Obama’s Successor Will Likely Fill Dozens of Judicial Vacancies

President Barack Obama’s successor will likely come into an early opportunity to make an immediate impact on the federal bench, regardless of the outcome of the nomination of Judge Merrick Garland to the Supreme Court.

In his nearly eight years in office, Mr. Obama has had as dramatic an effect on the federal judiciary as any president in recent history, putting in place Democratic-appointed majorities in most of the regional appeals courts.

Upon taking office next January, the next president will likely face dozens of judicial vacancies to fill immediately, including nine on the appeals courts one step below the Supreme Court. There are 73 vacancies on the federal appeals and trial courts,​ according to the Administrative Office of the U.S. Courts. Dozens more spots could open in the next few years, given the number of active judges nearing or at retirement age, judicial data show.

Two terms of judicial appointments by Mr. Obama have shifted the political balance of the 12 regional U.S. courts of appeals, which review more than 50,000 cases each year, compared with the roughly 80 cases heard by the U.S. Supreme Court.

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Among President Obama’s most significant achievements: erasing a long-standing Republican majority on the D.C. Circuit, arguably the nation’s second-most important court. The D.C. Circuit, which has shaped enforcement of environmental, consumer-protection and antitrust law, now has seven judges appointed by Democratic presidents, including Judge Garland, and four appointed by Republicans.

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http://www.wsj.com/articles/obamas-successor-will-likely-fill-dozens-of-judicial-vacancies-1458340351

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So, think again before you decide to stay home on election day...