Howard Nielson

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Howard Nielson
Image of Howard Nielson

Nonpartisan

United States District Court for the District of Utah
Tenure

2019 - Present

Years in position

5

Education

Bachelor's

Brigham Young University, 1992

Graduate

Kobe University, 1994

Law

University of Chicago Law School, 1997

Personal
Birthplace
Provo, Utah

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Howard C. Nielson Jr. is a judge on the United States District Court for the District of Utah. On September 28, 2017, President Donald Trump (R) nominated Nielson to a seat on this court.[1] The U.S. Senate confirmed Nielson on May 22, 2019, on a 51-47 vote.[2] He received commission on June 12, 2019.[3] To see a full list of judges appointed by Donald Trump, click here.

The United States District Court for the District of Utah is one of 94 U.S. district courts. They are the general trial courts of the United States federal courts. To learn more about the court, click here.

Nielson was a partner at Cooper and Kirk PLLC from 2010 to 2019. He joined the firm in 2005.[4]

Judicial nominations and appointments

United States District Court for the District of Utah

See also: Federal judges nominated by Donald Trump

On September 28, 2017, President Donald Trump (R) nominated Nielson to a seat on this court.[1] The U.S. Senate confirmed Nielson on May 22, 2019, on a 51-47 vote.[2] To read more about the federal nominations process, click here.

Nomination Tracker
Fedbadgesmall.png
Nominee Information
Name: Howard C. Nielson Jr.
Court: United States District Court for the District of Utah
Progress
Confirmed 601 days after nomination.
ApprovedANominated: September 28, 2017
ApprovedAABA Rating: Majority qualified/Minority well qualified
Questionnaire: Questionnaire
ApprovedAHearing: January 10, 2018
QFRs: QFRs (Hover over QFRs to read more)
ApprovedAReported: February 8, 2018 (first)/February 7, 2019 (second) 
ApprovedAConfirmed: May 22, 2019
ApprovedAVote: 51-47


Confirmation vote

The U.S. Senate confirmed Nielson on May 22, 2019, on a vote of 51-47.[2] Senator Susan Collins of Maine was the only Republican to vote against Nielson's confirmation. To see a full breakdown of the vote on the official U.S. Senate website, click here.

Nielson confirmation vote (May 22, 2019)
Party Yea Nay No vote
Electiondot.png Democratic 0 44 1
Ends.png Republican 51 1 1
Grey.png Independent 0 2 0
Total 51 47 2
Change in Senate rules
See also:
Filibuster and reconciliation in the United States Congress
Federal judges nominated by Donald Trump
United States federal courts

Nielson was confirmed to a U.S. District Court under a new precedent the Senate established.

On April 3, 2019, the U.S. Senate voted 51-48 in favor of a change to chamber precedent lowering the maximum time allowed for debate on executive nominees to posts below the Cabinet level and on nominees to district court judgeships from 30 hours after invoking cloture to two.[5]

The change was passed under a procedure, often referred to as the nuclear option, that requires 51 votes rather than 60.[6]

It was the third use of the nuclear option in Senate history. In 2013, it was used to eliminate the 60-vote threshold to confirm presidential nominees, except those to the Supreme Court. In 2017, it was used to eliminate the 60-vote threshold required to confirm Supreme Court nominees.[7] For more, see Filibuster and reconciliation in the United States Congress.


Senate Judiciary Committee hearing

The Senate Judiciary Committee held a hearing on Nielson's nomination on January 1, 2018. The committee voted to advance the nomination on February 8, 2018.[8]

The Senate Judiciary Committee favorably reported Nielson's nomination on February 7, 2019.[9] Click here to see how the committee voted. Nielson's nomination was one of 44 that Sen. Lindsey Graham (R-S.C.) reported that day.


Nomination

On September 28, 2017, President Donald Trump (R) nominated Nielson to a seat on the United States District Court for the District of Utah. Nielson was nominated to succeed Judge Brian Stewart, who assumed senior status on September 1, 2014.[8]

At the sine die adjournment of the 115th Congress on January 3, 2019, the Senate returned Nielson's nomination to President Trump.[10] Nielson was one of 51 individuals the president re-nominated on January 23, 2019.[11]


In 2018, the American Bar Association (ABA) rated Nielson qualified by a substantial majority and not qualified by a minority. In 2019, the ABA rated Nielson qualified by a majority and well qualified by a minority.[12][13] To read more about ABA ratings, click here.

