Posted by Jonathan Adler:
Is *Arnold* Evidence of "Ideological Warfare"?
http://volokh.com/archives/archive_2008_12_07-2008_12_13.shtml#1228784325
The [1]WaPo article I [2]noted below on ideological divisions on the
U.S. Courts of Appeals highlights the case of [3]United States v.
Arnold as an example of President Bush's nominees have altered the
ideological balance of the Sixth Circuit.
In June 2005, two federal appellate judges here ordered Joseph
Arnold released from a 21-year prison sentence after ruling that
there was no credible evidence he had threatened to shoot his
girlfriend's daughter with a pistol.
But Arnold's relief was fleeting. Prosecutors appealed to all of
the judges on the U.S. Court of Appeals for the 6th Circuit. And
the full court, dominated by appointees of President Bush and other
Republican presidents, reversed the initial appellate ruling,
saying the evidence presented by prosecutors was sufficient to
merit Arnold's conviction.
While there are quite a few cases in which the Sixth Circuit divided
along political lines (several of which have been the subject of VC
blog posts), Arnold is not among them. All four dissenters were
Democratic nominees, and six of the seven judges who signed Judge
Jeffrey Sutton's majority opinion in full were Republican nominees,
but the seventh was Clinton-nominee Martha Daughtrey. Furthermore, two
judges -- Eric Clay (Clinton) and Richard Griffin (Bush 43) --
concurred in part and dissented in part.
Another curiosity about the piece is that there is little mention of
the longstanding nature of ideological divisions on the Sixth Circuit
-- divisions (and associated [4]allegations of judicial misconduct)
that pre-date the confirmation of many Bush nominees. Nor is there any
mention of [5]allegations that some activists sought to delay the
confirmation of Bush nominees to the Sixth Circuit with an eye toward
influencing particular cases.
Ed Whelan has more on the article [6]here.
References
1.
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2008/12/07/AR2008120702876_pf.html
2. http://volokh.com/archives/archive_2008_12_07-2008_12_13.shtml#1228745082
3. http://www.ca6.uscourts.gov/opinions.pdf/07a0181p-06.pdf
4.
http://nytimes.findlaw.com/supreme_court/decisions/lower_court/judlmisconduct052803ord.pdf
5. http://volokh.com/2003_11_30_volokh_archive.html#107065594845320895
6.
http://bench.nationalreview.com/post/?q=YjI5ZDZhNGRkOGFmMjhlMmVhYzMwNDQwNzMxMTZiYzM=
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