Brian C. Buescher
Judge of the United States District Court for the District of Nebraska
Assumed office
August 6, 2019
Appointed byDonald Trump
Preceded byLaurie Smith Camp
Personal details
Born (1975-01-16) January 16, 1975
Beatrice, Nebraska, U.S.
Political partyRepublican
EducationUniversity of Nebraska–Lincoln (BA)
Georgetown University (JD)

Brian Craig Buescher (born January 16, 1975) is a United States district judge of the United States District Court for the District of Nebraska.

Early life and education

Buescher was born on January 16, 1975, in Beatrice, Nebraska[1] and was raised on a farm near Deweese, Nebraska.[2] He graduated valedictorian from Sandy Creek High School near Fairfield, Nebraska in 1993.[2] He received his Bachelor of Arts with honors and high distinction in economics and political science from the University of Nebraska–Lincoln in 1997.[2] At UNL, Buescher graduated Phi Beta Kappa and as a Chancellor's Scholar, earning a cumulative 4.0 grade point average.[2] He also served as president of the University of Nebraska Chancellor's Senior Honorary, the Society of Innocents.[2] Buescher received his Juris Doctor from the Georgetown University Law Center in 2000.[3] At Georgetown Law, Buescher served as Editor-in-Chief of The Georgetown Journal of Legal Ethics, Vice President of the Georgetown University Law Center Student Bar Association, and he received the St. Thomas More Award for his outstanding publication in legal ethics.[2]

After graduating from law school, Buescher joined the Omaha, Nebraska office of Kutak Rock LLP as an associate. He became a partner in 2007. At Kutak Rock, he led the firm's agribusiness litigation practice, with extensive experience in agribusiness, environmental, food law, real estate, product liability, class action, banking, and insurance litigation matters. Buescher served as the Chair of both the Nebraska Bar Association's Agricultural and Environmental Law Sections. In 2004, Buescher served as a prosecutor for Douglas County and Omaha while still working at Kutak Rock.[3] He received the Excellence in Agricultural Law Award for private practice from the American Agricultural Law Association in 2017.[2] He left Kutak Rock in 2019 after being appointed and confirmed as a federal judge.

Political campaigns

In 2009, Buescher unsuccessfully ran for the Omaha City Council.

In 2014, Buescher unsuccessfully ran in the Republican primary for Attorney General of Nebraska.[3]

Federal judicial service

On October 10, 2018, President Trump announced his intent to nominate Buescher to serve as a United States District Judge of the United States District Court for the District of Nebraska. On November 13, 2018, his nomination was sent to the Senate. Trump nominated Buescher to the seat vacated by Judge Laurie Smith Camp, who assumed senior status on December 1, 2018.[4]

On November 28, 2018, a hearing on his nomination was held before the Senate Judiciary Committee.[5] During the hearing, Sens. Kamala Harris and Mazie Hirono questioned Buescher about his membership in the Knights of Columbus, a fraternal Catholic charitable organization, which they alleged has "taken a number of extreme positions." The senators were then criticized by Sen. Orrin Hatch and others for allegedly "imposing religious tests on Federal judicial nominees," a potential violation of Article VI of the U.S. Constitution.[6] Writing in the Los Angeles Times, Rabbi Mitchell Rocklin said that the senators approach amounted to a "religious test" such as is precluded by Article VI of the Constitution. Rocklin said: "The line of questioning Buescher faced about his affiliation with the Knights of Columbus sets a troubling precedent of intolerance—one that is unconscionable in principle and terrible in practice for people of all faiths who seek a role in public service. ...For centuries, many Jews have suffered a similar 'dual loyalty' smear: the anti-Semitic lie that, faced with a choice between country and religion, a Jewish public official will put his faith before his country."[7] Rocklin noted the anti-Semitism experienced by Justices Louis Brandeis and Benjamin N. Cardozo, and further state, "It is even more absurd for senators to imply that a judge, who cannot propose or enact legislation, would be incapable of setting aside his religious beliefs when interpreting our written laws. ...If sitting lawmakers are allowed to make such assumptions of Catholic nominees, religious minorities could very well be next."[7]

