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Chad A. Readler
Judge of the United States Court of Appeals for the Sixth Circuit
Incumbent
Assumed office
March 7, 2019
Appointed byDonald Trump
Preceded byDeborah L. Cook
Acting United States Assistant Attorney General for the Civil Division
In office
December 11, 2017 – September 4, 2018
PresidentDonald Trump
Preceded byHimself
Succeeded byJody Hunt
In office
January 30, 2017 – November 16, 2017
PresidentDonald Trump
Preceded byBenjamin C. Mizer (acting)
Succeeded byHimself
Personal details
Born (1972-08-23) August 23, 1972 (age 52)
Pontiac, Michigan, U.S.
Political partyRepublican
EducationUniversity of Michigan (BA, JD)

Chad Andrew Readler (RAYD-ler; born August 23, 1972)[1] is an American lawyer who serves as a United States circuit judge of the United States Court of Appeals for the Sixth Circuit. He previously served as a principal deputy and former acting assistant attorney general for the United States Department of Justice Civil Division.

Education

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Readler graduated from the University of Michigan in 1994. He attended the Ohio State University Moritz College of Law for one year, then transferred to the University of Michigan Law School, where he was an editor of the University of Michigan Journal of Law Reform. He graduated in 1997 with a Juris Doctor degree cum laude.

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After graduating from law school, Readler served as a law clerk for Judge Alan Eugene Norris of the Sixth Circuit from 1997 to 1998. From 1998 to 2017, Reader was in private practice at the law firm Jones Day in its Columbus, Ohio, office, becoming a partner in 2007 [2] in the firm's Issues and Appeals practice.[3] While at Jones Day, Readler represented the R. J. Reynolds Tobacco Company in challenging a Buffalo, New York, restriction prohibiting tobacco ads from appearing within 1,000 feet of schools, playgrounds, and day-care centers.[4] He argued that the law infringed upon the Company's First Amendment right to advertise.[5]

He also successfully argued before the Supreme Court of the United States in McQuiggin v. Perkins on behalf of a pro bono client claiming actual innocence. His other pro bono representations include representing capital defendants before the United States Court of Appeals for the Tenth Circuit and the Supreme Court of Ohio, representing defendants sentenced to life in prison before the Sixth Circuit, and challenging dismissals of claims filed by pro se litigants.[2] While at Jones Day, Readler traveled to Nairobi with Lawyers Without Borders to train Kenyan lawyers in prosecuting domestic violence cases, and he was also a recipient of the American Marshall Memorial Fellowship awarded by the German Marshall Fund of the United States.[6]

Prior to becoming a judge, Readler served as Acting United States Assistant Attorney General for the Civil Division from January 2017 to September 2018. In that role, Readler led and supervised the Department of Justice's largest litigating division and actively briefed and argued several cases on behalf of the United States in federal courts across the country.[2]

He was involved in some of the most high-profile cases in the Trump administration. As Acting U.S. Assistant Attorney General, Readler defended the Trump administration's attempt to add a citizenship question on the 2020 Census, based on the allegation that the Department of Justice had requested the Department of Commerce to add the question.[7] In a fractured majority, the Supreme Court later determined that false, "ruling that the justification that the government offered at the time for including the citizenship question was just a pretext."[8]

Federal judicial service

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On June 7, 2018, President Donald Trump announced his intent to nominate Readler to serve as a United States Circuit Judge of the United States Court of Appeals for the Sixth Circuit.[2] On June 18, 2018, his nomination was sent to the Senate. President Trump nominated Readler to the seat being vacated by Judge Deborah L. Cook, who previously announced her intention to assume senior status on a date to be determined.[9] In June 2018, U.S. Senator Sherrod Brown said he did not plan to return a blue slip for Readler's nomination, while U.S. Senator Rob Portman said he planned to support Readler's nomination.[10] On October 10, 2018, a hearing on his nomination was held before the Senate Judiciary Committee.[11]

During his confirmation hearing, Democrats criticized Readler for having supported a Republican lawsuit aimed at dismantling the Affordable Care Act, including its protections for individuals with pre-existing conditions.[12][13]

On January 3, 2019, his nomination was returned to the President under Rule XXXI, Paragraph 6 of the United States Senate. He was renominated on January 23, 2019.[14] On February 7, 2019, his nomination was reported out of committee by a 12–10 vote.[15] On March 5, 2019, the Senate invoked cloture on his nomination by a 53–45 vote.[16] On March 6, 2019, his nomination was confirmed by a 52–47 vote.[17] He received his judicial commission on March 7, 2019.[18]

