Trump Picks Appeals Judges’ Children for Courts in Their Circuit

President Donald Trump has nominated two children of judges on the US Court of Appeals for the Eighth Circuit who would sit on courts within their jurisdiction, a rarity for the federal judiciary.

Judge Duane Benton presides in Missouri, and Judge Bobby Shepherd serves in Arkansas. Benton’s daughter, Megan, is Trump’s pick for the Western District of Missouri. Shepherd’s son, John, has been tapped for the Western District of Arkansas.

A federal statute, amended in 1998, prevents family members from serving on the same court. Though “it does not preclude family members from serving on different courts, even those within the same circuit,” said John P. Collins, a George Washington law professor who researches judicial nominations.

That amendment in the law governing family members serving together on the bench came three years after President Bill Clinton’s initial 1995 nomination of Ninth Circuit Judge Betty Binns Fletcher’s son, William Fletcher, to the same court.

Following criticism from Senate Republicans, who argued that a mother and son couldn’t serve on the same bench, Betty assumed senior status after William’s confirmation in 1998.

Clinton also appointed Ninth Circuit Judge Harry Pregerson’s son, Dean, to the Central District of California, whose cases are reviewed by that circuit court on appeal.

If Benton and Shepherd are confirmed, their parents would have to recuse from any cases handled by them at the district level, said Stephen Gillers, a professor at the New York University School of Law, who studies judicial ethics.

That’s what retired US Supreme Court Justice Stephen Breyer did with cases handled by his brother, US District Judge Charles Breyer of the Northern District of California.

There’s less overlap between a more recent pair of family members on the federal bench. President Joe Biden appointed Candace Jackson-Akiwumi to the Seventh Circuit while her father, Judge Raymond Jackson, served on the Eastern District of Virginia under the Fourth Circuit’s jurisdiction.

Megan Benton is a judge for the 6th Judicial Circuit in Missouri. She was previously a county prosecutor. John Shepherd is also a state court judge who previously served as a state-level prosecutor.

Judge Duane Benton told the White House on Oct. 24 he planned to semi-retire when a successor for his seat is confirmed.

The two appeals judge fathers didn’t respond to requests for comment.

Benton’s nomination is awaiting consideration by the full Senate.