Under The Radar In The Courts

Today's Washington Times posted an editorial about the proposed Federal Judgeship Act of 2009 (S. 1653),  This is actually a fairly straightforward piece of legislation.  You can read the entire bill at Thomas.gov.  The bill would add 63 new federal judges - 51 in federal district courts and 12 in appeals courts.  The courts are busy, and it might seem like a good idea to increase the number of judges in federal district courts and appeals courts, but wait a minute. 

The article points out:

"Oh, sure, some circuits have a much larger current caseload per judicial panel than others. The 2nd Circuit Court of Appeals, for instance, has 1,314 cases per panel, compared to just 607 cases per panel for the 7th Circuit. Then again, the 2nd Circuit already has four vacancies - available seats on its bench that the president and Senate just haven't gotten around to filling yet. The Federal Judgeship Act of 2009 would add two new seats to that circuit before even filling the existing four vacancies. That makes no sense."

What is really going on here is an attempt to stack the courts with liberal appointments and legislate through the courts.  Because the Supreme Court has been choosing fewer cases every year, the lower courts have been handling more controversial issues and ruling on them.  Appointments to lower courts are much lower profile than appointments to the Supreme Court.  The lower courts in many cases are making decisions that are the equivalent of legislation on controversial issues (without Congress having to vote on laws and in most cases without people realizing what is happening).

The Washington Times has an idea on how to make this bill work.  They suggest that first, all vacancies on these courts be filled.  In many cases these are the vacancies left because the Democrat Congress held up the nominees of George Bush.  Then pass the law with the condition that the additional judges will be appointed after the next election.  That way, neither Democrats or Republicans know who will be appointing these judges.

Let's see what happens next.