Basically has any one ever in a legal career served as a US District Judge, Court of Appeal Judge and a Supreme Court Justice?
Most recently, Sonya Sotomayor did…appointed to the District Court by Bush and then Court of Appeals by Clinton, then finally Supreme Court by Obama.
For a start, Sonia Sotomayor.
ETA: Dual post!
Sonia Sotomayor has.
Ok, son follow up is she the only one? I ask because unlike most commonwealth countries where then majority of supreme court judges were raised from intermidiet level appellate courts or trial courts many Us Supreme Court Judges are direct appointments.
I’m hunting through Wikipedia, and finding a lot of SC justices who have served on the Court of Appeals. Only one District Court judge so far, however, apart from Judge Sotomayor – Edward Terry Sanford, who went straight from the District Court to the Supreme Court.
I didn’t know that Bush first appointed her. Damn, that guy got hoodwinked at least twice on judges turning out liberal.
From Wiki:
George H.W. Bush wasn’t as conservative as some people (including himself, perhaps) like to pretend.
Presidents used to give more deference to the opinions of the Senators from a given state when appointing judges for districts that included those states in return for not having the Senate hold up confirmations (a system that has basically broken down as judicial appointments have become more politicized). Sotomayor was appointed on the recommendation of Democratic Senator Moiyahan. Bush didn’t really have much to do with it, despite it being technically his call.