Last week President Trump announced a slate of judicial nominees. Among them are Leonard Steven Grasz, whom Trump has nominated to serve on the Eighth Circuit Court of Appeals–the federal appeals court over Arkansas.
Mr. Grasz is currently an attorney in Nebraska. He has served in the Nebraska Attorney General’s office.
During his time with the A.G., Mr. Grasz helped defend Nebraska’s pro-life law banning partial-birth abortions before the U.S. Supreme Court.
Although the court ultimately struck down the law in Stenberg v. Carhart, the ruling paved the way for a federal law banning partial-birth abortion; that law was upheld in Gonzalez v. Carhart.
In 1999 Mr. Grasz helped file an amicus brief in support of Texas public schools after a lower court ruled student-led prayer at public school sporting events was unconstitutional.
So what does this mean for Arkansas? Well, since Arkansas is in the Eighth Circuit Court of Appeals, it means Mr. Grasz could hear federal challenges brought against state laws–such as Arkansas’ new pro-life laws.
Of course, with any judicial nominee it’s impossible to know for sure what the future holds, but given his track record, Mr. Grasz’s nomination to the Eighth Circuit looks promising.
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Today the Arkansas Lottery released its financial reports for the month of July, marking the beginning of Fiscal Year 2018.