Are Conservatives Losing Their Grip?

Today’s Washington Post discusses whether the Fourth Circuit -- for some time now, one of the most consistently conservative courts in the nation -- will grow moderate, or even liberal, now that Democrats have taken control of the Senate. (Check out our earlier post here.)

There are currently has three open seats on the court, some of which have been vacant for years, and more vacancies are expected. However, the article fails to mention that these seats have gone unfilled because President Bush has nominated and renominated incredibly divisive candidates for the seats or has simply failed to nominate anyone. Moreover, under President Clinton, Republicans blocked six nominations and left five seats open on the court.

In the article, Alliance for Justice’s own Nan Aron pointed out that:

The new political landscape will force Bush to work closely with Democrats ‘to pick fair and open-minded judges who don't lean either to the right or the left’ if he wants to get the administration's nominees confirmed. ‘If there were any way to appoint judges to move the 4th Circuit in a more moderate direction, that would be beneficial to both the circuit and to the country.’