Judge Amy Brailsford on cusp of pioneering move

The U.S. Senate Judiciary Committee on Thursday supported the nomination of Judge Amanda Brailsford as U.S. district court judge in Idaho. If confirmed by the Senate, Brailsford would be the first woman to serve as a U.S. district judge in Idaho.

The committee approved her in a voice vote, in which the committee members said aye or nay all at once; This is rare for a judicial nomination, according to University of Richmond law professor Carl Tobias, who tracks federal judge appointments. Brailsford had enough support that no one requested a roll call vote, in which each senator would separately cast votes.

“Her hearing was very smooth,” Tobias said Thursday. “Today, they had a voice vote, which is very rare. Because both sides, Democrats and Republicans, are very partisan about judicial selection and so they use all the procedural hurdles they can. And one is to require a roll call vote … but there was so much support for her that they didn’t need it.”

Brailsford is an Idaho native and has served on the state Court of Appeals since 2019. President Joe Biden nominated her and Idaho’s senators supported her approval.

In a joint statement, U.S. Sens. Mike Crapo and Jim Risch said, “We thank the Judiciary Committee for its actions to demonstrate what we already know — Judge Brailsford is an excellent candidate to serve on the U.S. District Court in Idaho. She is a sound and principled jurist whose history demonstrates she will adjudicate cases according to the law and U.S. Constitution. Judge Brailsford is one of the most qualified nominees for the federal bench in Idaho, and she has earned widespread respect and admiration among her legal peers.”

Brailsford received her bachelor’s degree from the University of Idaho in 1989 and her law degree from the UI College of Law in 1993, according to her biography. She served as a law clerk for Judge Thomas G. Nelson on the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit from 1993 to 1995.

She worked at the law firm Holland & Hart LLP as an associate until 2002 and as a partner from 2003 to 2013. Brailsford was a founding partner at Andersen Banducci PLLC in Boise from 2013 and 2017.

Her varied legal background and longstanding Idaho ties made her a strong candidate, Tobias said, which allowed her to get the support of both the White House and her home-state senators.

“They all agreed, I think, about her, which speaks to her qualifications and that she’s well-respected in the state,” he said.

This isn’t the case for judicial nominations for other red states, such as Florida and Texas, which have a number of vacancies and no nominees because the state and White House can’t agree, he said.

“And that just hurts people in the state,” Tobias said.

The full Senate will need to confirm her nomination, but Tobias anticipates this will happen easily.

Guido covers Idaho politics for the Lewiston Tribune, Moscow-Pullman Daily News and Idaho Press of Nampa. She may be contacted at lguido@idahopress.com and can be found on Twitter @EyeOnBoiseGuido.