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The Department of Justice officially informed the American
Bar Association (ABA) on Thursday that it will discontinue its rating process
for judicial nominees.
It claims the system is unfair and consistently and
manifestly favors nominees nominated by Democratic administrations.
U.S. Attorney General Pam Bondi's letter informing ABA
President William R. Bay of the move comes at a time when Republicans have been
engaged in a protracted legal battle with the nation's largest bar association,
and this is the latest round of bad news.
“For several decades, the American Bar Association has
received special treatment and privileged access to judicial nominees,” Bondi
stated in the letter.
“In some administrations, the ABA was notified of nominees
before they were publicly announced. Some administrations even decided whether
to nominate an individual based on the rating assigned by the ABA.”