Most of the commentary on politics and the judiciary today has focused on the fact that the three-judge panel hearing a challenge to the Affordable Care Act today is made up of Democratic employees and is therefore likely to uphold the law. But politics has affected the judiciary in other significant ways, particularly when it comes to the ideological imbalance in the composition of federal courts as a result of the difficulty the administration has had confirming its judicial nominees.
Today, the American Constitution Society held a conference call on judicial vacancies, and The American Prospect's own Scott Lemieux made an extremely important overlooked point that the vaunted "judicial minimalism" of the conservative dominated Supreme Court often leaves federal judges with a lot of leeway to interpret their decisions. But because the courts are dominated by Republican appointees, the laws end up moving even further rightward. Everyone knows the fate of the Affordable Care Act may be decided in the courts, but there are an incredible number of smaller legal issues being decided in ways that will deeply affect people's lives, and they're being decided by an imbalanced judiciary.
It's not just about obstruction in the Senate, however. There are still 92 vacancies in the federal system, and only about 64 nominations pending. The Senate needs to stop obstructing, but the administration also needs to put forth more nominees.
