The Full Read · Article by Article
Kurt Damian Engelhardt
Fifth Circuit · appt. Trump
7/7
🥇 Fit for the Bench
1Ethics & Recusalcritical
72%★ earned
“No man is allowed to be a judge in his own cause.” — Madison, Federalist No. 10
No documented ethics or recusal violation; advocacy-group criticism of his Federalist Society membership is ideological, not a citable lapse.
2Fidelity to Democracycritical
74%★ earned
“…a government of laws, and not of men.” — Marshall, Marbury v. Madison
No documented involvement in election subversion or open defiance of higher courts across district and circuit service.
3Judicial Temperament
72%★ earned
“Justice must satisfy the appearance of justice.” — Frankfurter
As district judge his prosecutorial-misconduct new-trial order in the Danziger Bridge case was upheld; no documented temperament complaints.
4Reason, Not Ideology
72%★ earned
“We are not final because we are infallible…” — Robert H. Jackson
Criticism of his rulings on harassment and civil-rights cases reflects disagreement with outcomes, not documented result-driven misconduct.
5Intellectual Honesty & Precedent
72%★ earned
“…to stand by things decided.” (stare decisis) — the common-law maxim
No documented contradiction of confirmation testimony or disregard of binding precedent in the public record.
6Independence from Party
68%★ earned
“The complete independence of the courts of justice is peculiarly essential.” — Hamilton, Federalist No. 78
Trump appointee; no widely documented departures from expected votes, so scored at the neutral independence default.
7Personal Integrity
75%★ earned
“The time is always right to do what is right.” — Martin Luther King Jr.
No documented criminal, civil, or corruption matter bearing on personal integrity.
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Scores are Independent 2026’s own editorial read against the Seven Articles — ≥60% earns the star. The first two Articles are critical: fail Ethics & Recusal or Fidelity to Democracy and there is no seal, whatever else holds. Each Article carries its founding quote as the yardstick. On bias →