary, "Results of the Executive Business Meeting," October 17, 2019
  9. ↑ 9.0 9.1 WhiteHouse.gov, "President Donald J. Trump Announces Judicial Nominees and United States Marshal Nominee," July 1, 2019
  10. ↑ 10.0 10.1 Arkansas Democrat-Gazette, "Rudofsky picked for judgeship," July 1, 2019
  11. ↑ American Bar Association, "Ratings of Article III and Article IV judicial nominees," accessed July 31, 2019
  12. ↑ 13.0 13.1 Senate Judiciary Committee, "Questionnaire for judicial nominees: Lee Philip Rudofsky," accessed October 17, 2019

Political offices
Preceded by
- 		United States District Court for the Eastern District of Arkansas
2019-Present		 Succeeded by
-


Arkansas courts

Federal courts:

Eighth Circuit Court of Appeals • U.S. District Court: Eastern District of Arkansas, Western District of Arkansas • U.S. Bankruptcy Court: Eastern District of Arkansas, Western District of Arkansas

State courts:

Arkansas Supreme Court • Arkansas Court of Appeals • Arkansas Circuit Courts • Arkansas District Courts • Arkansas City Courts

State resources:

Courts in Arkansas • Arkansas judicial elections • Judicial selection in Arkansas

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