U.S. District Judge Catherine Kimball Misel has served as a federal judge in Florida for more than a year. In particular, the Senate vote, which confirms her lifetime appointment, came in mid-November 2020, following the presidential election. She was assessed as “unqualified” by the American Bar Association based on her limited post-law experience.
Born in Lakeland, Florida, in 1987, Misel graduated in 2012 from Levin College of Law at the University of Florida after earning a bachelor’s degree from Covenant College, a Christian college of liberal arts in Georgia.
Prior to becoming a judge, she was a Fellow at Jones Day Law Firm in Washington, DC, and an Associate Professor of Law at her alma mater. Misel has held four federal clerical positions throughout her career, including one with U.S. Supreme Court Justice Clarence Thomas from 2018 to 2019.
From 2017 to 2018, she was an adviser to one of the third-ranking employees in the Ministry of Justice, then Associate Attorney General Rachel Brand, where she headed the tax department and led the administration’s efforts to promote freedom of speech in university gardens.
She has spent about three years as an attorney at the Justice Department’s tax office, prosecuting white-collar crimes, and was previously a special assistant to the U.S. Attorney for the Eastern District of Virginia, she told the Senate Judiciary Commission. According to the American Bar Association, the two cases she tried to sue were when she said she was a certified intern in the Florida Attorney General’s Office and still in law school.
A member of the Federal Society, Misel, then 33, was nominated by Trump in early September 2020 in confirmation without any support from the Senate Democrats, who were in the minority at the time.
During her Senate hearing the same month, Misel was pressured by Democrats for inexperience and other problems, such as a friend’s testimony she gave while in private practice on behalf of clients in support of the ministry’s decision. not to issue mandatory safety rules to protect workers from infection with Covid-19.
Misel was also asked about John Eastman – who later insisted on ways to cancel the presidential election – who at the time was pushing a racist conspiracy theory that Vice President Kamala Harris might not qualify for the role because her parents were immigrants. Miesel said she did not support the views expressed by Eastman, who worked for the Clermont Institute, where Miesel participated in a one-week scholarship.
Misel received the “unqualified” rating from the American Bar Association when she was nominated, based on inexperience – a major focus of the ABA’s ranking system.
“(A) A federal bench nominee must typically have at least 12 years of experience in law practice,” a letter to the Senate Judicial Commission said in September 2020. ABA’s “Backgrounder” added that of the applicant, the Standing Committee recognizes that significant experience in the courtroom and the process as a lawyer or judge is important. “
While Mizel was allowed to practice law in September 2012, the ABA noted that “the limited experience of the candidate may be offset by the breadth and depth of the candidate’s experience in the course of her or his career.” In this case, writes ABA, Misel did not consider a civil or criminal case as a leader or co-advocate.
In its letter, the ABA said it did not question Misel’s character or future abilities. “Ms. Misel has a very sharp intellect, a strong work ethic and an impressive resume,” the letter said. “She presents herself as an admirable person and has many friends who support her nomination. Her integrity and demeanor are not in question. However, these qualities simply do not compensate for the short time during which she actually practiced law and her lack of meaningful experience in the process. “
Asked about the ABA letter in its written questionnaire on the Senate of the Judiciary, Mizel wrote: “I do not fully understand his methodology or why they missed discussing my trial as a federal prosecutor, where I appeared and argued in the federal district court.”
During her confirmation hearing, Misel was asked by Republican Sen. Ted Cruz of Texas what he would say to the court, worried about the lack of experience.
“I would do my best to understand it, to learn it quickly. “I would put all my energy and intensity into mastering the task at hand,” she said.
Misel was confirmed by the Senate in a vote on party line 49-41 in November 2020. She was later sworn in by Thomas.
CNN’s Tierney Sneed and Dan Berman contributed to this report.
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