On December 4, 2019, the United States Senate voted 49-44 to confirm President Trump’s nomination of Thomas More Society Special Counsel Sarah Pitlyk to a lifetime appointment as District Court Judge for the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Missouri in St. Louis. She will step into the opening left by U.S. District Judge Catherine Perry, who took senior status - a form of semi-retirement - effective December 31.

Thomas More Society Executive Vice President and General Counsel Andrew Bath praised Pitlyk:

“Ms. Pitlyk is a towering intellect, a supremely capable lawyer, and a strong Constitutional conservative. She’s done terrific legal work over the years on some of the Thomas More Society's biggest cases, and that, together with her service as a law clerk for now U.S. Supreme Court Justice Brett Kavanaugh has prepared her well for her time on the bench.”

Bath added, “Sarah Pitlyk will be a fair and wise federal judge who will bring honor and distinction to the federal judiciary and make the president who nominated her and the Senate that confirmed her proud.”

While at the Thomas More Society, Pitlyk was part of the defense team for an undercover journalist whose investigation into illegal fetal tissue trafficking launched a Congressional investigation. She also successfully worked to defend the First Amendment rights of religious organizations, private businesses, and social service agencies against an unconstitutional and discriminatory St. Louis city ordinance.