PoliCon
12-18-2008, 04:31 PM
http://suppressednews.com/cgi-bin/news/viewnews.cgi?id=EkkAuFuAZyskiJPnym&tmpl=offsitenews
Monday, December 15, 2008 12:13 PM
By: Tim Collie
Faced with the first president to ever participate in a Senate filibuster of judicial nominees, Republicans are bracing for a liberal tide that could radically alter the federal bench.
Some fear that Barack Obama, who, to the chagrin of liberals, has chosen moderates for his cabinet, will pay back his troubled left-wing base with left-wing judgeships.
“Judges will be an issue where Obama throws a lot of crumbs to his political base," Curt Levey, an attorney executive director of the conservative Committee for Justice, told The Washington Post. "People are worried. Obama has been unusually unabashed about believing in an activist role for judges."
What’s at stake? While the media and the public’s attention is often focused on Supreme Court vacancies, important rulings are issued, and precedent set, by the 179-judge federal circuit courts and the 678-judge U.S. District Courts. The circuit courts of appeals, which cover the nation's 13 federal judicial circuits, decide more than 30,000 cases a year. By comparison, the Supreme Court takes fewer than 100 new cases each year.
Not only is Obama backed by a strong majority in the Senate, which confirms all nominees, he will have the opportunity to fill a large number of vacancies in key federal districts. If that isn’t enough, Congress is poised to pass a bill that will actually increase the number of judges during the Obama administration. Lucky for us that the dems set a precedent for filibustering judges. I wonder how they'll like a taste of their own medicine?
Monday, December 15, 2008 12:13 PM
By: Tim Collie
Faced with the first president to ever participate in a Senate filibuster of judicial nominees, Republicans are bracing for a liberal tide that could radically alter the federal bench.
Some fear that Barack Obama, who, to the chagrin of liberals, has chosen moderates for his cabinet, will pay back his troubled left-wing base with left-wing judgeships.
“Judges will be an issue where Obama throws a lot of crumbs to his political base," Curt Levey, an attorney executive director of the conservative Committee for Justice, told The Washington Post. "People are worried. Obama has been unusually unabashed about believing in an activist role for judges."
What’s at stake? While the media and the public’s attention is often focused on Supreme Court vacancies, important rulings are issued, and precedent set, by the 179-judge federal circuit courts and the 678-judge U.S. District Courts. The circuit courts of appeals, which cover the nation's 13 federal judicial circuits, decide more than 30,000 cases a year. By comparison, the Supreme Court takes fewer than 100 new cases each year.
Not only is Obama backed by a strong majority in the Senate, which confirms all nominees, he will have the opportunity to fill a large number of vacancies in key federal districts. If that isn’t enough, Congress is poised to pass a bill that will actually increase the number of judges during the Obama administration. Lucky for us that the dems set a precedent for filibustering judges. I wonder how they'll like a taste of their own medicine?