American Family Association Action (AFA Action), is a non-profit 501(c)(4) organization dedicated to advancing biblical, family values in society and government by educating and influencing public policy. AFA Action is also the Governmental Affairs Affiliate of American Family Association (AFA).
Judge on the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Eleventh Circuit
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Branch attended Davidson College, which is affiliated with the Presbyterian Church, for her undergraduate studies.[1] Branch also attended Emory University, which is affiliated with the Methodist Church, for law school.[2]
[1] History & Traditions, Davidson College, https://www.davidson.edu/about/history-traditions.
[2] About Us, Emory Univ., https://www.religiouslife.emory.edu/about_us/index.html.
Judge Branch has criticized substantive due process, stating, “[i]t is a stretch to come up with substantive protections from the actual text of the due process clause.”[3] She has also described herself as an “originalist and a textualist,” and has praised the jurisprudence of Justices Scalia and Thomas.[4] Lastly, Branch has also criticized "judicial activism."[5]
[3] AFJ Nominee Report, Elizabeth L. Branch, Alliance for Justice, https://www.afj.org/wp-content/uploads/2019/12/AFJ-Report-Lisa-Branch.pdf (bold and emphasis added).
[4] AFJ Nominee Report, Elizabeth L. Branch, Alliance for Justice, https://www.afj.org/wp-content/uploads/2019/12/AFJ-Report-Lisa-Branch.pdf.
[5] AFJ Nominee Report, Elizabeth L. Branch, Alliance for Justice, https://www.afj.org/wp-content/uploads/2019/12/AFJ-Report-Lisa-Branch.pdf.
Judge Branch has defended the use of prayer and the guidance of the Holy Spirit as a valuable part of our justice system.[6] In United States v. Brown, a juror was dismissed during deliberations due to reference to divine guidance in the deliberation process. The 11th Circuit opposed this reasoning in a majority opinion by Chief Judge Pryor: “Jurors may pray for and believe they have received divine guidance as they determine another person's innocence or guilt...”[7]
[6] United States v. Brown, 996 F.3d 1171, 1190-91 (11th Cir. 2021). Link here, PDF p. 39-40 (bold and emphasis added).
[7] United States v. Brown, 996 F.3d 1171, 1190-91 (11th Cir. 2021). Link here, PDF p. 39-40 (bold and emphasis added).
Branch has spoken publicly about the potential crisis of religious liberty.[8] She has also ruled on cases tangentially concerned about religious freedom and stuck to the objective rule of law.[9] In February 2020, Judge Branch gave a lecture entitled "Religious Liberty and Nondiscrimination: Are We on a Collision Course?" presented by Catholic Law's Center for Religious Liberty.[10] “Judge Branch began by posing the lecture’s titular question: are provisions for religious liberty and nondiscrimination on an inevitable collision course? As Judge Branch put it simply, ‘I think they are.’” [11]
[8] Catholic Law’s Center for Religious Liberty Presents: “Religious Liberty and nondiscrimination: Are We On a Collision Course?”, The Catholic University of America Columbus School of Law (Feb. 15. 2020), https://www.law.edu/news-and-events/2020/02/2020-0206-crl-judge-branch.html.
[9] See Anderson v. Emory Healthcare, Inc., No. 21-13358, 2022 WL 3099342 (11th Cir. 2022). Link here; United States v. Grady, 18 F.4th 1275, 1294-95 (11th Cir. 2021), cert. denied, 142 S. Ct. 2871 (2022). Link here, PDF p. 14.
[10] Catholic Law’s Center for Religious Liberty Presents: “Religious Liberty and nondiscrimination: Are We On a Collision Course?”, The Catholic University of America Columbus School of Law (Feb. 15, 2020), https://www.law.edu/news-and-events/2020/02/2020-0206-crl-judge-branch.html.
[11] Catholic Law’s Center for Religious Liberty Presents: “Religious Liberty and nondiscrimination: Are We On a Collision Course?”, The Catholic University of America Columbus School of Law (Feb. 15, 2020), https://www.law.edu/news-and-events/2020/02/2020-0206-crl-judge-branch.html (bold and emphasis added).
Judge Branch ruled in favor of a pro-abortion litigant in one case on procedural grounds.[12] In In re Doe, a 17-year-old girl achieved waiver to obtain an abortion without parental consent. Judge Branch concurred in part: “I concur fully in Division 1 because the juvenile court failed to render its decision within 24 hours of the conclusion of the hearing and, therefore, by the clear language of the statute, the petition “shall be deemed granted.” [13]
[12] In re Doe, 319 Ga. App. 574 (2013). Link here.
