Crossposted at
Slingshot.org
The Republicans are trying to pack the federal courts! Last Friday, I noted that House Republicans had slipped into the reconciliation bill a provision splitting the 9th circuit. It's an abuse of power, exploiting the limited debate provisions of the reconciliation process to try to change substantive policy.
But the details make it worse. They aren't just trying to split the 9th, they are trying to add 60 new judicial positions, to be filled by Bush appointees. Quotes below the fold.
From the Knight Ridder story in the Seattle Times, linked above:
Unlike past attempts to divide the court, the House and Senate versions not only call for splitting the 9th Circuit but also for adding new federal judges to courts nationwide.
The House version would add more than 60 federal judges nationwide, including seven to a newly formed 9th Circuit.
The GOP is close to pushing this through:
But after failing over and over to break up the court, congressional Republicans now appear closer than ever to achieving their goal. In the past two weeks, House committees have approved legislation to split the court in two, and a similar proposal in the Senate was heard by a key subcommittee.
"I think the 9th Circuit is in the fight of its life," said Arthur Hellman, a University of Pittsburgh law professor and a leading expert on the court.
Feinstein has vowed to stop it; even conservative judges think it reeks:
Sen. Dianne Feinstein, D-Calif., vowed to resist the maneuver, but everyone involved in the debate views the House approach as proof Republicans are pulling out all the stops.
"You'd have to believe in the tooth fairy to say this has nothing to do with politics," said Judge Alex Kozinski, a conservative Reagan appointee who testified against the split in Senate hearings. "You would be breaking up what is essentially a very good, well-working machine for smaller, less-efficient pieces."