Donald Trump has made it clear that he believes Judge Gonzalo Curiel’s parents’ birthplace makes him too biased to serve as a judge in a fraud case involving Trump University.
The Trump University suit is being heard in the United States District Court for the Southern District of California, where 17 judges currently sit. By the standard Trump has set, 13 of these judges, more than 75 percent, would have reasons to be biased against him and therefore could not preside over any case he was involved in.
These 13 are all either part of demographic groups that Trump has insulted, have family ties to countries that Trump has said he would be antagonistic toward, or were nominated to the bench by a Democratic president, all qualities that it seems Trump believes disqualify someone from hearing a case involving him.
Marilyn L. Huff, Janis Lynn Sammartino, Cathy Ann Bencivengo, and Cynthia Ann Bashant would be disqualified by Trump on the basis of their sex since they might not appreciate having the entirety of their professional and personal worth reduced to whether Trump finds them attractive.
Barry Ted Moskowitz, Jeffrey T. Miller, Thomas J. Whelan, and M. James Lorenz were appointed by Bill Clinton.
Anthony J. Battaglia was appointed by Barack Obama.
Roger T. Benitez was born in Cuba.
Dana Makoto Sabraw’s mother was born in Japan, with whom Donald Trump has suggested starting a trade war.
Finally, Larry Alan Burns, a conservative, has publicly supported the reinstatement of the assault weapons ban. Donald Trump opposes “gun bans.”
This leaves just four judges in the Southern District of California who would qualify under the standard Donald Trump has set for impartial jurists.
