One area in which the election of Donald Trump has paid off
in spades is that of judicial appointments. So far, the president has had two
Supreme Court appointments and numerous picks for lower courts. Now, a series of
appointments may be about to remake one of the most liberal federal courts in
the country, the Ninth Circuit.
The Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals has the jurisdiction for
the states of Alaska, Arizona, California, Hawaii, Idaho, Montana, Nevada,
Oregon, and Washington as well as the territories of Guam and the Mariana Islands.
The Ninth Circuit is infamous among
conservatives for its controversial decisions and being one of the most
overturned courts in the country by the Supreme Court.
Yesterday, the White
House announced the appointment of seven new judges. Three of these new
judges are destined for the Ninth Circuit while the other four will go to the US
District Court for the Central District of California.
Two of the new nominees to the Ninth Circuit, Daniel P.
Collins and Kenneth Kiyul Lee, were appointed last year and blocked by
Democrats. The third appointee is Daniel A. Bress, who is being nominated to a
federal judgeship for the first time. All three appointees are considered to be
experienced constitutionalists.
The third appointee from last year, Patrick J. Bumatay, was
shifted to the California Central District along with Stanley Blumenfeld, Jeremy
B. Rosen, and Mark C. Scarsi. Bumatay is an openly gay Filipino-American whose appointment
drew
fire from California Democrats Dianne Feinstein and Kamala Harris. His
renomination to a lower court represents a small concession to his opposition.
The appointments came after numerous
conservative outlets had criticized the president for slow-walking
appointments to the Ninth Circuit. Earlier this month, President Trump renominated
51 appointees from last year but the Ninth Circuit nominees were absent from
the least, fueling speculation that the president had made a deal with Sen.
Feinstein.
The Ninth Circuit currently has six vacancies. If the three appointees
are confirmed by the Senate, the balance of the court will be 13
Republican-appointed and 16 Democrat-appointed judges. Although judges do not
always rule in accordance with the wishes of their party, more Republican-appointed
judges would bring balance to a court that is considered extreme and temper
some of its rulings.
It is possible that two more appointments to the court could
give conservatives a majority on the Ninth Circuit. This does not mean that all
cases coming through the Ninth Circuit would be heard by a conservative
majority, however. Some cases are heard by a single judge or a three-judge
panel. Others are heard by an en banc court, which usually means that all
judges hear the case. Due to the large size of the Ninth Circuit, however, en
banc cases are heard by a panel of 11 randomly selected judges, which could
give Democrats a majority.
The current crop of appointments still has to be confirmed
by the Senate, however. Democrats removed the filibuster for appeals and
district court nominees in 2013, but there are still ways to slow the confirmation
process. Last year, Democrats insisted on 30 hours of floor debate and
withholding blue
slips, approval of judicial appointees by their home state senators. In
2018, Chuck Grassley, the Republican chairman of the Senate Judiciary Committee
broke tradition by holding hearings for appointees that did not have a blue
slip from either of their state’s senators. This makes it more difficult for
the opposition party to block nominees.
Much of Donald Trump’s presidency has been a mixed bag for
conservatives, but, giving credit where credit is due, his judicial appointments
have shifted the balance of the federal judiciary back toward the Constitution
and the rule of law. That will be a legacy that lasts long beyond President
Trump’s tenure and it is a very good thing for the country.
Originally published
on The
Resurgent
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