President Donald Trump wants to put Katie Lane, a Virginia attorney, on the United States District Court for the District of Montana.

Let’s skip the polite fiction. She is not qualified.

This isn’t about ideology. I practiced before conservative judges for decades. I respected them because they were prepared, disciplined, and deeply experienced. They understood judging because they first mastered trying cases.

That is the point. The U.S. District Court is not a debating club or a policy shop. It is the primary federal trial court — where witnesses testify, juries are instructed, and evidence is ruled on in real time. It is the front line of federal justice.

Trying cases in federal court is a unique skill set.

You do not learn it in law school. You do not learn it drafting appellate briefs. You do not learn it polishing talking points for a political committee. You learn it as second or third chair behind a seasoned trial lawyer. You learn it by making mistakes under pressure. You learn it by trying cases yourself. You learn it by standing up when the judge says, “Call your next witness.” You learn it by making objections, laying foundations, reading juries, and living with verdicts.