Why It Matters

Judge Anna St. John, nominated to the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit, faced scrutiny at an Aug. 5 Senate Judiciary Committee hearing over her previous opposition to bipartisan legislation allowing survivors of workplace sexual assault and harassment to avoid forced arbitration. The hearing placed renewed attention on St. John’s views about access to courts as senators considered elevating her to one of the country’s most influential federal appeals courts.

St. John was the sole nominee on the hearing’s first panel. The Senate confirmed her to the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Louisiana on March 17, and President Donald Trump nominated her to the Fifth Circuit in late June. Her appellate nomination was formally received by the Senate on July 14, less than four months after her district court confirmation.

The Big Picture

The Senate confirmed St. John to the Eastern District of Louisiana by a 51-45 vote on March 17. Before joining the bench, she served as president and general counsel of the Hamilton Lincoln Law Institute, a free-market public-interest law organization known in part for challenging class-action settlements.

Her record on mandatory arbitration became an issue during both of her confirmation processes. In November 2021, St. John testified before the House Judiciary Committee against legislation that became the Ending Forced Arbitration of Sexual Assault and Sexual Harassment Act. Congress ultimately passed the measure with bipartisan support, and President Joe Biden signed it into law in 2022.

The Aug. 5 hearing also considered four nominees on a second panel: Gregory Carl Cook for the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Alabama; D. Adam Candeub to be assistant attorney general; and John Peter Cronan and Jason Manion to serve on the U.S. Sentencing Commission.

Candeub, the Federal Communications Commission’s general counsel, is nominated to lead the Justice Department’s Antitrust Division. His nomination was formally received by the Senate on July 21.

What They're Saying

Senators questioned St. John about how her previous policy advocacy on arbitration would affect her work as a judge. Her 2021 testimony argued against legislation allowing workers alleging sexual assault or harassment to invalidate predispute arbitration agreements.

During her earlier district court confirmation process, Democrats also raised the issue. Senate Judiciary Committee Ranking Member Dick Durbin (D-Ill.) criticized St. John’s opposition to the legislation, which Congress later enacted as Public Law 117-90.

St. John has emphasized that, as a judge, she is bound to apply statutes enacted by Congress regardless of her previous policy views. Her responses distinguish between positions she took as an advocate and her obligations as a federal judge.

Candeub faced a different set of questions. Senators scrutinized his experience with antitrust enforcement, his record as an outspoken critic of major technology companies and actions taken by the FCC while he served as general counsel.

The American Economic Liberties Project opposed Candeub’s nomination, arguing that his FCC record raised questions about whether he would aggressively enforce antitrust law. Candeub has also been a prominent critic of Section 230 protections for online platforms and has advocated greater government authority over certain content-moderation practices.

Political Stakes

Confirmation to the Fifth Circuit would give St. John a lifetime seat on the federal appellate court responsible for Louisiana, Mississippi and Texas. The court frequently hears major challenges involving federal regulatory authority, abortion, immigration, firearms and other politically consequential issues.

Her nomination also represents an unusually rapid judicial promotion. St. John was confirmed to the district court in March and nominated for the Fifth Circuit later that year, after Judge Kurt Engelhardt announced plans to take senior status.

For Candeub, confirmation would place him in charge of the Justice Department division responsible for challenging anticompetitive conduct and reviewing major mergers. The division is involved in significant litigation involving some of the country’s largest technology companies.

Candeub’s telecommunications and technology-policy background has drawn support from conservatives who favor more aggressive scrutiny of large technology platforms. Critics have questioned his limited record litigating antitrust cases and whether his regulatory philosophy would translate effectively to enforcement of federal competition laws.

The Complications

St. John’s arbitration record illustrates the distinction senators often confront when evaluating judicial nominees with histories of political or policy advocacy. Her previous testimony criticized a legislative proposal, but the resulting statute is now binding federal law that she would be required to apply as a judge.

The Ending Forced Arbitration of Sexual Assault and Sexual Harassment Act allows people alleging sexual assault or harassment to choose whether to pursue claims in court despite certain predispute arbitration agreements. St. John’s prior opposition therefore remains relevant to senators evaluating her judicial philosophy, but it does not allow her to disregard the law if confirmed to the appellate court.

Candeub’s record presents a different tension. His longstanding criticism of Big Tech could support more aggressive antitrust enforcement against dominant technology companies, but lawmakers also questioned whether his background at the FCC and in academia gives him sufficient experience managing complex antitrust litigation.

What's Next

The Senate Judiciary Committee must decide whether to advance St. John, Candeub and the other nominees to the full Senate.

Cronan was nominated to a term on the U.S. Sentencing Commission expiring Oct. 31, 2029, as was Manion. The commission develops federal sentencing guidelines and advises Congress and the federal judiciary on sentencing policy. If St. John’s nomination advances through committee, the full Senate would vote on whether to elevate her from the Eastern District of Louisiana to the Fifth Circuit.

The Bottom Line

The Aug. 5 hearing put St. John’s previous opposition to legislation restricting forced arbitration back at the center of her confirmation process as senators considered whether to elevate a judge confirmed only months earlier to the Fifth Circuit.

At the same hearing, Candeub faced scrutiny over whether his telecommunications and technology-policy experience prepared him to lead the Justice Department’s Antitrust Division. Both nominations now await further Senate Judiciary Committee action.

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