INTRODUCTION
Federal Courts are my passion--correction, one--just one--of my passions. Putting Judges into seats across the 94 District, 13 Appellate and 1 Supreme Courts of the Federal System that look like the rest of the United States is a dream coming true under President Biden. What one would have hoped had been true of President Obama's appointments only now is coming to pass with President Biden. It's seems that President Obama was constrained by a fear of "scaring the horses". President Biden, with the gift of mortality staring him squarely in the face, has no problem burning the goddamned barn down.
Within many states are Districts that subdivide the state into two or more geographic districts. Of the 50 states plus DC and 4 territories; 24 are divided. The least populated state to be subdivided is West Virginia. The most subdivisions within any state are 4 found in California, Texas and New York. The largest state without subdivisions is New Jersey. So population alone is no indicator for how or why states are subdivided.
WHAT IS BROKEN ... EVENTUALLY, NEEDS FIXED
One of my favorite anomalies is a comparison between Maryland and Louisiana. Both states have mid-sized populations sizes: Maryland approximately 6,180,000 (2023) and Louisiana approximately 4,574,000 (2023). However, Maryland's is larger by over 1,500,000 people. You might expect that both states would at the very least have similar sized Federal judiciaries. But they do not.
Maryland is a single District in spite of its geographic challenges (the western mountains, the eastern shore). Louisiana has 3 Districts (only the Mississippi River seems to be a geographic barrier). Maryland has 10 seats. Louisiana as a combined 22 seats. No matter how you cut it, there's no logical or rational reason for the disparity that doesn't land firmly on some degree of historic and racist foundation. In practical terms it means that there is one Federal Judge for every 618,000 Marylanders, compared to one Federal Judge for every 216,091 Louisianans. Are citizens of Louisiana 3 times more likely of committing a Federal Crime?
So the system needs an honest overhaul apart from political influences and racists paradigms. Don't hold your breath.
STATE VS DISTRICT
While the Districts are independent of one another, and hold equal status in interpreting the United States Constitution and setting possible precedent with their rulings, the road to obtaining a seat by an individual nominee runs through each state's Senatorial delegation. It matters who's party each Senator is a member of, and how partisan they are. It's never matter more, given the hyper-partisan state of politics today.
Of the 50 states within the first Congress (2021-2022): 22 were Republican, 6 were split delegations, and 22 were Democratic. During the first two years of the Biden Administration, 4 Judges were agreed to in both Ohio and Pennsylvania (Split States), and 1 Judge was agreed to in a Republican State, Iowa.
In the 2022 elections, the status of one state shifted: Pennsylvania became a fully Democratic delegation. Since then, a range of Judges from Republican States have been been agreed to by their Senators.
Confirmed:
- Idaho - 1 Judge
- Indiana - 3 Judges
- Louisiana - 3 Judges
- Oklahoma - 2 Judges
- South Carolina - 1 Judge
- Texas - 1 Judge
- Florida - 4 Nominees
- Nebraska - 1 Nominee
- South Dakota - 2 Nominees
- Texas - 2 Nominees
- Utah - 1 Nominee
- Wyoming - 1 Nominee
- Alabama - 2 Seats
- Alaska - 1 Seat
- Arkansas - 1 Seat
- Florida - 1 Seat
- Kansas - 1 Seat
- Louisiana - 1 Seat
- Mississippi - 1 Seat
- Missouri - 4 Seats
- North Carolina - 1 Seat
- Ohio - 1 Seat
- Tennessee - 1 Seat
- Texas - 5 Seats
- Wisconsin - 1 Seat
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