Texas News

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5/20/2016 TAB

TAB's Daily Message for Friday, May 20

Justice Don Willett is very funny on Twitter, but more importantly, he's an excellent jurist.   

Bill Hammond
CEO

See also: 9 times Texas Supreme Court Justice Don Willett dissed Donald Trump on Twitter

Trump would consider Texas Supreme Court’s Don Willett for U.S. high court

Bobby Blanchard 

Texas Supreme Court Justice Don Willett responded to Trump’s list with the following:

“I respect all, and personally know several, of the judges listed. Being named alongside them for any purpose is a rich honor. They are exceptional jurists, and importantly, over half have served or are serving in the state judiciary, where most American justice is dispensed.”

AUSTIN — Donald Trump would consider nominating Texas Supreme Court Justice Don Willett to the U.S. high court, his campaign announced Wednesday.

Trump released a list of 11 candidates he would consider for a nomination. Willett — who’s known as a frequent Twitter user — didn’t immediately say whether he’d be interested in the position. At an event with Gov. Greg Abbott, he said he was “exercising judicial restraint” and would comment later.

Last June, Willett tweeted a haiku that read: “Who would the Donald/Name to #SCOTUS? The mind reels./*weeps — can’t finish tweet*” Willett is close to Ted Cruz.

The list, which was released Wednesday, contains six federal circuit court judges and five judges from state supreme courts. Three on the list are women. All of the circuit court judges were appointed by former President George W. Bush, whom Trump has frequently criticized.

The full list:

Steven Colloton
Allison Eid
Raymond Gruender
Thomas Hardiman
Raymond Kethledge
Joan Larsen
Thomas Lee
William Pryor
David Stras
Diane Sykes
Don Willett

In a written statement, Trump said the list represents “the kind of constitutional principles I value and, as President, I plan to use this list as a guide to nominate our next United States Supreme Court Justices.”

The Associated Press noted that Trump promised to release the list earlier this year, when he said it would include judges “that everybody respects, likes and totally admires.” He said they would be “great conservative judges, great intellects, the people that you want.”

In addition to his robust Twitter following, Willett has drawn praise in conservative circles for his judicial opinions.