Trump quietly putting his stamp on the courts

[riversedge]

Source: the hill




By Lydia Wheeler - 08/14/17 06:06 AM EDT




President Trump has been quietly making lifetime appointments to fill more than 100 vacancies on federal courts across the country.

With five judges confirmed, another 30 pending and 123 seats left to fill, according to one group tracking the numbers, Trump has the opportunity to revamp the judiciary branch and carve out a legacy for himself that could stand the test of time.

“It can’t be overstated the impact the individuals he’s appointing will have on millions of people across the country and their children for a generation or two,” said Dan Goldberg, legal director at the liberal Alliance for Justice.
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Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.) — who refused to consider President Barack Obama’s nominee for the Supreme Court seat, Merrick Garland, after Justice Antonin Scalia died in February 2016 — has repeatedly pointed to Gorsuch to rebut accusations that the GOP Congress has achieved little under Trump.
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Read more: http://thehill.com/regulation/administration/346248-trump-quietly-putting-his-stamp-on-the-courts

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We knew this would happen with the election of a Republican but to actually see it happen before my eyes, somehow makes it worse.

[TheMastersNemesis]

1. I Am are They Are All Little Loyal Neo Nazis.

[shraby]

2. When he is upended as illegitimate, all is appointments should become null and void.

[Ligyron]

9. I'll second that.

This is BAD news!

[onenote]

19. That, of course, isn't going to happen

[StevieM]

3. This explains why the FBI did what they did in the last election. (eom)

[ananda]

4. This is why the Reeps have kept 45 in office ..

.. and will continue to slow the investigation and
impeachment process down.

Imagine: over 100 rightwing federal judges in place
and we will never have fair voting practices again!

Much less equal rights for women and other targeted
groups!

[Sunlei]

5. Republicans stamp on the courts. They knew the patsy would sign anything they wanted.

[Saviolo]

6. This was the big prize for the GOP

After McConnell dragging his feet on confirming ANY of Obama's judicial nominees, suddenly the floodgates open, and the GOP will have dozens and dozens of far-right federal judges with lifetime appointments. The damage has already been done, and it will take decades at minimum to undo the damage this will do to the US judiciary.

Do NOT fall for the lie that this administration has not accomplished anything. The lie being pushed forward by McConnell and McCain and all of GOP leadership. All they mean is that they haven't had a huge legislative coup, yet. And they may not. But they don't actually care. As long as they keep saying they're not getting anything done, people believe them ineffectual, while they're busily and successfully dismantling the rights of women, POC, LGBTQ+, the poor, and immigrants.

The. Damage. Is. Done.

[BumRushDaShow]

7. I will drag some links out one more time

(As a note - "every" President "puts a stamp on" the judicial branch and if you are in 2 terms, you have more chances)

The ‘nuclear option’ transforms Obama’s judicial legacy
By James Downie December 19, 2014

<...>

Finally, after years of threatening, Sen. Harry Reid (D-Nev.) went on the Senate floor in November 2013 and invoked the “nuclear option,” changing the Senate rules to eliminate the filibuster for executive branch and judicial nominees (other than those for the Supreme Court).

A year later, the effect of that change is clear: The 113th Congress confirmed 132 district and circuit court judges, including 89 this year. That’s the highest single-year total in 20 years, and the highest two-year total since 1980. (That’s particularly impressive considering that this Congress was one of the least productive in history.) On Tuesday night alone, the Senate confirmed 12 nominees. All this means that the once-lagging Obama has now appointed more judges in his first six years (305) than Reagan, Bill Clinton or George W. Bush. And because Obama has gone out of his way to nominate judges from a wide array of backgrounds, the federal bench is more diverse than ever. All in all, it’s an extraordinary turnaround, one that both Obama and Reid deserve credit for.

https://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/post-partisan/wp/2014/12/19/the-nuclear-option-transforms-obamas-judicial-legacy/

REUTERS

#Politics
August 26, 2016 / 1:12 AM / a year ago
Obama's judges leave liberal imprint on U.S. law

Lawrence Hurley

<...>

"There’s no question President Obama’s nominees have absolutely been part of his effort to transform the country and move it dramatically to the left," said Carrie Severino, a conservative legal activist. White House spokesman Eric Schultz said in a statement that Obama's appointees "all share impeccable qualifications, unquestioned integrity, and a steadfast commitment to equal justice under the law."

The appeals courts are the first stop for any case appealed from the lower U.S. 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. The appeals courts handle 35,000 a year according to the Administrative Office of the U.S. Courts.

Of the 13 appeals courts, nine now have a majority of Democratic appointees, compared with one when Obama took office, according to research carried out by Russell Wheeler, a scholar at the Brookings Institution, a Washington think tank.

In addition to appointing two Supreme Court justices and dozens of district court judges, Obama appointments now make up 55 of the current 168 appeals court judges, according to the judiciary. Obama’s current total of 323 district and appeals court appointments, most of them district court judges, is similar to the tallies achieved by other recent two-term presidents.

http://www.reuters.com/article/us-usa-court-obama-idUSKCN1110BC

As a note, Obama added to Clinton appointees that are still there. There are still some straggler Raygun and Poppy folks there along with Shrub ones. The big key is that Obama packed the Circuit Courts because THAT is where the vast majority of cases end, never making it to the SCOTUS.

[onit2day]

8. Thanks for posting this response. It's a relief

[Ligyron]

10. Thank you for this.

WE know the courts are where the real power lies.

[Leghorn21]

11. THANK YOU BUM!! for real!!!

[Blue_Tires]

15. kick

[Yo_Mama_Been_Loggin]

12. But Susan Sarandon said Trump's going to bring the revolution

[BumRushDaShow]

13. Per post #7: Obama - 323 judges *confirmed* vs Drump - 5 judges confirmed (153 vacancies).

Who has the bigger "stamp"?

Of course Turtle stole our Supreme Court pick, which is a big impact, although it just left the court at the status quo.

[diva77]

14. K & R for exposure. There will be more atrocities like what happened to Don Siegelman

as a result of this unholy packing of the courts with Dump appointees

https://free-don.us/
The Saga of Don Siegelman
How the South’s Only Progressive Governor became America’s #1 Political Prisoner

[BumRushDaShow]

16. "unholy packing of the courts with Dump appointees"

Drumpf only has (at this time) about 1/2 of the vacancies open to appoint then what Obama had. In comparison, Obama had 323 confirmed whereas Drumpf has 158 total to include 5 confirmed, 30 pending (any one of whom can be blocked by Democrats), 123 vacancies (again that can be blocked).

[diva77]

17. 1 bad judge can wreak a lot of havoc

and it's still early in Dump's term...but I appreciate what you said - thanks for the info...

[BumRushDaShow]

18. Oh sure

but the key is that if the "bad judge" is at the lower court level, the case will ultimately hit one of the appellate courts, 9 of 13 of which are majority Democratic appointees (including a significant number of Obama appointees), who can overturn that bad judge on the lower court. After that, the SCOTUS has to be very selective regarding what cases it will even hear out of the tens of thousands sent its way from the appellate courts. So ultimately, in 99% of the cases, the appellate court is where these cases end, never making it to the SCOTUS. The D.C. Court of Appeals was the firewall (often most used) and Obama fought and fought (and the nuclear option was invoked) to get that one in particular, filled up as much as possible.

No doubt Drumpf will get folks confirmed as do all Presidents, but we need to make sure that he only has one term (or less than that ).