Jonathan A. Kobes

{{Infobox officeholder

| name = Jonathan A. Kobes

| image = Jonathan Kobes (Judge) (cropped).jpg

| office = Judge of the United States Court of Appeals for the Eighth Circuit

| appointer = Donald Trump

| term_start = December 12, 2018

| term_end =

| predecessor = Roger Leland Wollman

| successor =

| birth_name = Jonathan Allen Kobes

| birth_date = {{Birth date and age|1974|8|25}}

| birth_place = Sioux City, Iowa, U.S.

| death_date =

| death_place =

| education = Dordt University (BA)
Harvard University (JD)

| party = Republican

}}

Jonathan Allen Kobes (born August 25, 1974) is a United States circuit judge of the United States Court of Appeals for the Eighth Circuit.

Education

Kobes received his Bachelor of Arts from Dordt University and his Juris Doctor from Harvard Law School, where he was an editor and the business manager of the Harvard Journal of Law and Public Policy. During law school, Kobes worked at the Massachusetts Attorney General's Office, the United States Senate Committee on the Judiciary, the United States Attorney's Office for the Northern District of Iowa, and the Chicago office of McDermott Will & Emery.

Legal career

After graduating from law school, Kobes served as a law clerk to Judge Roger Leland Wollman of the United States Court of Appeals for the Eighth Circuit. He then worked from 2002 to 2003 a litigation attorney at the Central Intelligence Agency and from 2003 to 2005 an Assistant United States Attorney for the District of South Dakota. Kobes was an associate at the Sioux Falls, South Dakota, office of Murphy, Goldammer & Prendergast from 2005 to 2008. Kobes was then senior counsel to POET in Sioux Falls, senior regulatory counsel to DuPont Pioneer in Johnston, Iowa, and Director of Corporate Compliance at Raven Industries.

From 2014 to 2018, Kobes worked as General Counsel to U.S. Senator Mike Rounds. He was also a member of the Central Committee of the Lincoln County Republican Party.{{Cite news|url=https://www.nytimes.com/2018/12/11/us/politics/republicans-judges-confirmation-votes.html|title=Trump's Judicial Nominees Take Heat but Largely Keep Marching Through Senate|last=Edmondson|first=Catie|date=2018-12-11|work=The New York Times|access-date=2018-12-11|language=en-US|issn=0362-4331}}

Federal judicial service

On June 7, 2018, President Donald Trump announced his intent to nominate Kobes to serve as a United States Circuit Judge of the United States Court of Appeals for the Eighth Circuit.{{cite press release|url=https://trumpwhitehouse.archives.gov/presidential-actions/president-donald-j-trump-announces-fifteenth-wave-judicial-nominees-fourteenth-wave-united-states-attorney-nominees-ninth-wave-united-states-marshal-nominees/|title=President Donald J. Trump Announces Fifteenth Wave of Judicial Nominees, Fourteenth Wave of United States Attorney Nominees, and Ninth Wave of United States Marshal Nominees|date=June 7, 2018|via=National Archives|work=whitehouse.gov|access-date=June 7, 2018}} {{PD-notice}} On June 11, 2018, his nomination was sent to the Senate. Trump nominated Kobes to the seat being vacated by Judge Roger Leland Wollman, who previously announced his intention to assume senior status upon confirmation of a successor.{{cite web|url=https://trumpwhitehouse.archives.gov/presidential-actions/seventeen-nominations-sent-senate-today-3/|via=National Archives|work=whitehouse.gov|title=Seventeen Nominations Sent to the Senate Today}} On August 22, 2018, a hearing on his nomination was held before the Senate Judiciary Committee.{{cite web|url=https://www.judiciary.senate.gov/meetings/08/22/2018/nominations|title=Nominations - United States Senate Committee on the Judiciary|website=www.judiciary.senate.gov|date=August 22, 2018 }} On September 14, 2018, the American Bar Association's Standing Committee on the Federal Judiciary rated Kobes "Not Qualified."{{cite news |last1=Gregory |first1=Patrick |title=ABA Rates Another Trump 8th Circuit Nominee 'Not Qualified' |url=https://www.bna.com/aba-rates-trump-n73014482574/ |access-date=18 September 2018 |publisher=Bloomberg BNA |date=September 17, 2018}} The ABA's report said that Kobes was "a very accomplished, competent, and capable person, but his career path has not resulted in sufficient evidence of a developed ability to do the written work of a United States circuit court judge."{{cite news |last1=Silverstein |first1=Jason |title=Federal judge becomes first in U.S. history confirmed by tiebreaker in the Senate |url=https://www.cbsnews.com/news/jonathan-kobes-becomes-first-federal-judge-in-u-s-history-confirmed-by-tiebreaker-in-the-senate/ |access-date=26 December 2018 |website=CBS News |date=December 11, 2018}}{{cite magazine |last1=Weiss |first1=Debra Cassens |title=Pence breaks tie to confirm 8th Circuit nominee with 'not qualified' rating from ABA committee |url=http://www.abajournal.com/news/article/pence_breaks_tie_to_confirm_8th_circuit_nominee_with_not_qualified_rating |access-date=26 December 2018 |magazine=ABA Journal |date=December 12, 2018}} The ABA report questioned Kobes' understanding of "complex legal analysis" and "knowledge of the law". At the time of his nomination, Kobes had tried six cases during his legal career, cases that the ABA considered straightforward and not "legally complex".

