American Bar Association says Montana nominee is not qualified to be a federal judge

Katie Lane, who has been nominated to the federal court in Montana by President Donald J. Trump, received a “not qualified” evaluation by the American Bar Association to become a federal judge.

Lane is currently the general counsel for the Republican National Committee, but leaders in the state and beyond have questioned her experience and qualifications to sit on the federal bench, which requires approval by the United States Senate. The position is a lifetime appointment.

In its letter, dated Tuesday, Pamela Collins, the chairwoman of the standing committee on the federal judiciary for the ABA explained the reason for the determination is based on a process it uses for all federal judicial candidates as a means of evaluating the professional qualifications for the federal trial and appellate courts. The determination carries weight in the legal community, and is meant to help advise U.S. Senators on the relative qualifications for federal judicial openings.

The committee also evaluated more than 200 comments that were submitted regarding Lane.

The ABA said it “strictly” evaluates the candidates on professional qualifications which touch on integrity, professional competence and judicial temperament.

The ABA said that in addition to recommending 12 years of professional experience, candidates for the federal bench should have significant trial experience.

“The majority of the Standing Committee did not find that Lane has gained substantial courtroom and trial experience in the less-than-nine years since she was admitted to the bar,” the letter stated. “Lane has never tried a case as lead counsel, whether civil or criminal. Her trial experience consists of serving as fourth-chair counsel in a bench trial in 2025, where she briefly cross-examined one witness. She has first-chaired only one deposition. Although Lane has argued two cases in the federal courts of appeals, it appears she has never conducted a direct examination, picked a jury, or offered an opening statement or a closing argument.”

The Daily Montanan reached out to both of Montana’s U.S. Senators who have previously said they endorsed her nomination. It asked whether the ABA’s evaluation changed their positions, and if they still supported her, why do they believe she should receive their votes. Neither Sen. Steve Daines nor Tim Sheehy, both Republicans, responded.

Lane graduated from law school in 2017, and has completed two clerkships for federal judges. She was also briefly a deputy solicitor general for the State of Montana. That translates to less than seven years of experience as an attorney.

The ABA committee noted she has been among the top of her peers for her work ethic and collegiality. However, it said that those qualities cannot be substituted for the technical expertise necessary to run a federal courtroom.

“Under the committee’s standards, however, these positive attributes do not compensate for the short time Lane has practiced law—less than nine years, including her clerkships—and her lack of substantial courtroom and trial experience,” the ABA letter said.

Lane drew criticism about her experience, especially her lack of trial experience, when she appeared before the U.S. Senate Judiciary Committee in March. She was introduced by Daines, Montana’s senior U.S Senator.

Sen. Adam Schiff, a Democrat from California, pushed Lane during questioning when she claimed she had been part of trials as a clerk for a federal judge.

“I was a federal law clerk and I wouldn’t say I handled the trials — I’d say the judge handled the trials,” Schiff said. “When you’re a law clerk, you observe what happens. You don’t do it yourself. Observing them and trying a case are two different things, I’m sure you’d agree.”

Maybe the most charged part of the hearing, though, was Democratic Senators’ frustration with political questions Lane and others dodged or gave obtuse answers to about the results of the 2020 presidential election and the Jan. 6 U.S. Capitol insurrection.

“I hope you four realize how ridiculous you look spouting these preposterous canned answers in a forum in which you were supposed to tell the truth and demonstrate the judicial capacity to make independent factual decisions in hard cases,” said Sen. Sheldon Whitehouse, a Democrat from Rhode Island. “If you can’t sit here and say Joe Biden won that election or the capitol was attacked, what’s left?”

Lane, who is from Bozeman, was nominated to fill the vacancy that will be created when District Court Judge Susan Watters retires.

“After a thorough peer review evaluation and careful deliberation, a majority of the Standing Committee has concluded that Lane presently does not meet the requisite minimum standard of experience necessary to be qualified for the high office of a federal trial judge,” the ABA letter concluded.