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Margaret Ryan Possible SCOTUS Nominee

Margaret Ann Ryan of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Armed Forces has made President-elect, Donald Trump’s list of possible nominees to the U.S. Supreme Court. The vacancy left by the late Justice Antonin Scalia could be filled by the former active duty U.S. Marine and judge advocate general, clerk to Justice Clarence Thomas, and only judge on the list who sits on a court in Washington.

From the article:

“Ryan's service on the armed forces court also gives her training that the possible nominees who sit on other federal appeals courts don't have. As with the Supreme Court, the vast majority of the docket of her court is discretionary, which means she has to know how to pick review-worthy cases and reject the chaff.

But her background in the Marines—serving from 1987 to 1999 with deployments including Desert Shield and Desert Storm—may be a big factor in whether she is nominated. Trump, like President Barack Obama, has said he wants to do better by military veterans.

Appointed in 2006 by President George W. Bush, Ryan is serving a 15-year term on the armed forces court that would end in 2021. Another Bush appointee, former U.S. Solicitor General Paul Clement, argued a case before her court in April—and lost.”

Fellow ALI members who are also being considered include: Allison H. Eid of the Supreme Court of Colorado, Thomas M. Hardiman of the Third Circuit Court of Appeals, Raymond M. Kethledge of the Sixth Circuit Court of Appeals, Edward M. Mansfield of the Supreme Court of Iowa, William H. Pryor Jr. of Eleventh Circuit Court of Appeals, Timothy M. Tymkovich of the Tenth Circuit Court of Appeals, David R. Stras of the Supreme Court of Minnesota, Diane S. Sykes of the Seventh Circuit Court of Appeals, Don R. Willett of the Supreme Court of Texas, and Robert P. Young Jr. of the Michigan Supreme Court.

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