Liberals Panic as Trump May Be Able To Flip Left-Leaning Ninth Circuit

by Sierra Marlee | January 3, 2017 6:33 pm

Liberals fear that Trump will have too much power (ironically because they gave Obama that much power and are now regretting it), but it turns out his reach might extend right past their worst nightmares.

I love the idea of progressives finally realizing that you only give the government as much power as you’re comfortable being used against you. At the same time, I’m also enjoying the idea of flipping the uber-liberal Ninth Circuit by making conservative appointments to vacant seats.

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Sen. Barbara Boxer (who is thankfully vacating her seat) has called the vacancies a “judiciary emergency” presumably because she doesn’t want anyone outside of her ideology taking those seats and allowing Trump’s agenda to pass.

University of Richmond law professor Carl Tobias[2] actually had the gall to suggest that the court has become more moderate during the Obama administration. I know, I couldn’t believe he said that either.

Liberals are worried about that increasing “moderation” at the Ninth Circuit. KQED interviewed University of Richmond law professor Carl Tobias, who commented: “I think even in the Obama years the court has moved to be more moderate than it used to be, so I think that with those four appointments it could make some difference and move the court further in that direction.”

But the court has also made many left wing decisions over the last 8 years, including Hollingsworth v. Perry (2013).

On some issues, particularly on gay marriage, the liberal outlook of the Ninth Circuit has also become accepted more widely. The Supreme Court’s ruling on Hollingsworth v. Perry (2013), for example, vacated the Ninth Circuit’s ruling on procedural grounds but effectively paved the way[3] for the legalization of same-sex marriage in California and elsewhere.

Trump will be able to fill those four seats and hopefully sway the influence of the court. The last thing he needs is any additional opposition. He’s going to have liberals and Democrats working against him in tandem with the media, he doesn’t need the courts to jump on his back because of his conservative leanings as well.