President Biden Will Have More of an Impact on D.C.'s Courts Than any President in History

     The president appoints federal judges, and President Biden has appointed a record 84 federal judges in his first year in the White House. However, even less known than this important role is the fact that the president appoints judges to the courts in Washington, D.C., the Superior Court and Appeals Court of the District of Columbia. In this regard, President Biden is on track to have the largest impact on local D.C. courts in American history.

     Since taking office on January 20th, 2021, President Biden has appointed three judges to the Superior Court of the District of Columbia: Rupa Ranga Puttagunta, Kenia Seoane Lopez, and Sean C. Staples have all been confirmed to serve 15-year-terms on the court. Ebony M. Scott, D.W. Tunnage, Adrienne Jennings Noti, Kendra D. Briggs, Carl Ezekiel Ross, Errol Rajesh Arthur, and Leslie A. Meek have been appointed to fill vacancies, all of which were left by George W. Bush appointees. Four more vacancies will open up in the next four months, including the last George H.W. Bush-appointed judge and three more George W. Bush-appointed judges. Three confirmations, 13 vacancies, and four upcoming vacancies will give President Biden the opportunity to appoint 20 D.C. judges in just two years. The record for most judicial appointments to the D.C. Superior Court was set by George W. Bush, who appointed 26 people in eight years. If President Biden can keep the Senate, he is on track to break these records. These appointments will drastically alter the ideological balance of the court, from an even split to a 45-25 Democratic majority.

     Just as significant as the Superior Court is the Appeals Court. This has been a traditionally conservative court: Nixon, Reagan, and Bush Jr. held the record for the number of judges appointed to this court at five each. However, Biden came into office with five vacancies (two appointed by Clinton and three appointed by George W. Bush), and he has nominated three people to fill these vacancies: Tovah R. Calderon, Loren AliKhan, and John P. Howard III. When these nominees are confirmed and the other two vacancies are filled, the D.C. Appeals Court will consist of eight Democratic judges and just one Republican judge (appointed by Donald Trump in 2020). This will give the D.C. Appeals Court its most liberal leaning in U.S. history.

     Altogether, President George W. Bush had the greatest impact on D.C.'s courts, appointing 31 men and women who would ensure the district's courts would lean conservative for 15 years to come. In just two years, President Biden will have the opportunity to appoint at least 25 judges, giving the Superior Court a two-to-one majority and the Appeals Court an eight-to-one majority for 15 years to come.