- Alice M. Batchelder
Alice Moore Batchelder (born
August 15 ,1944 ) is an American attorney andjurist . She currently is a federal judge on theUnited States Court of Appeals for the Sixth Circuit and was considered by President George W. Bush as a potential nominee for a U.S. Supreme Court seat that ultimately went to Justice Samuel Alito.Batchelder was born in
Wilmington, Delaware . She graduated fromOhio Wesleyan University in 1964, where she met her future husband, William G. Batchelder. Batchelder received herJuris Doctor (law degree) from theUniversity of Akron in 1971, and herMaster of Laws (LL.M.) degree from theUniversity of Virginia in 1988.Batchelder briefly taught English and had a private legal practice from 1971 to 1983 in
Medina, Ohio , near Cleveland. In 1983, she was appointed a judge of theUnited States bankruptcy court for theNorthern District of Ohio .On
February 28 1985 , PresidentRonald Reagan appointed Batchelder to a new district judge position on theUnited States District Court for the Northern District of Ohio . She was confirmed by the U.S. Senate onApril 3 and received her commission onApril 4 . OnJune 12 ,1991 , PresidentGeorge H.W. Bush nominated Batchelder to theUnited States Court of Appeals for the Sixth Circuit to the seat vacated byFrederick Pierce Lively . She was confirmed by the Senate onNovember 27 and received her commission onDecember 2 . Batchelder's service on the district court position was officially terminated onJanuary 4 ,1992 , due to her appointment to the court of appeals.On 22 December 2005, Judge Batchelder concurred with Judge Suhrheinrich on the prominent case "ACLU v. Mercer County" [http://www.ca6.uscourts.gov/opinions.pdf/05a0477p-06.pdf] , in which a panel of the Sixth Circuit unanimously decided to permit the continued display of the
Ten Commandments in aKentucky courthouse. Thus she implicitly agreed with Judge Suhrheinrich that theUnited States Constitution does not demand "a wall of separation between church and state," and with his criticism of the ACLU's "repeated references to the 'separation of church and state'" and statement that "this extra-constitutional construct has grown tiresome."Batchelder's husband,
William G. Batchelder , is a former state court of appeals judge and a former state legislator, serving in theOhio House of Representatives for over 30 years.He announced his retirement from the bench as of
September 30 2005 , and was reelected to the state house in 2006. [ [http://www.batchelderforohio.com Batchelderforohio.com] ] [ [http://www.boe.co.medina.oh.us:2000/results-1.htm BOE.com (Medina, Ohio)] ]ee also
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George W. Bush Supreme Court candidates References
Links
* [http://www.fjc.gov/servlet/tGetInfo?jid=116 Federal Judicial Center biography]
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