Trump's ex-personal attorney confirmed to 8th Circuit
Justin Smith, a former personal attorney for President Donald Trump, has been confirmed as a judge for the 8th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals at St. Louis. (Screenshot from the Senate Judiciary Committee’s April 15 judicial nomination hearings)
Updated: A former personal attorney for President Donald Trump has been confirmed as a judge for the 8th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals at St. Louis.
An attorney at the James Otis Law Group, Justin Smith represented Trump in his attempt to overturn a 2023 jury verdict that found that Trump was liable for sexually assaulting writer E. Jean Carroll during the 1990s.
It ended with the 2nd Circuit at New York upholding the $5 million judgment and denying the request for a new trial.
His petition asking the U.S. Supreme Court to review the ruling is pending.
Smith was given a “qualified” rating by the ABA Standing Committee on the Federal Judiciary.
Smith would fill a vacancy created when 8th Circuit Judge Duane Benton announced in October that he was taking senior status.
Law.com has the story.
See also:
Trump lawyer picked for appeals court advances to Senate floor
Trump picks former personal lawyer from E. Jean Carroll case for 8th Circuit judicial vacancy
Updated June 17 at 9:31 a.m. to note the rating by the ABA Standing Committee on the Federal Judiciary.
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