Vitter Wendy

Wendy Baldwin Vitter (née Wendy Lee Freret Baldwin; born 1961) is a New Orleans lawyer. Currently serving as general counsel of the Roman Catholic Archdiocese of New Orleans, she is a nominee to be a United States District Judge of the United States District Court for the Eastern District of Louisiana.

Vitter earned her Bachelor of Arts from Sam Houston State University and her Juris Doctor from Tulane University Law School. Upon graduation from law school, she served as a law clerk in the Orleans Parish District Attorney's office and eventually rose to chief of the felony trials division. There, she prosecuted homicide cases. Later she practiced at a boutique litigation firm specializing in maritime law and other matters. Vitter has worked as the General Counsel of the Roman Catholic Archdiocese of New Orleans since 2012, representing the body in all legal matters. In that position, Vitter participated in sometimes controversial anti-abortion movements and anti-contraception activism, including the promotion of unsubstantiated claims about health dangers linked to contraception. 

On January 23, 2018, Donald Trump nominated Vitter to the seat on the United States District Court for the Eastern District of Louisiana vacated by Judge Helen Ginger Berrigan, who took senior status on August 23, 2016. On April 11, 2018, a hearing on her nomination was held before the Senate Judiciary Committee. On May 24, 2018 her nomination was reported out of committee by an 11–10 vote. During her hearing before the Judiciary Committee, Vitter was questioned closely by Democrats about her previous anti-abortion and anti-birth control advocacy. In her position as general counsel of the Roman Catholic Archdiocese of New Orleans, Vitter had promoted unsubstantiated claims about health dangers linked to the birth control pill. During her Senate hearing, Vitter distanced herself from these claims and promised to uphold Roe v. Wade. 

Senator Richard Blumenthal asked Vitter whether she thought Brown v. Board of Education was "correctly decided," and she declined to answer, saying she would set aside her "personal, political, or religious views" in the matter. The American Bar Association, which evaluates candidates for the federal bench, rated Vitter with its lowest "qualified" rating, with a minority of those who participated in the process rated her as "unqualified." On January 3, 2019, her nomination was returned to the President under Rule XXXI, Paragraph 6 of the United States Senate. She is married to former Senator David Vitter, with whom she has four children. The Vitters reside in Metairie, Louisiana. Vitter predicted in 2000 that she would act more like Lorena Bobbitt than Hillary Clinton, if her husband strayed, saying, "If he does something like that, I'm walking away with one thing, and it's not alimony, trust me." In 2007, David Vitter said his wife had forgiven him after he admitted to and apologized for involvement with an escort service.