Fourth Circuit Federal Courts 2023

 

The Fourth Circuit of the Federal Judiciary covers a region from the southern Mid-Atlantic states down across the Piedmont of the Carolina's.  Five states divided into nine districts.  And though they surround Washington, DC, the District of Columbia is not included in their mix.  Rather, DC has its own dedicated Federal Circuit Court that I like to think of as the 12th Circuit.

The ratio of judges to inhabitants vary widely and in part are throwbacks to history when populations were quite different and travel was mainly undertaken on horseback or a horse-pulled carriage.  For example, the fact that West Virginia is divided into two districts (Northern and Southern) and served by a total of 8 seated Justices with a population a quarter as large as neighboring Maryland with only 10 seated Justices is a nod to a time when travel across the "mountain" state was far more arduous than it is today.

Additionally, the swelling population of North Carolina has far outpaced the addition of Judicial seats to its three District Courts, with the Eastern District having one of the greatest disparities in the nation.

The Fourth Circuit has a deeper slate of Judges than the previous three with two each appointed by Presidents Reagan and Bush-the-Elder.  In the political party affiliation game, Democratic Presidents hold a 7 seat lead over Republican Presidents, with a strong likelihood that President Biden will be able to nominate and confirm at least three more new Judges.

Biden's aggressive nomination of both female and minority candidates has begun the long overdue process of bringing gender parity and racial diversity to the Fourth Circuit.  The image of the fading blue of White Jurists in the Ethnic/Racial Demographics table depicts this darkening of the old hegemony.  It balanced circuit, factoring in the 3 open seats, 2 more of the total would need to be held by Asian Justices, and 5 more by Hispanic Justices.  The ratio of Black Justices is on the mark.