What are they saying?? Republicans Already Dominate the Federal Judiciary & 205 Bush Judges have been Confirmed
/- MORE Distracting Crap from Republicans. 205 of Bush's 215 Judges have been Approved
The looming battle over President
Bush's nominees to the U.S. appeals courts might derail the Senate, but
it probably won't make much difference in the federal courts. That's
because Republican appointees already dominate them. Ninety-four of the
162 active judges now on the U.S. Court of Appeals were chosen by
Republican presidents. On 10 of the 13 circuit courts, Republican
appointees have a clear majority. And, since 1976, at least seven of
the nine seats on the U.S. Supreme Court have been filled by Republican
appointees. Even if Bush wins approval for the dozen disputed nominees
who have been blocked by Senate Democrats, only one circuit would
change its ideological balance -- hardly a seismic shift. The 6th U.S.
Circuit Court of Appeals in Cincinnati, now evenly divided, would
become 10-6 Republican. Though it remains a staple of conservative
rhetoric that the courts are "out of control" and driven by "liberal
activists," the GOP's control of the White House for 24 of the last 36
years has given Republicans -- if not conservatives -- a firm grip on
the federal judiciary. The imminent fight over appeals court
nominees is widely considered a rehearsal for this summer, when the
ailing Chief Justice William H. Rehnquist, 80, is expected to retire.
He could be the first of several high court justices to depart during
Bush's second term. [more] and [more]
A Republican bench
Of the 162 active
judges on the U.S. court of appeals, 94 of them, or 58%, are Republican
appointees. There are 12 nominees by President Bush awaiting
confirmation, all of whom were nominated earlier but blocked in the
Senate. A breakdown of the circuit courts and their members:
Democratic
Republican
Bush
Circuit appointees
appointees
nominees
D.C.
4
5
3
1st
2
4
2nd
7
6
3rd
6
7
4th
4
9
2
5th
4
11
1
6th
6
6
4
7th
3
8
8th
2
9
9th
16
8
1
10th
5
7
11th
5
7
1
Federal
4
8
Who appointed current judges
Nixon: 1
Ford: 1
Carter: 9
Reagan: 29
G.H.W. Bush: 29
Clinton: 59
G.W. Bush: 34
Total: 162 [more]
- Seven of the nine Supreme Court justices were appointed by Republican presidents.
- Majorities of judges on 10 of the nation's 13 federal appeals courts were appointed by Republican presidents.
- George W. Bush
has sent 215 judicial nominations to the Senate; 205 have been
confirmed, including 41 of 51 nominated for the appeals courts. [more]
- Judiciary Committee approves nominee. The Senate Judiciary Committee voted 14-4 to advance Utah lawyer Thomas Griffith's nomination for a seat on the U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia for approval. It was not immediately known when the Senate will consider the nomination. Bush has had 205 district and appellate court judges confirmed while in the White House - Democrats have blocked only 10 judges from confirmation. Griffith replaced one of the 10 blocked nominees. [more]
- President Clinton rebuked Katie Couric for repeating Republican claim of Democratic "obstructionism" of judicial nominees [more]
