Judicial Ratings Draw Ire of Left, Right After Tearful Hearing

The American Bar Association’s judicial ratings are under scrutiny after a scathing assessment drove a Trump nominee to tears, prompting new skepticism about their usefulness in a charged political climate.

Nine of President Donald Trump’s nominees have received unqualified marks from the ABA Standing Committee on the Federal Judiciary, three whose nominations moved forward in the past few weeks. But it also has cleared virtually all of his nominees to the Republican-led Senate, including those for trial and appellate courts, and two to the Supreme Court.

Those facts taken separately are fueling complaints from both sides of the political divide ...