"Why Those 'Other' Federal Courts Are So Important In This Election " The American Prospect Published: October 30, 2008 By Alexander Wohl ... This year, the potential impact of the next president on the federal courts of appeals is especially noteworthy. ... [T]he choice of a judge by a president is an inherently political undertaking, and different judicial philosophies of constitutional interpretation can lead to vastly different results in judicial decisions. ... [T]he impact that judges of differing ideologies and partisan affiliations can have covers the spectrum of legal issues. At a recent Senate Judiciary hearing, for instance, Cyrus Mehri, an attorney specializing in employment discrimination, cited several cases in which judges have closed the door for individual plaintiffs, including a decision by the U.S. Court of Appeals for the 5th Circuit in which that court "reached out" to overturn a jury's decision in favor of a plaintiff whom it found had been discriminated against ... by what Mehri called "shifting the legal standard." … Though much of the "science" of judicial appointments involves the very unscientific reading of tea leaves, there is little dispute that the next president will have a significant opportunity to shape the federal courts. Americans would do well to gain greater understanding of and pay more attention to this subject as they prepare to choose a new leader. As Justice Robert Jackson wrote, "It is not the function of the government to keep the citizen from falling into error; it is the function of the citizen to keep the government from falling into error." |