On October 11, 2018, Kobes' nomination was reported out of the Senate Judiciary Committee by a 11–10 vote.{{cite web|url=https://www.judiciary.senate.gov/imo/media/doc/10-11-18%20Results%20of%20Executive%20Business%20Meeting1.pdf|title=Results of Executive Business Meeting – October 11, 2018, Senate Judiciary Committee}} On November 29, 2018, the United States Senate invoked cloture on Kobes' nomination by a 50–49 vote, with Vice President Mike Pence breaking the tie.{{cite web|url=https://www.senate.gov/legislative/LIS/roll_call_lists/roll_call_vote_cfm.cfm?congress=115&session=2&vote=00251|title=On the Cloture Motion (Motion to Invoke Cloture: Jonathan A. Kobes to be U.S. Circuit Judge for the Eighth Circuit)|website=www.senate.gov}} On December 11, 2018, he was confirmed by a 51–50 vote, with Pence casting his vote in the affirmative.{{cite web|url=https://www.senate.gov/legislative/LIS/roll_call_votes/vote1152/vote_115_2_00258.htm|title= On the Nomination (Confirmation Jonathan A. Kobes, of South Dakota, to be U.S. Circuit Judge for the Eighth Circuit)|website=www.senate.gov}}{{cite news | last1=Ellis | first1=Jonathan | title=Trump judicial nominee, Sioux Falls lawyer Jonathan Kobes, wins confirmation | url=https://www.argusleader.com/story/news/2018/12/11/jonathan-kobes-trump-nominee-sioux-falls-lawyer-wins-confirmation/2280025002/ | date=December 11, 2018 | newspaper=Sioux Falls Argus Leader | access-date=December 12, 2018}}{{cite news | last1=Carney | first1=Jordain | title=Pence casts tie-breaking vote for Trump appeals court judge | url=https://thehill.com/homenews/senate/420848-pence-casts-tie-breaking-vote-for-trump-appeals-court-judge | date=December 11, 2018 | newspaper=The Hill | access-date=December 12, 2018}} He was the first federal judicial nominee ever confirmed by a tie-breaking vote.{{cite web | last1=Silverstein | first1=Jason | title=Federal judge becomes first in U.S. history confirmed by tiebreaker in the Senate | url=https://www.cbsnews.com/news/jonathan-kobes-becomes-first-federal-judge-in-u-s-history-confirmed-by-tiebreaker-in-the-senate/ | date=December 11, 2018 | website=CBS News | access-date=December 12, 2018}} Kobes received his judicial commission on December 12, 2018.{{FJC Bio|nid=5675191|inline=yes}}

Notable cases

In December 2021, Kobes upheld the 20-year prison sentence of a doctor at the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs who misdiagnosed a patient, resulting in the patient's death.{{Cite web|url=https://www.military.com/daily-news/2021/12/02/appeals-court-upholds-sentence-of-former-va-pathologist.html|title=Appeals Court Upholds Sentence of Former VA Pathologist|website=Military.com|date=December 2, 2021|access-date=December 5, 2021}}{{Cite web|url=https://ecf.ca8.uscourts.gov/opndir/21/12/211296P.pdf|title=United States of America v. Robert Levy|website=ecf.ca8.uscourts.gov|date=December 1, 2021|access-date=December 5, 2021}}

Memberships

Kobes was a member of the Federalist Society from 1999 to 2004.{{cite web|url=https://www.judiciary.senate.gov/imo/media/doc/Kobes%20SJQ.pdf|title=United States Senate Committee on the Judiciary: Questionnaire for Judicial Nominees: Jonathan A. Kobes}}