The following comes from a September 4 Daily Signal article by Philip Wegmann:
On the campaign trail in 2008, Barack Obama promised to fundamentally transform the United States of America. After nearly eight years as president, he has delivered on one front by reshaping the federal judiciary.
That revolution has been comprehensive, dramatic, and under the radar.
When Obama entered the Oval Office, liberal judges controlled just one of the 13 circuits of the U.S. Court of Appeals. Fifty-five successful presidential nominations later, liberal majorities now control nine of those appeals benches, or 70 percent.
Outside of legal circles the transformation of the influential federal appeals courts has gone largely unnoticed, though.
“The Supreme Court grabs the spotlight, but it hears fewer than 100 cases a year,” Texas Supreme Court Justice Don Willett said, “while the 13 federal courts of appeals handle about 35,000.”
More than one-third of the 179 judges on federal appeals courts owe their seat to Obama, Willett told The Daily Signal. “That’s a legacy with a capital L.”
The next president could tip the balance of the four remaining circuit courts of appeals still dominated by conservatives.
“It’s hands down the most fateful issue of the election,” said Willett, who is on Republicans’ short list for the Supreme Court.
“When Americans vote in November, they’re choosing not just a president but thousands of presidential appointees, including hundreds of life-tenured judges.”
I beg to Differ – There is Nothing’;liberal’ about the Radical Left.
BTW – with the New ABA & CA Bar Rules, any attorney who would even think of defending Proposition 8 would be strung up on the court house steps, as a warning to be tolerant – or else.
Having sat in the front row of former Judge v Walker’s Federal Court during the proposition 8 Cross Examination – I wrote his successor and later testified at the CA State Bar ‘Rules of Professional Responsibility’ revision hearing…
That to refer to the demeanor in that Court as ‘Circus Like’ – would be an Insult to the Professionalism of Circus Workers, who at least put on a show.
The Movie ‘Chicago; had more relation to reality than most courts – where radical leftist…
“Michael McDermott,” you make excellent points. It remains to be seen whether bar association limitations on speech and the scope of legal representation will pass constitutional challenge. However, the fact of their passage shows how easy it is for totalitarian “thought police” can infiltrate all phases of public life (and religious life, as can be seen by what has happened since Vatican II).
But, as to the Appointment Power, the true problem is that the public elected Obama, and the Leftist fools in CA. The chickens are indeed coming home to roost.
Hmm. Does not the US Congress review and approve candidates nominated for the bench by the President? If that is the case, then our Republican controlled Senate and the Republican controlled House of Reps. have been asleep at the switch!
To Bob: “asleep at the switch”. Exactly, and that’s why Trump has emerged. To all those whose “moral conscience can’t vote for Trump” — wake up!!! Hillary will be Obama on steroids.
Bob — Under the U.S. Constitution, the House of Representatives plays no role in the selection of federal judges or of appellate and Supreme Court justices. The president nominates and the U.S. Senate must then confirm or reject the president’s selection. Otherwise, I agree with you: Senate Republicans have been asleep at the switch.
Civics 101: The Senate advises and consents on Pesidential appointments including those to the Supreme Court and Federal judiciary. The House has zero to do with it. However, the Republican Senate has refused to act on many Obama appointees, including the replacement for Antonin Scalia, and the result is the longest vacancy in the history of the Court. Asleep at the switch is too kind a phrase for this unconstitutional roadblock.
All excellent so points.
However, elections do have consequences. When u combine this fact with the understanding tht, as Michael states, today’s left is NOT liberal. The leadership of the Dem party are Marxists, whose philosophy is 180 degrees out of phase w classical liberalism. Dem presidents only appoint other Marxists to federal courts, while our side usually wussies out and nominate maleable dufuses and congress of course just goes along.
Suggestion, Catholics need to b made aware that voting for social justice RATS yields wht we are facing today, an out of control judiciary.
. . . while Marxists control 100% of the executive branch.
Pontius Pilate, controlled the mass crowd, that chose Barabbas, too! Jesus, still won! The Unblemished Lamb, The Most Innocent Victim WAS, IS, and for all eternity WILL BE victorious! Sacred Heart of Jesus, we place our trust in you!
So, let’s deal with facts, not hyperbole. When Mr. Obama became President the courts were overwhelmingly controlled by “right wing” judges. When he leaves office the courts will be controlled by “left wing” judges. That is how it works, folks. Senator Obama said in his campaign the he would try to fundamentally change America. One way would be to appoint judges with different view points from President Bush’s appointments. He did that, he kept his promise and the people overwhelmingly re-elected him to a second term. If we don’t like the “left wing” way of governing, we need to elect a more “moderate to right wing” President. That is how it works. Unfortunately this year we don’t have a real choice.
This is so tragic, and so ignorant! Our Founding Fathers never envisioned America as a place in which human bias would dominate the direction of the country! The field of law, like all other fields– is supposed to be OBJECTIVE, and stand for truth— not humanly biased! The practice of law, and making and implementing laws, should never be “left wing” or “right wing!” It should be truthful and objective! Otherwise, it is a “quack” profession, with a Nation of false, “quack” laws!
Fortunately we have a real choice this year! We have a non-elite, pro-American in Mr. Trump. He will exit the USA from global entanglements, like the UK is doing. HC = elite global ties! The choice is crystal clear, more then any other election. If HC wins, the Supreme Court (SC) is gone for generations. Don’t fool yourself by saying you have no choice. There is a better choice for America. Trump will not always be right (nobody is) but HC will be wrong, lying or careless 95% of the time with the other 5% destroyed by the bleach-bit process. How can anyone contemplate wrecking the SC for generations? God forbid, we get 4 MORE years of HC & BO’s agenda. America & our freedoms, will never recover. Vote them out while we have a…
Continued……Vote them out while we have a chance even if it is just for the benefit to the Nation of the (so important) Supreme Court appointments. America first finally!
Dead Man Bait & Switch
Many cases were deliberately delayed by Clerks and other ‘behind the scene’
scam artistes until After Scalia had passed.
The Insiders know how the game is played and how to delay and deny justice better than any Judge – including handing down deliberately flawed rulings certain to be reversed (and then back to the bottom of the pile) until after a more ‘enlightened’ set of bozos have the ability to mess with the results.
Time is the Enemy when the good guys are winning, which is just one way insiders game the system – and Pick the worst possible representatives – like the disgrace of the Proposition 8 Circus, where the Best and Brightest were denied standing and their witnesses and evidence never played…
BTW – Who knows but whether Nominee Judge Bork had gotten to a decent barber, we might have had an entirely different set of rulings.