Trump's Hostile Takeover of 'Very Liberal' Ninth Circuit Is Almost Accomplished

[riversedge]

Damn. we are in trouble.


Trump’s Hostile Takeover of ‘Very Liberal’ Ninth Circuit Is Almost Accomplished

https://www.thedailybeast.com/trumps-hostile-takeover-of-very-liberal-ninth-circuit-is-almost-accomplished

The president who thinks judges play for a political team wants as many as possible on his team, along with the Senate Republicans racing to give them lifetime appointments.
Eleanor Clift

05.21.19 8:35 PM ET


Young, mostly male, and overwhelmingly white judges appointed by President Trump are on the cusp of remaking the once reliably liberal Ninth Circuit of the Court of Appeals, the nation’s highest court below the Supreme Court.

The “very, very liberal circuit,” as then Attorney General Jeff Sessions once put it, covers the American West, including California as well as Alaska and Hawaii. Trump himself has called it “totally out of control,” a “big thorn in our side,” a “complete and total disaster,” and a “disgrace.” At one point, he said, “It would be great if the 9th Circuit was indeed an ‘independent judiciary’”—his scary scare quotes.
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Now the Senate has been racing to give lifetime seats on its bench to Trump judges whose pro-business jurisprudence and regressive social views are out of step with much of the country, including Democrats and younger Americans.

[CrispyQ]

1. It will take decades & we have climate change barreling down the pike.

[DarthDem]

2. Not Really, No

Article is behind a paywall but it's alarmist. There are 29 active judgeships on the Ninth Circuit and 16 are held by Clinton or Obama nominees. The oldest two currently serving judges are a GW Bush appointees.

[onenote]

3. This story is a bit overwrought

Yes, Trump is appointing younger, crappy right wingers to the Ninth Circuit. But has he effectuated a "takeover" of the court? Not exactly.

There are 29 authorized judgeships on the Ninth Circuit. Currently those seats are filled as follows:
Clinton appointees - 9
Obama appointees - 7
Trump appointees - 6
GWBush appointees - 5
Vacant - 2

So of the 27 judges currently serving, 16 were appointed by Democrats and 11 by Repubs. Even after the two vacancies are filled, the Democratic-presidential appointees still will outnumber the Republican-presidential appointees (and the Clinton appointees alone will outnumber the Trump appointees).

Finally, of the 6 vacancies filled by Trump (and the two vacancies that he will fill), I believe four formerly were Reagan appointees and a couple were Bush appointees. While Trump's appointees probably are further to the right than the Reagan and Bush appointees, they still were Republican appointees and thus the ideological shift on the court probably isn't as dramatic as the article makes it seem.

[Chin music]

4. +1

[A HERETIC I AM]

5. I don't think Eleanor Clift is dumb...

But saying Trumpy picked these judges or has ANY more to do with the process other than rubber stamping them is foolish.

All of these conservative assholes have been picked by The Federalist Society and/or the likes of the other ultra conservative think tanks and lobbying groups.

It’s a wet dream for them, as they know they are on the losing side demographically, but can stuff the judiciary for decades and still have undue influence in American law and culture, contrary to the will of the majority.