Carolyn Kuhl
Encyclopedia
Carolyn Barbara Kuhl is a judge
on the Superior Court of California for the County of Los Angeles
and a former nominee to the United States Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit
. She was born in St. Louis
, Missouri
.
in Chemistry from Princeton University
with honors. Judge Kuhl was in the second class of women ever to graduate from Princeton. She graduated with honors from Duke Law School in 1977 where she was a member of the Order of the Coif
and an editor of the Duke Law Journal
.
From 1977 to 1978, Kuhl clerked for future Supreme Court Justice, Anthony M. Kennedy, when he was an appellate judge on the United States Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit
.
From 1981 to 1986, she served in the United States Department of Justice
. She served as Deputy Solicitor General
, Deputy Assistant Attorney General in the Civil Division
, and as Special Assistant to Attorney General William French Smith
.
As Deputy Solicitor General of the United States, she argued cases before the United States Supreme Court and supervised the work of the other attorneys in the office. As Deputy Assistant Attorney General in the Civil Division, Judge Kuhl supervised all civil appellate litigation handled by the Justice Department nationwide. She also supervised civil trial litigation involving federal agency programs—in particular, important cases raising critical constitutional or statutory issues.
From 1986 to 1995, Judge Kuhl was a partner in the Los Angeles law firm of Munger, Tolles & Olson
. Her practice focused on civil business litigation in both federal and state courts with a specialty in appellate litigation.
In 1995, she became a judge on the Superior Court of California for the County of Los Angeles
.
to a seat on the United States Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit
vacated by the Judge James R. Browning who had taken senior status
in 2000. Despite being rated "Well Qualified" by the American Bar Association
, her nomination was not processed during the Democratic-controlled 107th Congress due to pressure from several women's groups. Rather, it became stalled in the Senate Judiciary Committee under the leadership of then chairman, Senator Patrick Leahy
, D-VT.
There were three main reasons for the opposition to her nomination. First, while a young, 29-year-old attorney at the Department of Justice with no policy-making authority, Judge Kuhl helped urge the attorney general to reverse an Internal Revenue Service
policy denying tax-exempt status to Bob Jones University
, which practiced racial discrimination.
She did so on two technical points, which sidestepped dealing with the university’s racial policies. She argued that Congress, rather than an administrative agency like the IRS, ought to be making such determinations, and many years later, said she was concerned lest the IRS use its power to define “public policy” to deprive tax-exempt status to all-girls schools (such as the high school Kuhl herself had attended) or all-women’s colleges. Charles J. Cooper
, who was also at the Justice Department at the time working with Judge Kuhl on the case, has stated: "Neither [Kuhl] nor anyone else favored such a policy [of affording tax-exempt status to racially-discriminatory educational institutions]; to the contrary, all agreed that racially discriminatory private schools should not be tax-exempt, and draft legislation to that effect was prepared and proposed to Congress. [Kuhl and others involved in the case] just believed that if the school was going to lose the tax exemption that it was entitled to under 501(c)(3), Congress and not the IRS should make that decision."
Second, Kuhl had a limited role in the drafting of the brief filed by then-Acting Solicitor General Charles Fried
in Thornburgh v. American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists
, 476 U.S. 747 (1986), in which Fried, acting on behalf of President Ronald Reagan
, urged the Supreme Court to overturn Roe v. Wade
. Although Fried, whose name appears first on the brief, acknowledged that he wrote the “overrule-Roe part of the brief” himself, pro-choice groups attributed the position to Kuhl as well, whose name appeared third on the brief.
Third, while serving on the Los Angeles Superior Court in 1999, Kuhl dismissed one of several counts in a case brought by a woman alleging the tort of intrusion after her doctor, while conducting a breast exam, had invited into the examining room a pharmaceutical company representative who was observing the doctor’s work as part of his participation in an oncology mentorship program designed to improve care for breast cancer patients. The woman, Azucena Sanchez-Scott, later testified that an unidentified man was present when her doctor had her undress. She said that when she grew flushed, the man laughed at her.
When she discovered later from the receptionist that the man was a drug company salesman, she sued under a new state law. Judge Kuhl ruled that because Ms. Sanchez-Scott had not explicitly objected to the man's presence, "I think it cannot be said that there was a reasonable expectation of privacy."
Judge Kuhl ruled that the remaining counts could proceed to trial, and the case ultimately settled with the plaintiff receiving an undisclosed sum.
In the 2002 midterm congressional elections, the Republicans regained control of the Senate. During the new 108th Congress, Senator Orrin Hatch
, R-UT, the new Republican chairman of the Senate Judiciary Committee began to process previously blocked judicial nominees. California's two Democratic senators, Dianne Feinstein
and Barbara Boxer
announced their opposition to Kuhl's nomination. Contrary to Feinstein's and Boxer's wishes, and the tradition of having the approval of the state's own Senators, Hatch gave Kuhl a committee hearing, and passed her out of committee.
