Federal Appeals Court Judge Withdraws Retirement Decision

December 15, 2024 TruthUSA

U.S. Circuit Judge James Wynn has become the third judge to reverse his retirement decision following the November election.

A judge from the U.S. appeals court changed his mind about retiring late last week, marking him as the third judge to do so after the election of President-elect Donald Trump last month.

Wynn did not disclose any specific reasons for his decision to remain in his position, nor did he mention Trump directly.

In a letter addressed to President Joe Biden on December 13, Judge James Wynn from the 4th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals announced his choice to continue serving. Earlier, two district judges had also decided to stay following the elections held on November 5.

“I write to inform you that, after thoughtful deliberation, I have opted to remain in active service as a United States circuit judge for the Fourth Circuit,” Wynn wrote in his communication to Biden. After retracting his earlier resignation letter dated for this year, he added, “I apologize for any inconvenience.”

When a judge cancels their retirement, it effectively prevents Republican senators, who will have the majority in January, from confirming Trump’s nominees for that position.

Wynn’s announcement took place a day after North Carolina Solicitor General Ryan Park withdrew his nomination to succeed Wynn, as his chances for Senate confirmation diminished.

Sen. Thom Tillis (R-N.C.) suggested that Wynn’s decision was driven by political motivations.

“Judge Wynn’s overtly partisan choice to reverse his retirement is an unprecedented action that reveals certain judges are acting more like politicians than impartial arbiters,” he stated in a December 14 press release.

Tillis expressed on social media that the judge’s reversal is “an affront to the U.S. Senate, which reached a bipartisan agreement to pause the confirmation of his replacement until the new Congress is sworn in this January.”

Following the elections, Senate Democrats and Republicans struck a deal that allowed for votes on about a dozen of Biden’s remaining trial court nominees, in exchange for postponing the advancement of four appellate court nominees, including Park.

This arrangement left four seats without confirmed successors, which Trump could aim to fill upon his inauguration on January 20. Additionally, two vacancies relied on two Democrat-appointed judges proceeding with their plans to retire from active service.

The other judges who have opted not to retire include U.S. District Judge Max Cogburn from North Carolina and U.S. District Judge Algenon Marbley from Ohio. Wynn, Cogburn, and Marbley were all appointed by Democratic presidents.

Earlier this month, Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell remarked on the Senate floor that Marbley and Cogburn chose to reconsider their retirements for political purposes and urged Trump to ask both judges to recuse themselves from certain cases.

The Article III Project, an organization led by Trump ally Mike Davis, announced on December 13 that it had filed complaints of judicial misconduct against the two trial court judges who reversed their retirement decisions after the election.

In recent weeks, the judiciary announced that U.S. District Judge Frank Whitney from the Western District of North Carolina had chosen to take senior status, effective December 1. Whitney is an appointee of a past Republican administration and is among the first judges to publicly announce a decision for senior status since Trump’s election.

Reuters contributed to this report.

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