Lately JWI has celebrated several "firsts." Gerry Bradley, our first Co-Director; the Winter Fellowship, our first program expansion; Prof. Justin Dyer, our first Senior Fellow. And now, we are thrilled to share an exciting “first” featuring one of our James Wilson Fellowship Alumni. Zachary Bluestone (JWI ‘17) has been nominated by President Trump for a judgeship on the United States District Court for the Eastern District of Missouri. Zachary is the first James Wilson Fellow to be nominated for a federal judgeship. As one of our finest fellows, we could not be more thrilled to honor him for this achievement.

President Trump, in announcing the nomination yesterday, praised Zachary as “a True Legal Warrior” as well as someone who is “tough, smart, and LOVES our Great Country.” Zachary’s impressive biography is detailed below. As we have said before, an added bonus with the results of the 2024 election is that this is a time for modest reaping what we have sown at the James Wilson Institute. With our alumni maturing in their legal careers and advancing to positions of prominence, an increasing demand for our work from young law students, and rising interest in the arguments we present - the future is looking bright indeed! We have full confidence that Zachary, following confirmation by the Senate, will be a bright spot in the landscape of American Jurisprudence. Please join us in wishing him a speedy confirmation process and Godspeed in his future vocation!

Zachary Bluestone ‘17 is currently Appellate Chief and Violent Crimes Prosecutor in the United States Attorney’s Office in his hometown of St. Louis, Missouri. He is a former Deputy Solicitor General of Missouri and clerked for Judge Raymond W. Gruender of the Eighth Circuit Court of Appeals. Mr. Bluestone graduated from Harvard Law School, where he was Managing Editor of the Harvard Journal of Law & Public Policy. Prior to clerking, he worked in all three branches of the federal government, including the Office of the Chief Prosecutor of Military Commissions at the U.S. Department of Defense, the Office of the President Pro Tempore of the U.S. Senate, and the Administrative Office of the U.S. Courts. He graduated from Georgetown University with B.S. in Foreign Service and earned his MBA from the University of Oxford.