On January 3, 2019, his nomination was returned to the President under Rule XXXI, Paragraph 6 of the United States Senate. On January 23, 2019, Trump announced his intent to renominate Buescher for a federal judgeship.[8] His nomination was sent to the Senate later that day.[9] On February 7, 2019, his nomination was reported out of committee by a 12–10 vote.[10] On July 24, 2019, the Senate invoked cloture on his nomination by a 52–39 vote.[11] Later that day, his nomination was confirmed by a 51–40 vote.[12] He received his judicial commission on August 6, 2019.[13]

Electoral history

2009
Omaha City Council — 3rd District Primary — April 7, 2009[14]
Party Candidate Votes %
Nonpartisan Chris Jerram 1,402 23.41%
Nonpartisan Chip Maxwell 1,373 22.93%
Nonpartisan Brian C. Buescher 1,276 21.31%
Nonpartisan Crystal Rhoades 1,198 20.01%
Nonpartisan Jim Farho 570 9.52%
Nonpartisan Steve Cross 145 2.42%
Nonpartisan Write-ins 24 0.40%
Total votes 5,988 100.00%
Runoff election
2014
Nebraska Attorney General Republican Primary, May 13, 2014[15]
Party Candidate Votes %
Republican Doug Peterson 67,578 35.65%
Republican Brian C. Buescher 48,316 25.49%
Republican Mike Hilgers 43,371 22.88%
Republican Pete Pirsch 30,321 15.99%
Plurality 19,262 10.16%
Total votes 189,586 100.00%

References

  1. ↑ Voruganti, Harsh (November 28, 2018). "Brian Buescher – Nominee to the U.S. District Court for the District of Nebraska". The Vetting Room. Retrieved October 18, 2019.
  2. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 "Buescher, Brian C. | District of Nebraska | United States District Court". www.ned.uscourts.gov. Retrieved March 28, 2020.
  3. 1 2 3 "President Donald J. Trump Announces Eighteenth Wave of Judicial Nominees, Eighteenth Wave of United States Attorney Nominees, and Thirteenth Wave of United States Marshal Nominees". whitehouse.gov. October 10, 2018. Retrieved October 10, 2018 – via National Archives. Public Domain This article incorporates text from this source, which is in the public domain.
  4. ↑ "Twenty Six Nominations Sent to the Senate". whitehouse.gov – via National Archives.
  5. ↑ "Nominations | United States Senate Committee on the Judiciary". www.judiciary.senate.gov. November 28, 2018.
  6. ↑ "Kamala Harris, Mazie Hirono target Brian Buescher Knights of Columbus membership". AP NEWS. December 30, 2018.
  7. 1 2 Rocklin, Mitchell (January 16, 2019). "Keep religious tests out of the Senate". Los Angeles Times'.
  8. ↑ "President Donald J. Trump Announces Intent to Nominate Judicial Nominees". whitehouse.gov – via National Archives.
  9. ↑ "Nominations Sent to the Senate". whitehouse.gov – via National Archives.
  10. ↑ "Results of Executive Business Meeting – February 7, 2019, Senate Judiciary Committee" (PDF).
  11. ↑ "On the Cloture Motion (Motion to Invoke Cloture: Brian C. Buescher to be U.S. District Judge for the District of Nebraska)". www.senate.gov.
  12. ↑ "On the Nomination (Confirmation: Brian C. Buescher, of Nebraska, to be U.S. District Judge for the District of Nebraska)". www.senate.gov.
  13. ↑ Brian C. Buescher at the Biographical Directory of Federal Judges, a publication of the Federal Judicial Center.
  14. ↑ "Official Report – Primary Election – April 7, 2009". Douglas County, Nebraska. April 17, 2009. Retrieved July 21, 2019.
  15. ↑ "Official Report – Primary Election – May 13, 2014" (PDF). Office of the Secretary of State of Nebraska. Government of Nebraska. Archived from the original (PDF) on November 8, 2018. Retrieved October 26, 2018.
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