The Democrats decided to filibuster Kuhl in order to prevent her from having a confirmation vote. Her nomination was filibustered on November 14, 2003 when the Senate failed to end debate with a 53-43 cloture vote, which fell 7 votes shy of the 60 needed to overcome the filibuster. In December 2004, Judge Kuhl withdrew her nomination. In 2006, new Bush nominee Sandra Segal Ikuta
was confirmed to the seat which Kuhl had originally been nominated.
of the California Supreme Court appointed Judge Kuhl to the Judicial Council of California
, the constitutional policy-making body of the California courts.
Currently, Judge Kuhl serves as a member of the Advisory Committee on Civil Jury Instructions as well as the Collaborative Court-County Working Group on Enhanced Collections. Additionally, she is a member of the Governing Committee for the Center for Judicial Education and Research (CJER).
Currently, Judge Kuhl serves as the Presiding Judge of the Complex Litigation Division of the Los Angeles Superior Court.
Judge
A judge is a person who presides over court proceedings, either alone or as part of a panel of judges. The powers, functions, method of appointment, discipline, and training of judges vary widely across different jurisdictions. The judge is supposed to conduct the trial impartially and in an open...
on the Superior Court of California for the County of Los Angeles
Superior Courts of California
The Superior Courts of California are the superior courts in the U.S. state of California with general jurisdiction to hear and decide any civil or criminal action which is not specially designated to be heard in some other court or before a government agency...
and a former nominee to the United States Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit
United States Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit
The United States Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit is a U.S. federal court with appellate jurisdiction over the district courts in the following districts:* District of Alaska* District of Arizona...
. She was born in St. Louis
St. Louis, Missouri
St. Louis is an independent city on the eastern border of Missouri, United States. With a population of 319,294, it was the 58th-largest U.S. city at the 2010 U.S. Census. The Greater St...
, Missouri
Missouri
Missouri is a US state located in the Midwestern United States, bordered by Iowa, Illinois, Kentucky, Tennessee, Arkansas, Oklahoma, Kansas and Nebraska. With a 2010 population of 5,988,927, Missouri is the 18th most populous state in the nation and the fifth most populous in the Midwest. It...
.
Background
In 1974, Judge Kuhl received a bachelor's degreeBachelor's degree
A bachelor's degree is usually an academic degree awarded for an undergraduate course or major that generally lasts for three or four years, but can range anywhere from two to six years depending on the region of the world...
in Chemistry from Princeton University
Princeton University
Princeton University is a private research university located in Princeton, New Jersey, United States. The school is one of the eight universities of the Ivy League, and is one of the nine Colonial Colleges founded before the American Revolution....
with honors. Judge Kuhl was in the second class of women ever to graduate from Princeton. She graduated with honors from Duke Law School in 1977 where she was a member of the Order of the Coif
Order of the Coif
The Order of the Coif is an honor society for United States law school graduates. A student at an American law school who earns a Juris Doctor degree and graduates in the top 10 percent of his or her class is eligible for membership if the student's law school has a chapter of the...
and an editor of the Duke Law Journal
Duke Law Journal
The Duke Law Journal is a student-run law review published at Duke University School of Law. The journal publishes general-interest articles and student notes in eight issues each year.- Overview :...
.
From 1977 to 1978, Kuhl clerked for future Supreme Court Justice, Anthony M. Kennedy, when he was an appellate judge on the United States Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit
United States Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit
The United States Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit is a U.S. federal court with appellate jurisdiction over the district courts in the following districts:* District of Alaska* District of Arizona...
.
From 1981 to 1986, she served in the United States Department of Justice
United States Department of Justice
The United States Department of Justice , is the United States federal executive department responsible for the enforcement of the law and administration of justice, equivalent to the justice or interior ministries of other countries.The Department is led by the Attorney General, who is nominated...
. She served as Deputy Solicitor General
United States Solicitor General
The United States Solicitor General is the person appointed to represent the federal government of the United States before the Supreme Court of the United States. The current Solicitor General, Donald B. Verrilli, Jr. was confirmed by the United States Senate on June 6, 2011 and sworn in on June...
, Deputy Assistant Attorney General in the Civil Division
United States Attorney General
The United States Attorney General is the head of the United States Department of Justice concerned with legal affairs and is the chief law enforcement officer of the United States government. The attorney general is considered to be the chief lawyer of the U.S. government...
, and as Special Assistant to Attorney General William French Smith
William French Smith
William French Smith was an American lawyer and the 74th Attorney General of the United States.-Biography:...
.
