Even as the #election will shape the #judiciary, the judiciary may also shape the election. As in 2020, #Republicans & #Democrats have already asked federal #judges, including those on #SCOTUS, to resolve disputes about ballots before Election Day. Their rulings could determine the outcome of a close race.

Perhaps related, Americans’ faith in the #courts has eroded in the #Trump era.

#law #courts #PartisanCourt #ActivistCourt #Vote #VoteBlue #HarrisWalz2024

A 2nd-term #Trump might have the edge over a 1st-term #Harris because a #Republican-controlled #Senate could block some of her appointees. Perhaps moderate Harris nominees would get through, though: Most of #Biden’s appointees received bipartisan support. Another potential area of agreement is a bipartisan measure to incrementally increase the total number of federal district #judges to ease rising caseloads. The bill passed the Senate in Aug but has yet to receive a #House vote.

#law

In a typical 4-yr term, a president replaces about ¼ of the country’s 870 active federal #judges, across both federal district & appeals courts. #Trump filled 231 vacancies, & President #Biden may equal that number before the next #Congress takes over.

Partly as a result, Republican & Democratic presidents have each appointed about ½ of the judges on federal courts.

#law #PartisanCourt #ActivistCourt #Vote #VoteBlue #HarrisWalz2024

In the lower #courts, #judges can serve for life. So the more a president appoints, the more he or she can shape the country. #SCOTUS hears only about 80 cases per year, meaning that lower courts are often the final arbiter on many issues. They set #precedent on #criminal #justice, #bankruptcy proceedings, #corporate disputes & #antitrust enforcement, & on whether federal #laws & rules are #constitutional.

#law #PartisanCourt #ActivistCourt #Vote #VoteBlue #HarrisWalz2024

On Tues, Americans will elect the next #POTUS & hundreds of #Congress members. In doing so, voters will also shape the 3rd branch: the #judiciary.

Federal #judges — whom the #president picks & the #Senate confirms — have become even more powerful in recent yrs as a #polarized Congress has failed to pass major #laws on many issues. As a result, the judiciary has shaped #policy on #abortion, #immigration, #guns, #VotingRights & more.

#law #SCOTUS #VoteBlue #HarrisWalz2024
nytimes.com/2024/10/31/briefin…