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WaPo zooms in on circuit courts

By Mark Obbie

Today's Washington Post shines a light on a judicial-nomination battleground -- in the circuit courts -- that usually is overshadowed by potential Supreme Court picks. It's an ambitious and deeply researched package. One story by Jerry Markon briefly but smartly makes the case for the circuit courts' importance, and why they're at a tipping point ideologically. The story relies on a mix of original reporting and others' research on the numbers of vacancies, and on which courts the Obama administration's choices will shift control to Democratic appointees. While the story places great weight on partisan affiliation to predict judges' leanings, it warns that labels aren't entirely reliable predictors of case outcomes. A companion piece by R. Jeffrey Smith concentrates on the 6th Circuit's partisan battles, not a new story but told in illuminating detail, with considerable original research on case outcomes and judge-panel makeups. And an appealing graphic tracks the makeup of each circuit court during the Bush years. Unfortunately, the Smith story is marred by two references to appellate "verdicts," as though an appeals court conducts a trial -- a clumsy inaccuracy in an otherwise legally smart package of stories. A Redskins photo and story dominate above the fold, but the Post deserves praise for at least serving a courts side dish with the football main dish.

Full post as published by Lawbeat on December 08, 2008 (boomark / email).