As Deputy Solicitor General of the United States, she argued cases before the United States Supreme Court and supervised the work of the other attorneys in the office. As Deputy Assistant Attorney General in the Civil Division, Judge Kuhl supervised all civil appellate litigation handled by the Justice Department nationwide. She also supervised civil trial litigation involving federal agency programs—in particular, important cases raising critical constitutional or statutory issues.
From 1986 to 1995, Judge Kuhl was a partner in the Los Angeles law firm of Munger, Tolles & Olson
Munger, Tolles & Olson
Munger, Tolles & Olson LLP is a California law firm that has offices in Los Angeles and San Francisco. Charles Munger founded the firm in 1962 with six other lawyers.-Legal practice:...
. Her practice focused on civil business litigation in both federal and state courts with a specialty in appellate litigation.
In 1995, she became a judge on the Superior Court of California for the County of Los Angeles
Superior Courts of California
The Superior Courts of California are the superior courts in the U.S. state of California with general jurisdiction to hear and decide any civil or criminal action which is not specially designated to be heard in some other court or before a government agency...
.
Ninth Circuit nomination under Bush
On June 22, 2001, Judge Kuhl was nominated by President George W. BushGeorge W. Bush
George Walker Bush is an American politician who served as the 43rd President of the United States, from 2001 to 2009. Before that, he was the 46th Governor of Texas, having served from 1995 to 2000....
to a seat on the United States Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit
United States Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit
The United States Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit is a U.S. federal court with appellate jurisdiction over the district courts in the following districts:* District of Alaska* District of Arizona...
vacated by the Judge James R. Browning who had taken senior status
Senior status
Senior status is a form of semi-retirement for United States federal judges, and judges in some state court systems. After federal judges have reached a certain combination of age and years of service on the federal courts, they are allowed to assume senior status...
in 2000. Despite being rated "Well Qualified" by the American Bar Association
American Bar Association
The American Bar Association , founded August 21, 1878, is a voluntary bar association of lawyers and law students, which is not specific to any jurisdiction in the United States. The ABA's most important stated activities are the setting of academic standards for law schools, and the formulation...
, her nomination was not processed during the Democratic-controlled 107th Congress due to pressure from several women's groups. Rather, it became stalled in the Senate Judiciary Committee under the leadership of then chairman, Senator Patrick Leahy
Patrick Leahy
Patrick Joseph Leahy is the senior United States Senator from Vermont and member of the Democratic Party. He is the first and only elected Democratic United States Senator in Vermont's history. He is the chairman of the Senate Judiciary Committee. Leahy is the second most senior U.S. Senator,...
, D-VT.
There were three main reasons for the opposition to her nomination. First, while a young, 29-year-old attorney at the Department of Justice with no policy-making authority, Judge Kuhl helped urge the attorney general to reverse an Internal Revenue Service
Internal Revenue Service
The Internal Revenue Service is the revenue service of the United States federal government. The agency is a bureau of the Department of the Treasury, and is under the immediate direction of the Commissioner of Internal Revenue...
policy denying tax-exempt status to Bob Jones University
Bob Jones University
Bob Jones University is a private, for-profit, non-denominational Protestant university in Greenville, South Carolina.The university was founded in 1927 by Bob Jones, Sr. , an evangelist and contemporary of Billy Sunday...
, which practiced racial discrimination.
She did so on two technical points, which sidestepped dealing with the university’s racial policies. She argued that Congress, rather than an administrative agency like the IRS, ought to be making such determinations, and many years later, said she was concerned lest the IRS use its power to define “public policy” to deprive tax-exempt status to all-girls schools (such as the high school Kuhl herself had attended) or all-women’s colleges. Charles J. Cooper
Charles J. Cooper
Charles J. "Chuck" Cooper is an appellate attorney and litigator in Washington, D.C. and a founding member and chairman of the law firm Cooper & Kirk, PLLC...
, who was also at the Justice Department at the time working with Judge Kuhl on the case, has stated: "Neither [Kuhl] nor anyone else favored such a policy [of affording tax-exempt status to racially-discriminatory educational institutions]; to the contrary, all agreed that racially discriminatory private schools should not be tax-exempt, and draft legislation to that effect was prepared and proposed to Congress. [Kuhl and others involved in the case] just believed that if the school was going to lose the tax exemption that it was entitled to under 501(c)(3), Congress and not the IRS should make that decision."
Second, Kuhl had a limited role in the drafting of the brief filed by then-Acting Solicitor General Charles Fried
Charles Fried
Charles Fried is a prominent American jurist and lawyer. He served as United States Solicitor General from 1985 to 1989. He is currently a professor at Harvard Law School.-Early life and education:...
in Thornburgh v. American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists
Thornburgh v. American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists
Thornburgh v. American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists, was a United States Supreme Court case involving a challenge to Pennsylvania's Abortion Control Act of 1982....
