WASHINGTON – U.S. Senate Democratic Whip Dick Durbin (D-IL), Ranking Member of the Senate Judiciary Committee, questioned Edward L. Artau, nominated to the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of Florida; Kyle Christopher Dudek, nominated to the U.S. District Court for the Middle District of Florida; Anne-Leigh Gaylord Moe, nominated to the U.S. District Court for the Middle District of Florida; and Jordan Emery Pratt, nominated to the U.S. District Court for the Middle District of Florida, in today’s Senate Judiciary Committee nominations hearing.
Durbin began by asking Judge Pratt about an opinion in which he held that a Florida law allowing minors to seek abortions without parental consent—but with a judicial waiver—was unconstitutional.
“Judge Pratt, just a few weeks ago, you wrote an opinion in which you held that a Florida law allowing minors seeking abortions without parental consent—but with [a] judicial waiver—was unconstitutional. The case involved an appeal from a trial court’s denial of a 17-year-old’s application to obtain a judicial waiver of the parental notification-and-consent requirements for an abortion. Under Florida law, judicial waivers in this context have been permitted. However, your decision held that Florida’s judicial waiver procedures were unconstitutional and violated the parents’ due process rights. This wasn’t something you wrote in an op-ed piece. Nor was it a case you argued zealously on behalf of a client. This was last month, and you wrote this opinion as a state court judge. In commenting on your opinion, one lawyer said ‘[j]udicial overreach doesn’t even begin to describe it.’ There are also serious concerns with your decision’s potential impact on victims of incest or abuse. So, should a minor who is sexually assaulted in your state be forced to give birth if her parents do not consent to her having an abortion?”
Judge Pratt responded, “The opinion holds that the parents have, at a minimum, a due process right to notice and an opportunity to be heard… if the state seeks to abridge or to remove their right to be involved in the medical decisions of their children.”
Durbin followed up by noting, “I think you went further than that, as I understand it. Your decision held that Florida’s judicial waiver procedures were unconstitutional and violated the parents’ due process rights.”
Judge Pratt’s opinion affirmed a trial court’s ruling and held that Florida’s “maturity” and “best-interest” judicial-waiver procedures violated parents’ due process rights by depriving them of the right to make medical decisions for their children without notice or opportunity to be heard.
Judge Pratt’s decision has been met with significant backlash, with critics highlighting its potential impact on victims of incest or abuse, among other issues.
Durbin then asked the nominees about following court orders. Durbin noted that in recent months, the Committee has heard from multiple nominees who have refused to plainly state that the executive branch must follow federal court orders or that they would always enforce the orders of a federal court.
“We’ve had a recurring question here about the impact of a court order,” Durbin said. “How seriously should a party to a conflict take a court order? … Do I have the right, if I’m in your court or any court, for that matter, and a decision is reached to say that I just don’t agree with it, I don’t have to live by it. Or am I bound by that order until I’ve exhausted the rights of appeal, forexample?”
Judge Artau responded, “For the most part, court orders are court orders.”
Video of Durbin’s questions in Committee is available here.
Audio of Durbin’s questions in Committee is available here.
Footage of Durbin’s questions in Committee is available here for TV Stations.
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