It signals an escalation of the confirmation battles in which the courts and litigants are largely innocent victims.
Congress has authorized a set number of judge-ships for each of the 13 courts of appeals, including 11 for the D.C. Circuit. Filling vacancies in those judge-ships has become more contentious over the last 20 years.
The Senate approved 88% of Reagans' nominees, but that figure has been in the low 70s since the Clinton administration.
And it takes longer.
Reagans' appellate judges got confirmed on average in 60 days.
For Clinton, the average was 238 days, a number that shot up to 355 for Bush and is currently 257 for Obama.
Eight of the 11 judge-ships on the D.C. circuit are filled.
Four of the eight were appointed by Republican presidents, four by Democrat presidents, including one by Obama (confirmed 97-0).
In addition, six judges now in a form of semi-retirement hear some cases. Of the six, five were appointed by Republican presidents.
The D.C. Circuit gets a high proportion of cases with policy implications because it receives a comparatively high number of cases involving decisions made by administrative agencies, such as the Environmental Protection Agency and the National Labor Relations Board.
That fact is basic to the battle over Obamas' nominees.
The current four-four balance of Republican and Democrat appointees on the court shouldn't be upset. That helps explain why the Senate refused to confirm two of Clintons' five nominees to the D.C. Circuit and two of Bushs' six nominees.
Instead, Democrats moved Thursday to take away Republicans' ability to use filibusters to block lower court nominations.
The D.C. three will probably get confirmed -- but at a cost. Some, even while acknowledging filibuster abuse by both sides, think abolishing filibusters will harm the Senate in the long run, to say nothing of the strain it will put on already frayed relations.
http://www.cnn.com/2013/11/21/opinion/wheeler-judges-power-struggle/