Judge Who Ruled in Favor of Coronavirus Church Drive-In Services Appointed to Powerful Court of Appeals
by Karen Faulkner, Worthy News Correspondent
(Worthy News) – The first judge to rule in favor of churches during COVID-19 lockdowns has been confirmed to the influential Court of Appeals, the Washington Examiner reports. President Trump nominated 38-year-old Kentucky Judge Justin Walker to the seat being vacated by retiring Judge Thomas B. Griffith.
Walker is known for granting several churches a restraining order on Louisville Mayor Greg Fischer’s stay-at-home order banning drive-in services a few days before Easter. “The Mayor’s decision is stunning,” he wrote. “And it is, ‘beyond all reason,’ unconstitutional.” Following Walker’s decision, other judges and the Justice Department and President Trump said churches must be permitted to have drive-in services, the Washington Examiner reported.
Walker was confirmed by a 51-42 vote in the Senate on Thursday. Prior to his confirmation, he served as a US District judge in Western Kentucky.
Walker had clerked for Supreme Court Justice Brett Kavanaugh while he was on the DC Court of Appeals. At the time of Kavanugh’s fraught confirmation hearings over an alleged sexual assault, Walker said he believed the Justice had not acted improperly.
Praising his confirmation from the Senate floor, Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell said Walker is a “widely admired legal expert and proven judge.”
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