Notable cases as a circuit court judge

  • In Davenport v. MacLaren, 975 F.3d 537 (6th Cir. 2020), a panel of the Sixth Circuit vacated the first-degree murder conviction of Earl Davenport, a man accused of strangling Annette White. Judge Readler dissented, arguing that the U.S. Supreme Court's decision in Brecht v. Abrahamson, 507 U.S. 619 (1993), and AEDPA "set forth independent tests, and that both must be satisfied before habeas relief becomes permissible."[19] The Sixth Circuit voted 8 to 7 against rehearing the case en banc. The U.S. Supreme Court then granted certiorari in the case and ruled that the Sixth Circuit erred, citing Judge Readler's dissenting opinion.[20]
  • In United States v. Wooden, 945 F.3d 498 (6th Cir. 2019), Judge Readler authored a majority opinion holding that ACCA's occasions clause, which can trigger a mandatory minimum prison sentence, is satisfied whenever a criminal defendant commits certain crimes "at different moments in time."[21] The U.S. Supreme Court granted certiorari and reversed, holding that "[c]onvictions arising from a single episode, in the way Wooden's did, can count only once under ACCA."[21]

Memberships

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Readler is a member of the Federalist Society.[22]

See also

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References

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  1. ^ United States Senate Committee on the Judiciary: Questionnaire for Judicial Nominees: Chad Andrew Readler, Judiciary.senate.gov
  2. ^ a b c d "President Donald J. Trump Announces Fifteenth Wave of Judicial Nominees, Fourteenth Wave of United States Attorney Nominees, and Ninth Wave of United States Marshal Nominees". whitehouse.gov. June 7, 2018. Retrieved June 7, 2018 – via National Archives. Public Domain This article incorporates text from this source, which is in the public domain.
  3. ^ Hon. Chad A. Readler https://fedsoc.org/contributors/chad-readler-1. Retrieved June 12, 2024. {{cite web}}: Missing or empty |title= (help)
  4. ^ Mystal, Elie (July 15, 2019). "Donald Trump and the Plot to Take over the Courts". {{cite magazine}}: Cite magazine requires |magazine= (help)
  5. ^ Meyer, Brian (September 3, 2005). "R.J. Reynolds challenging city's effort to restrict posting of tobacco ads". Buffalo News. Retrieved July 28, 2022.
  6. ^ "Hon. Chad A. Readler". The Federalist Society. Retrieved June 12, 2024.
  7. ^ "STATE OF NEW YORK, et al., Plaintiffs, v. No. 1:18-cv-2921 (JMF) UNITED STATES DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE, et al., Defendants" (PDF). Brennancenter.org. Retrieved July 28, 2022.
  8. ^ "Opinion analysis: Court orders do-over on citizenship question in census case (Updated)". June 27, 2019.
  9. ^ "Seventeen Nominations and One Withdrawal Sent to the Senate Today – The White House". Trumpwhitehouse.archives.gov. Retrieved July 28, 2022.
  10. ^ Heisig, Eric (June 7, 2018). "Sen. Sherrod Brown says he will not support Trump's nominees for Ohio-based appeals court". Cleveland.com. Retrieved June 20, 2018.
  11. ^ "Nominations | United States Senate Committee on the Judiciary". Judiciary.senate.gov. October 10, 2018. Retrieved July 28, 2022.
  12. ^ Hulse, Carl (March 6, 2019). "Senate Confirms Trump Nominee Who as Justice Official Fought the Affordable Care Act". The New York Times. Retrieved March 7, 2019.
  13. ^ Lesniewski, Niels (March 6, 2019). "Democrats vow Judge Chad Readler will be 2020 issue". Retrieved March 7, 2019.
  14. ^ "Nominations Sent to the Senate". Whitehouse.gov. Retrieved January 23, 2019 – via National Archives.
  15. ^ "Results of Executive Business Meeting – February 7, 2019, Senate Judiciary Committee" (PDF). Retrieved July 28, 2022.
  16. ^ "On the Cloture Motion (Motion to Invoke Cloture on Chad A. Readler, of Ohio, to be United States Circuit Judge for the Sixth Circuit)". Senate.gov. Retrieved July 28, 2022.
  17. ^ "On the Nomination (Confirmation Chad A. Readler, of Ohio, to be United States Circuit Judge for the Sixth Circuit)". Senate.gov. Retrieved July 28, 2022.
  18. ^ Chad Readler at the Biographical Directory of Federal Judges, a publication of the Federal Judicial Center.
  19. ^ https://www.supremecourt.gov/opinions/21pdf/20-826_p702.pdf; https://www.opn.ca6.uscourts.gov/opinions.pdf/20a0197p-06.pdf
  20. ^ https://www.supremecourt.gov/opinions/21pdf/20-826_p702.pdf [bare URL PDF]
  21. ^ a b https://www.supremecourt.gov/opinions/21pdf/20-5279_09m1.pdf [bare URL PDF]
  22. ^ "Chad A. Readler". Fedsoc.org. Retrieved July 1, 2018.
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Legal offices
Preceded by
Benjamin C. Mizer
Acting
 United States Assistant Attorney General for the Civil Division
Acting
2017–2018 		Succeeded by
Preceded by Judge of the United States Court of Appeals for the Sixth Circuit
2019–present 		Incumbent
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