[13] In re Doe, 319 Ga. App. 574, 584-85 (2013). Link here, PDF p. 4.
Lisa Branch ruled in favor of two transgender petitioners who wanted to legally change their names, stating that the trial court had abused its discretion in denying the petitions because there was no “evidence that [the petitioners] had any fraudulent purpose in seeking a name change.”[14] Judge Branch also ruled in favor of free speech by protecting therapists’ ability to use conversion therapy, though expressly affirming that conversion therapy was “dangerous.”[15]
[14] AFJ Nominee Report, Elizabeth L. Branch, Alliance for Justice, https://www.afj.org/wp-content/uploads/2019/12/AFJ-Report-Lisa-Branch.pdf.
[15] Otto v. City of Boca Raton, Fla., 41 F.4th 1271, 1272-78 (11th Cir. 2022). Link here, PDF p. 3 (bold and emphasis added).
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Judge Branch has been a member of the Federalist Society since 2001.[16] She was a member of the National Rifle Association from 2009 to 2014[17] and has also been involved in Republican politics.[18] Judge Branch decided to join Judge Ho's boycott of Yale law clerks.[19] Branch worked in the Department of Homeland Security and the Office of Management and Budget under the George W. Bush administration.[20]
[16] See Senate Questionnaire p. 4.
[17] See Senate Questionnaire p. 6.
[18] See Senate Questionnaire p. 5-6.
[19] Colin Kalmbacher, Another Trump-Appointed Judge Says She Will Stop Hiring Elite Yale Law School Graduates, Citing Concerns About ‘Lack of Free Speech’, Law & Crime (Oct. 10, 2022), https://lawandcrime.com/judiciary/another-trump-appointed-judge-says-she-will-stop-hiring-elite-yale-law-school-graduates-citing-concerns-about-lack-of-free-speech/.
[20] See Andrew Kragie and Jimmy Hoover, Law360's Guide To Trump's Judicial Picks, Law 360 (Sept. 12, 2019), https://www.law360.com/articles/963060/law360-s-guide-to-trump-s-judicial-picks.
Judge Branch sat on a panel that voted 2-1 to stay a District judge's order blocking the CDC's rules for allowing cruise ships to resume operation.[21] In a suit filed by residential landlords against the Secretary of H.H.S., the CDC, and others, challenging the eviction moratorium under the CARES Act, seeking a preliminary injunction, the majority denied the injunction. Judge Branch wrote a dissenting opinion: "Because nothing in § 264(a) indicates that Congress intended to assign the Director of the CDC sweeping authority over the national rental housing market, the major questions doctrine supports this interpretation of § 264(a)…because “[t]here is no ‘unmistakably clear’ language in the Public Health Service Act indicating Congress's intent to invade the traditionally State-operated arena of landlord-tenant relations.”[22] Judge Branch also sat on panels that denied insurance coverage to businesses that suffered loss because of Covid-19 restrictions.[23]
[21] Josh Gerstein, Appeals court allows CDC to enforce plan on resuming cruises, Politico (July 18, 2021), https://www.politico.com/news/2021/07/18/appeals-court-cdc-cruises-desantis-499987 (link to Order https://www.documentcloud.org/documents/21011418-flcruisecdcca11ord071721).
[22] Brown v. Sec'y, U.S. Dep't of Health & Hum. Servs., 4 F.4th 1220, 1251–53 (11th Cir.), vacated, 20 F.4th 1385 (11th Cir. 2021), PDF: https://media.ca11.uscourts.gov/opinions/pub/files/202014210.pdf.
[23] 15 Oz Fresh & Healthy Foods LLC v. Underwriters at Lloyd's London, No. 21-10949, 2022 WL 6595768, at *2 (11th Cir. 2022), PDF: https://media.ca11.uscourts.gov/opinions/unpub/files/202110949.pdf.
Best meets the ten principles of a constitutional judge.
Rating: GreyNeutral. Record is not as fully developed. Cannot be rated as “green” or “red.”
Rating: RedFails to meet the ten principles of a constitutional judge.
AFA Action is a non-profit 501(c)(4) organization dedicated to advancing biblical, family values in society and government by educating and influencing public policy. AFA Action is also the Governmental Affairs Affiliate of American Family Association.