, 476 U.S. 747 (1986), in which Fried, acting on behalf of President Ronald Reagan
Ronald Reagan
Ronald Wilson Reagan was the 40th President of the United States , the 33rd Governor of California and, prior to that, a radio, film and television actor....
, urged the Supreme Court to overturn Roe v. Wade
Roe v. Wade
Roe v. Wade, , was a controversial landmark decision by the United States Supreme Court on the issue of abortion. The Court decided that a right to privacy under the due process clause in the Fourteenth Amendment to the United States Constitution extends to a woman's decision to have an abortion,...
. Although Fried, whose name appears first on the brief, acknowledged that he wrote the “overrule-Roe part of the brief” himself, pro-choice groups attributed the position to Kuhl as well, whose name appeared third on the brief.
Third, while serving on the Los Angeles Superior Court in 1999, Kuhl dismissed one of several counts in a case brought by a woman alleging the tort of intrusion after her doctor, while conducting a breast exam, had invited into the examining room a pharmaceutical company representative who was observing the doctor’s work as part of his participation in an oncology mentorship program designed to improve care for breast cancer patients. The woman, Azucena Sanchez-Scott, later testified that an unidentified man was present when her doctor had her undress. She said that when she grew flushed, the man laughed at her.
When she discovered later from the receptionist that the man was a drug company salesman, she sued under a new state law. Judge Kuhl ruled that because Ms. Sanchez-Scott had not explicitly objected to the man's presence, "I think it cannot be said that there was a reasonable expectation of privacy."
Judge Kuhl ruled that the remaining counts could proceed to trial, and the case ultimately settled with the plaintiff receiving an undisclosed sum.
In the 2002 midterm congressional elections, the Republicans regained control of the Senate. During the new 108th Congress, Senator Orrin Hatch
Orrin Hatch
Orrin Grant Hatch is the senior United States Senator for Utah and is a member of the Republican Party. Hatch served as the chairman or ranking member of the Senate Judiciary Committee from 1993 to 2005...
, R-UT, the new Republican chairman of the Senate Judiciary Committee began to process previously blocked judicial nominees. California's two Democratic senators, Dianne Feinstein
Dianne Feinstein
Dianne Goldman Berman Feinstein is the senior U.S. Senator from California. A member of the Democratic Party, she has served in the Senate since 1992. She also served as 38th Mayor of San Francisco from 1978 to 1988....
and Barbara Boxer
Barbara Boxer
Barbara Levy Boxer is the junior United States Senator from California . A member of the Democratic Party, she previously served in the U.S. House of Representatives ....
announced their opposition to Kuhl's nomination. Contrary to Feinstein's and Boxer's wishes, and the tradition of having the approval of the state's own Senators, Hatch gave Kuhl a committee hearing, and passed her out of committee.
The Democrats decided to filibuster Kuhl in order to prevent her from having a confirmation vote. Her nomination was filibustered on November 14, 2003 when the Senate failed to end debate with a 53-43 cloture vote, which fell 7 votes shy of the 60 needed to overcome the filibuster. In December 2004, Judge Kuhl withdrew her nomination. In 2006, new Bush nominee Sandra Segal Ikuta
Sandra Segal Ikuta
Sandra Segal Ikuta is a federal judge on the United States Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit.- Background :Ikuta received a master's in journalism from Columbia University in 1978. She had previously attended Stanford University for two years before moving to University of California,...
was confirmed to the seat which Kuhl had originally been nominated.
Current life
On May 26, 2006, Chief Justice Ronald M. GeorgeRonald M. George
Ronald Marc George is the retired 27th Chief Justice of California, where he headed the Supreme Court of California and the Judicial Council of California...
of the California Supreme Court appointed Judge Kuhl to the Judicial Council of California
Judicial Council of California
The Judicial Council of California is the rule-making arm of the California court system. It was created by an amendment to article VI of the California Constitution in 1926...
, the constitutional policy-making body of the California courts.
Currently, Judge Kuhl serves as a member of the Advisory Committee on Civil Jury Instructions as well as the Collaborative Court-County Working Group on Enhanced Collections. Additionally, she is a member of the Governing Committee for the Center for Judicial Education and Research (CJER).
Currently, Judge Kuhl serves as the Presiding Judge of the Complex Litigation Division of the Los Angeles Superior Court.
Personal
Kuhl lives with her two daughters and her husband, William "Bill" Highberger, who is a judge on the Los Angeles County Superior Court.See also
- George W. Bush judicial appointment controversiesGeorge W. Bush judicial appointment controversiesDuring President George W. Bush's two term tenure in office, he nominated thirty-nine people for twenty-seven different federal appellate judgeships that were blocked by the Senate Democrats either directly in the Senate Judiciary Committee or on the full Senate floor using a filibuster....
- filibuster
- cloture