4th Circuit is Split Down the Middle

Over at Law.com, Brendan Smith has a good piece up on the beginning of the Fourth Circuit's term and how the number of vacancies will impact the Court. Here's a link.

"I think the ideological balance of that court is completely in play," says Jay Sekulow, chief counsel of the conservative American Center for Law and Justice. "I think this is the most important judicial nominee fight that we've had in decades, and you've got an entire court of appeals hanging in the balance."

A full third of the 15 active judgeships on the 4th Circuit are vacant, accounting for five of the 16 vacancies on circuit courts nationwide. The 10 active judges are split 5-5 in an ideological divide that potentially pits five judges appointed by President Bill Clinton against five judges appointed by Presidents George W. Bush, George H.W. Bush or Ronald Reagan.