Brian C. Buescher

Brian Craig Buescher (born 1975) is the chief United States district judge of the United States District Court for the District of Nebraska.

Early life and education

Buescher was born in 1975, in Beatrice, Nebraska and was raised on a farm near Deweese, Nebraska. He graduated valedictorian from Sandy Creek High School near Fairfield, Nebraska in 1993. At Georgetown Law, Buescher served as Editor-in-Chief of The Georgetown Journal of Legal Ethics, Vice President of the Georgetown University Law Center Student Bar Association, and he received the St. Thomas More Award for his outstanding publication in legal ethics.

On November 28, 2018, a hearing on his nomination was held before the Senate Judiciary Committee. During or after the hearing in written questions, Sens. Kamala Harris and Mazie Hirono questioned Buescher about his membership in the Knights of Columbus, a fraternal Catholic charitable organization, which they alleged has "taken a number of extreme positions." The senators were then criticized by Sen. Orrin Hatch and others for allegedly "imposing religious tests on Federal judicial nominees," a potential violation of Article VI of the U.S. Constitution. Writing in the Los Angeles Times, Rabbi Mitchell Rocklin said that the senators approach amounted to a "religious test" such as is precluded by Article VI of the Constitution. Rocklin said: "The line of questioning Buescher faced about his affiliation with the Knights of Columbus sets a troubling precedent of intolerance—one that is unconscionable in principle and terrible in practice for people of all faiths who seek a role in public service. ...For centuries, many Jews have suffered a similar 'dual loyalty' smear: the anti-Semitic lie that, faced with a choice between country and religion, a Jewish public official will put his faith before his country."

On January 3, 2019, his nomination was returned to the President under Rule XXXI, Paragraph 6 of the United States Senate. On January 23, 2019, Trump announced his intent to renominate Buescher for a federal judgeship. His nomination was sent to the Senate later that day. On February 7, 2019, his nomination was reported out of committee by a 12–10 vote. On July 24, 2019, the Senate invoked cloture on his nomination by a 52–39 vote. Later that day, his nomination was confirmed by a 51–40 vote. He received his judicial commission on August 6, 2019.

During his time on the bench, Judge Buescher has been appointed by the Chief Justice as one of fourteen federal judges on the Judicial Conference of the United States Committee on Information Technology. Judge Buescher has also been appointed to serve on the Federal Courts Online System for Clerkship Application and Review (OSCAR) Working Group, and the Information Technology Security Awareness Working Group. In the District of Nebraska, Judge Buescher has served many roles, including judicial liaison to the District of Nebraska Federal Practice Committee. Judge Buescher has also served as adjunct professor of law for Creighton University School of Law, teaching Federal Courts and Agricultural Law.

Electoral history 2009

2014