Monday, November 07, 2005

Judicial Fission: Conservatives aren't content with limiting their realignment of the judicial branch to influencing the Supreme Court. They are also proposing to split the left-leaning 9th Circuit Court of Appeals to water down its liberalism.

Under a plan buried deep in a bill to cut federal spending, a House budget panel passed a measure to divide the 9th Circuit into two circuits. This would create a new 12 Circuit Court of Appeals, with half the 9th Circuit judges going to the new court. And it would be up to President Bush to appoint judges of his choosing to both circuits, limiting the liberals' influence on the appeals level.

The 9th Circuit is by far the most liberal in the nation, and its rulings are overturned the most by the Supreme Court. Conservatives have had it out for this court for years, especially since this court is trying to outlaw the term "Under God" from the Pledge of Allegiance.

Of course, publicly, Republicans focus on the fact that the 9th Circuit Court is the biggest with the largest number of cases backlogged in the nation.

This isn't the first time the proposal for splitting the 9th Circuit has come before Congress. And Democrats, most of whom oppose the idea, don't expect it to pass this year.

But with an increasingly desperate Bush administration and midterm elections approaching, don't be surprised if conservatives try some crazy stunt in an attempt to further impress their base.