Early life and education

Nielson was born in Provo, Utah, in 1968. He earned his B.A., summa cum laude, from Brigham Young University in 1992. He was a Mombusho scholar at the Kobe University Graduate School of Law in Japan from 1992 to 1994. He earned his J.D. with high honors from the University of Chicago Law School in 1997. During a period of his legal studies, Nielson served as an articles editor of the University of Chicago Law review.[4][14]

Professional career

Associations

About the court

District of Utah
Tenth Circuit
UT-D.gif
Judgeships
Posts: 5
Judges: 5
Vacancies: 0
Judges
Chief: Robert Shelby
Active judges: Ann Marie McIff Allen, David Barlow, Howard Nielson, Jill N. Parrish, Robert James Shelby

Senior judges:
Tena Campbell, Dale Kimball, David Nuffer, David Sam, Brian Stewart, Clark Waddoups


The United States District Court for the District of Utah is one of 94 United States district courts. The court is based in Salt Lake City, Utah, with another courtroom in Ogden, Utah. When decisions of the court are appealed, they are appealed to the United States Court of Appeals for the Tenth Circuit based in downtown Denver, Colorado, at the Byron White Federal Courthouse.


To read opinions published by this court, click here.

The federal nomination process

Federal judges are nominated by the president of the United States and confirmed by the Senate. There are multiple steps to the process:

  • The president nominates an individual for a judicial seat.
  • The nominee fills out a questionnaire and is reviewed by the Senate Judiciary Committee.
  • The Senate Judiciary Committee holds a hearing with the nominee, questioning them about things like their judicial philosophy, past rulings or opinions, etc.
  • As part of this process, the committee sends a blue slip to senators from the home state in which the judicial nomination was received, allowing them to express their approval or disapproval of the nominee.
  • After the hearing, the Senate Judiciary Committee will vote to approve or return the nominee.
  • If approved, the nominee is voted on by the full Senate.
  • If the Committee votes to return the nominee to the president, the president has the opportunity to re-nominate the individual.
  • The Senate holds a vote on the candidate.
  • If the Senate confirms the nomination, the nominee receives a commission to serve a lifelong position as a federal judge.
  • If the Senate does not confirm the nomination, that nominee does not become a judge.


See also

External links

Footnotes

  1. ↑ 1.0 1.1 The White House, "President Donald J. Trump Announces Eighth Wave of Judicial Candidates," September 28, 2017
  2. ↑ 2.0 2.1 2.2 Congress.gov, "PN244 — Howard C. Nielson Jr. — The Judiciary," accessed May 23, 2019
  3. ↑ Federal Judicial Center, "Nielson, Howard Curtis, Jr.," accessed June 13, 2019
  4. ↑ 4.0 4.1 4.2 4.3 Senate Judiciary Committee, "Questionnaire for judicial nominees: Howard Curtis Nielson, Jr.," accessed May 23, 2019
  5. ↑ The Hill, "GOP triggers 'nuclear option' to speed up Trump picks," April 3, 2019
  6. ↑ Axios, "Senate GOP invokes 'nuclear option' to speed up confirmations of Trump nominees," April 3, 2019
  7. ↑ NBC News, "McConnell to use 'nuclear option' to confirm lower-level nominees," April 2, 2019
  8. ↑ 8.0 8.1 United States Congress, "PN 1053 — Howard C. Nielson Jr. — The Judiciary," accessed September 29, 2017
  9. ↑ U.S. Senate Judiciary Committee, "Results of Executive Business Meeting," February 7, 2019
  10. ↑ Under Senate Rule XXXI, paragraph 6 of the Standing Rules of the Senate, pending nominations are returned to the president if the Senate adjourns sine die or recesses for more than 30 days. Congressional Research Service, "Senate Consideration of Presidential Nominations: Committee and Floor Procedure," April 11, 2017
  11. ↑ WhiteHouse.gov, "Nominations Sent to the Senate," January 23, 2019
  12. ↑ American Bar Association, "Ratings of Article III and Article IV judicial nominees, 115th Congress," accessed May 23, 2019
  13. ↑ American Bar Association, "Ratings of Article III and Article IV judicial nominees, 116th Congress," accessed May 23, 2019
  14. ↑ 14.0 14.1 Cooper and Kirk PLLC, "Howard C. Nielson, Jr.," accessed September 29, 2017

Political offices
Preceded by
- 		United States District Court for the District of Utah
2019-Present		 Succeeded by
-


Utah courts

Federal courts:

Tenth Circuit Court of Appeals • U.S. District Court: District of Utah • U.S. Bankruptcy Court: District of Utah

State courts:

Utah Supreme Court • Utah Court of Appeals • Utah District Courts • Utah Juvenile Courts • Utah Justice Courts

State resources:

Courts in Utah • Utah judicial elections • Judicial selection in Utah

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