Here's What it Will Take to Flip America's Circuit Courts

     There's only one Republican-appointed judge on the First Circuit Court of Appeals, and he will retire effective March 31st, giving President Biden the chance to make the First Circuit Court of Appeals one that is unanimously controlled by Democrats. That won't be the only court: the Western District of Washington, the Western District of Wisconsin, the District of Nevada, the District of the Northern Mariana Islands, and the Western District of Arkansas are a few examples; it will be, however, the only circuit court to be controlled unanimously by Democrats.

     This is a symbolic victory for Democrats in the fight to flip America's federal court system, from the district courts to the local D.C. courts to the territorial courts and, yes, the circuit courts, better known to most Americans as appeals courts. Flipping these courts is a bigger challenge than flipping the district courts, territorial courts, and D.C. courts, which, as I have highlighted before, now lean to the left and will move further left as we work to confirm potentially hundreds of President Biden's nominees.

     The First Circuit Court of Appeals, Second Circuit Court of Appeals, Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals, Tenth Circuit Court of Appeals, D.C. Circuit Court of Appeals, and Federal Circuit Court of Appeals now all lean Democratic. Of these, the Second and Tenth were both flipped by President Biden; the Ninth was tied between Republican and Democratic appointees before President Biden broke the tie with a slew of appointees. Even better news is that, with just a few more appointees, Democrats will be able to tie the Third Circuit Court of Appeals and gain a majority on the Fourth Circuit Court of Appeals. This will give Democrats control over seven courts and a tie on an eighth out of thirteen circuit courts, and these eight oversee the majority of decisions. 

     As with other court systems, it is not just about the number of courts; it's also about the number of judges. Democrats currently only have 81 judges on the circuit courts compared to 95 for Republicans. To say Democrats have a majority on the circuit courts, they need to have 90 of the 179 total judgeships on the courts, which means six Republicans will need to retire. This is certainly possible, given that there are 25 Bush and Reagan appointees left on the appeals courts. President Biden will also need to appoint at least 55 total circuit court judges, as Trump appointed 54.

     If President Biden is able to get America's district courts and the local D.C. courts far to the left, get the territorial and circuit courts to lean left, and at least return the Supreme Court to its pre-Trump centrism, then that could wind up being one of his greatest legacies as president.