Obama could reshape 5th Circuit in coming term

The 5th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals is widely viewed as one of the nation’s most conservative federal appellate courts, but President Barack Obama could get a chance to change that perception in his second term. Ten of the 15 active judges serving on the New Orleans-based court were nominated by Republican presidents. But six of those GOP-nominated judges are eligible for senior status or will be in the next four years, a change that would allow the Democratic president to nominate their replacements. The court, which reviews cases from Texas, Louisiana and Mississippi, also has two open seats that already can be filled. Federal judges don’t have a mandatory retirement age and aren’t obligated to take senior status, a form of semi-retirement that allows them to continue hearing cases. While there’s no telling how many seats may open up, even a handful of vacancies would give Obama an opportunity to reshape the court’s ideological bent during his second term. Russell Wheeler, a Brookings Institution visiting fellow who is an expert on judicial selections, says it’s plausible that the Democratic-nominated judges among active 5th Circuit judges go from being a 2-to-1 minority to holding a slim majority before Obama leaves office. “I wouldn’t call that math. I’d call that informed speculation,” he cautions. “It really all depends on the degree to which (Obama) can find nominees that Republican senators find acceptable.” The Associated Press has the full story here.