Jonathan A. Kobes

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

From 2014 to 2018, Kobes worked as an aide and counsel to U.S. Senator Mike Rounds.

Federal judicial service 
On June 7, 2018, President 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. On June 11, 2018, his nomination was sent to the Senate. President Trump nominated Kobes to the seat being vacated by Judge Roger Leland Wollman, who previously announced his intention to take senior status on a date to be determined. On August 22, 2018, a hearing on his nomination was held before the Senate Judiciary Committee.

On September 14, 2018, the American Bar Association's Standing Committee on the Federal Judiciary rated Kobes "Not Qualified." 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." 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's nomination was reported out of the Senate Judiciary Committee by a party-line 11–10 vote. On November 29, 2018, the Senate voted to invoke cloture on Kobes' nomination by a 50–49 vote, with Vice President Mike Pence breaking the tie. On December 11, 2018, he was confirmed in the Senate by a vote of 51–50, with Pence casting his vote in the affirmative. He was the first federal judicial nominee ever confirmed by a tie-breaking vote. Kobes received his judicial commission on December 12, 2018.

Memberships 
He was a member of the Federalist Society from 1999–2004.

See also 
 Donald Trump judicial appointment controversies

References

External links 
 
 

Category:1974 births
Category:Living people
Category:20th-century American lawyers
Category:21st-century American lawyers
Category:21st-century American judges
Category:Assistant United States Attorneys
Category:Dordt College alumni
Category:Federalist Society members
Category:Harvard Law School alumni
Category:Judges of the United States Court of Appeals for the Eighth Circuit
Category:People from Sioux City, Iowa
Category:People of the Central Intelligence Agency
Category:South Dakota lawyers
Category:South Dakota Republicans
Category:United States court of appeals judges appointed by Donald Trump
Category:United States Senate lawyers