The U.S. Senate approved a contentious judicial nominee Tuesday, voting 51-45 to place Anna St. John on the federal bench in Louisiana’s Eastern District Court despite fierce opposition from Democrats and an unexpected critic – former Fox News personality Gretchen Carlson.
St. John, who serves as president and general counsel for the Hamilton Lincoln Law Institute, faced scrutiny over her 2021 congressional testimony where she argued against banning mandatory arbitration in workplace sexual assault and harassment cases.
President Trump had announced St. John’s nomination via social media in January, praising her “strong record of tirelessly fighting to protect Free Speech, champion Religious Liberty, and keep men out of women’s sports.”
The New Orleans attorney has spent nearly a decade at Ted Frank’s Center for Class Action Fairness, which later became part of the Hamilton Lincoln Law Institute, where she has challenged class action settlements that the organization claims benefit attorneys while providing minimal relief to affected consumers.
Louisiana Republican Senator John Kennedy, who sits on the Judiciary Committee, praised the confirmation Tuesday, stating: “She knows our Constitution like the back of her hand and has the smarts and experience to be a great, fair judge.”
However, Senate Judiciary Committee ranking Democrat Dick Durbin strongly criticized the nomination during recent hearings, arguing that her “record reflects a partisan ideology and raises serious questions about her ability to impartially administer justice.”
Durbin highlighted opposition from Carlson, who gained national attention a decade ago when she filed a prominent sexual harassment lawsuit against former Fox News CEO Roger Ailes. Ailes, who passed away in 2017, had denied those allegations.
In a January 29 opinion piece published by Alliance for Justice Action, Carlson accused St. John of attempting to “gaslight” women who sought to eliminate forced arbitration during the #MeToo era.
The dispute centers on legislation that Congress ultimately passed in 2022 – the Ending Forced Arbitration of Sexual Assault and Sexual Harassment Act – which prohibits companies from requiring employees to resolve sexual assault or harassment claims through arbitration rather than the court system.
During her November 2021 House Judiciary Committee testimony opposing the bill, St. John argued in written statements that arbitration offers a quicker and more cost-effective method for resolving disputes, “even when serious harms such as sexual harassment and assault are at issue.”
When questioned about her position during a February 4 hearing, St. John maintained her stance, asserting that arbitration “can be beneficial and that it can result, and often does result, in much higher recoveries for plaintiffs and sexual assault survivors.”
