Walton has also taken an unsympathetic view towards complaints about the expansion of executive branch authorities during the Obama administration. For instance, in a footnote to his ruling dismissing former Rep. Dennis Kucinich’s suit against Obama’s decision to assist Libyan rebels, Walton wrote that “While there may conceivably be some political benefit in suing the President and the Secretary of Defense, in light of shrinking judicial budgets, scarce judicial resources, and a heavy caseload, the Court finds it frustrating to expend time and effort adjudicating the relitigation of settled questions of law.”
“The Court does not mean to imply that the judiciary should be anything but open and accommodating to all members of society, but is simply expressing its dismay that the plaintiffs are seemingly using the limited resources of this Court to achieve what appear to be purely political ends, when it should be clear to them that this Court is powerless to depart from clearly established precedent of the Supreme Court and the District of Columbia Circuit,” he added.
Walton has also demonstrated something of an authoritarian streak. He is renowned for his tough criminal rulings. One former clerk, who spoke on condition of anonymity, said Walton was known as “a fair, but harsh judge especially on the criminal cases” whose punishments were normally at or near the maximum recommended under sentencing guidelines.
