‘Justice Joan’ Larsen emerges as finalist for Supreme Court

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This Sept. 19, 2020, photo provided by the Supreme Court, shows the Bench draped for the death of Supreme Court Associate Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg at the Supreme Court in Washington. (Fred Schilling/Collection of the Supreme Court of the United States via AP)

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IOWA CITY, Iowa (AP) — Joan L. Larsen climbed so quickly through the conservative legal ranks that it even surprised her at times. In five years, she has transformed from a little-known University of Michigan legal scholar to a prominent federal appeals court judge and now a top finalist for a U.S. Supreme Court appointment. Larsen is among a small group of female lawyers whom Trump is considering to replace Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg, the liberal icon whose death has given conservatives a chance to move the court further to the right. On Tuesday, Trump called Larsen “very talented” in an interview with a Michigan television station.