Dear Editor,
Emphasis is being placed on the new President of the United States appointing three judges to the US Supreme Court, the highest court of the land. Outgoing President Barack Obama has already put in place appellate court judges in the 13 circuits of the Supreme Court which will have a tremendous impact on the judiciary for a few decades.
Obama has appointed 323 district and appeals court appointments. In addition to appointing two Supreme Court justices and dozens of district court judges, and his appointments now make up 55 of the current 168 appeals court judges.
I wish to point out that the regional appeals courts are currently more powerful than ever because off the vacancy of the Supreme Court caused by the death of Justice Antonin Scalia, which has left the court divided equally between liberals and conservatives. If the ideologically divided court splits 4-4, the appeals court ruling is left intact. Such an outcome occurred four times in the Supreme Court term that recently ended.
The federal appeals court is the second highest court in the land because it hears important cases concerning the federal government.
One of the most noticeable transformations has been on the 4th Circuit. In July 2007, 18 months before Obama became President, Republican appointees held a 7-5 majority. Through a mix of seven Obama appointments and retirements, Democratic appointees now hold the sway.
It is important to note that the appeal courts are the first stop for any case appealed from the lower US District Courts and often have the last word. The next and final destination is the Supreme Court, but it hears fewer than 100 cases a year while the appeal court handles 35,000 a year. Of the 13 appeal courts, nine now have a majority of Democratic appointees, compared to one when Obama took office.
President Obama however made it quite clear that judges appointed by his administration were not political pawns, and stressed that they have strong credentials.
Yours faithfully,
Oscar Ramjeet
