June 7, 2021
Regular readers of this blog have heard me say it dozens of times: The single most important issue in any President election is judicial nominations. A President’s term is four years; judicial nominations literally last a lifetime.
Here’s a case in point: U.S. District Court Judge Roger Benitez. Judge Benitez was nominated to the federal bench by President George W. Bush in 2001.
Last week, he issued a decision that struck down California’s 30-year-old assault weapons ban. “Like the Swiss Army Knife,” Judge Benitez wrote in his decision, “the popular AR-15 rifle is the perfect combination of home defense weapon and homeland defense equipment.” The decision will be appealed to the U.S. Court of Appeals, and the losing side will almost certainly seek review in the Supreme Court. Four of whose members have been on the bench for more than fifteen years each.