Democrats Have a Chance to Flip 24 Federal Courts in 24 Months

     Democrats already hold control of the U.S. Court of Appeals for D.C. by a margin of seven to four and are likely to hold it: two Clinton appointees and one Bush, Sr. appointee in their late seventies or early eighties are set to retire. Since President Biden took office, Democrats have flipped the Second Circuit Court of Appeals, the Fourth Circuit Court of Appeals, the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals, and the Tenth Circuit Court of Appeals and, with the current vacancies, have a chance to flip the Third Circuit Court of Appeals. If Democrats can hold the Senate in 2022, by 2024 they will likely also flip the Seventh Circuit Court of Appeals, which includes multiple conservative justices in their late eighties, and the United States Court of Appeals for the Eleventh Circuit, which, upon the confirmation of Biden's nominee, will be 5-7 for Democrats, or one away from a tie and two away from a majority. If this can be accomplished, Democrats will have secured a majority in the U.S. appeals courts, although the ultimate goal should be to appoint at least 55 appellate judges, one more than Donald Trump appointed, in four years.

     Since January 2021, Democrats have also flipped the U.S. District Court for Eastern Virginia, the U.S. District Court for New Hampshire, the U.S. District Court for Western Washington, the U.S. District Court for Minnesota, the U.S. District Court for New Mexico, and the U.S. District Court for Southern California. At the same time, President Biden has appointed nominees that will flip the U.S. District Courts for Northern Mississippi, Colorado, Eastern New York, Eastern Pennsylvania, Central California, Northern Georgia, Puerto Rico, Northern Ohio, Eastern Wisconsin, Alaska, and Guam by the end of 2022. 

     By the end of 2022, Democrats will be able to flip no less than 24 courts, and multiple more may be flipped in 2023 and 2024. Will this include the Supreme Court? It depends. Stephen Breyer has said that he does not want to die on the court but that he is reluctant to retire. I hope he makes it to 120, but the fact of the matter is that, at age 85, he is already living on borrowed time: the average life expectancy for a man in America is 78. If Breyer retires, President Biden can appoint the first black woman to the Supreme Court and solidify the three-member liberal wing for at least the next 10 to 20 years. If one other conservative justice were to resign of pass away, President Biden could turn the court purple, and a third would turn it blue. It all depends on what happens in 2022 and 2024. Please vote!