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Thanks to Trump, the liberal 9th Circuit is no longer liberal
PostEverything Perspective
Thanks to Trump, the liberal 9th Circuit is no longer liberal
The president’s recent appointments are tilting the balance of the court toward conservatives.
By Ben Feuer
Ben Feuer is chairman of the California Appellate Law Group LLP and a former clerk for the 9th Circuit Court of Appeals.
February 28
President Trump and conservative commentators routinely mock the U.S. Court of Appeals for the 9th Circuit as intolerably liberal: It’s the “[link:If they’re ultimately confirmed, these four will join three recent Trump appointees already on the 9th Circuit with conservative bona fides: Ryan D. Nelson, who served on the staff of former senator and Trump attorney general Jeff Sessions; Mark Bennett, a onetime Republican attorney general of Hawaii; and Eric Miller, who clerked for Justice Clarence Thomas, was opposed by liberal-leaning Native American advocacy organizations and was confirmed earlier this week over the objections of both of his Democratic home-state senators.|Ninth Circus]” to Rush Limbaugh, the “Nutty Ninth” to former NRATV commentator Dan Bongino, “a complete & total disaster,” according to the president. For the political right, it’s an institution loathed for once finding that the words “under God” meant mandatory public-school recitation of the Pledge of Allegiance runs afoul of the First Amendment; for once engaging in an all-night battle with the Supreme Court over the constitutionality of an execution; and for thrice enjoining the Trump administration’s infamous travel ban. The 9th Circuit is so notorious among congressional Republicans that as recently as the last Congress, they held hearings to consider splitting up the circuit geographically, on the premise its rulings, which once applied to a reported 4 percent of the country, now cover 20 percent of Americans — too much liberal influence, perhaps.
But that’s about to change. Once the president’s current 9th Circuit nominees are confirmed, there will be 12 GOP appointees among the court’s 29 full-time judges with one vacancy left for the president to fill. Almost half of the bench will lean right. Thanks to Trump, the liberal 9th Circuit will be liberal no more.
The president has conservative nominees slated to fill four out of five vacancies: Daniel P. Collins, who, according to Climate Liability News, “has defended the oil industry in high-profile climate and environmental cases,” and who clerked for the late Supreme Court Justice Antonin Scalia; Daniel A. Bress, who also clerked for Scalia and, at 39, would likely serve on the federal appellate bench for decades; Kenneth Lee, who worked in President George W. Bush’s White House and has written articles criticizing affirmative action programs; and Bridget Bade, a federal magistrate judge who clerked for conservative Judge Edith Jones of the 5th Circuit.
If they’re ultimately confirmed, these four will join three recent Trump appointees already on the 9th Circuit with conservative bona fides: Ryan D. Nelson, who served on the staff of former senator and Trump attorney general Jeff Sessions; Mark Bennett, a onetime Republican attorney general of Hawaii; and Eric Miller, who clerked for Justice Clarence Thomas, was opposed by liberal-leaning Native American advocacy organizations and was confirmed earlier this week over the objections of both of his Democratic home-state senators.
....
Ben Feuer is chairman of the California Appellate Law Group LLP and a former clerk for the 9th Circuit Court of Appeals.
Thanks to Trump, the liberal 9th Circuit is no longer liberal
The president’s recent appointments are tilting the balance of the court toward conservatives.
By Ben Feuer
Ben Feuer is chairman of the California Appellate Law Group LLP and a former clerk for the 9th Circuit Court of Appeals.
February 28
President Trump and conservative commentators routinely mock the U.S. Court of Appeals for the 9th Circuit as intolerably liberal: It’s the “[link:If they’re ultimately confirmed, these four will join three recent Trump appointees already on the 9th Circuit with conservative bona fides: Ryan D. Nelson, who served on the staff of former senator and Trump attorney general Jeff Sessions; Mark Bennett, a onetime Republican attorney general of Hawaii; and Eric Miller, who clerked for Justice Clarence Thomas, was opposed by liberal-leaning Native American advocacy organizations and was confirmed earlier this week over the objections of both of his Democratic home-state senators.|Ninth Circus]” to Rush Limbaugh, the “Nutty Ninth” to former NRATV commentator Dan Bongino, “a complete & total disaster,” according to the president. For the political right, it’s an institution loathed for once finding that the words “under God” meant mandatory public-school recitation of the Pledge of Allegiance runs afoul of the First Amendment; for once engaging in an all-night battle with the Supreme Court over the constitutionality of an execution; and for thrice enjoining the Trump administration’s infamous travel ban. The 9th Circuit is so notorious among congressional Republicans that as recently as the last Congress, they held hearings to consider splitting up the circuit geographically, on the premise its rulings, which once applied to a reported 4 percent of the country, now cover 20 percent of Americans — too much liberal influence, perhaps.
But that’s about to change. Once the president’s current 9th Circuit nominees are confirmed, there will be 12 GOP appointees among the court’s 29 full-time judges with one vacancy left for the president to fill. Almost half of the bench will lean right. Thanks to Trump, the liberal 9th Circuit will be liberal no more.
The president has conservative nominees slated to fill four out of five vacancies: Daniel P. Collins, who, according to Climate Liability News, “has defended the oil industry in high-profile climate and environmental cases,” and who clerked for the late Supreme Court Justice Antonin Scalia; Daniel A. Bress, who also clerked for Scalia and, at 39, would likely serve on the federal appellate bench for decades; Kenneth Lee, who worked in President George W. Bush’s White House and has written articles criticizing affirmative action programs; and Bridget Bade, a federal magistrate judge who clerked for conservative Judge Edith Jones of the 5th Circuit.
If they’re ultimately confirmed, these four will join three recent Trump appointees already on the 9th Circuit with conservative bona fides: Ryan D. Nelson, who served on the staff of former senator and Trump attorney general Jeff Sessions; Mark Bennett, a onetime Republican attorney general of Hawaii; and Eric Miller, who clerked for Justice Clarence Thomas, was opposed by liberal-leaning Native American advocacy organizations and was confirmed earlier this week over the objections of both of his Democratic home-state senators.
....
Ben Feuer is chairman of the California Appellate Law Group LLP and a former clerk for the 9th Circuit Court of Appeals.
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