All three Judges to hear appeal of Obamacare in the 4th Circuit are Democrat Appointees

The odds of this happening are relatively low. With 7 Republicans and 7 Democrats on the court, the probability of getting all three judges being Democrats is 9.6% = .5 * .46 * .42. To me the most interesting fact isn't that the challenge to Obamacare will probably lose, but that I bet that the decision will take a long time coming.

All three judges that will hear Tuesday's arguments on the constitutionality of President Obama's health care law were appointed by Democratic presidents, including two by Obama himself.

The U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fourth Circuit made the announcement shortly before the trial started, even though the case has been scheduled for months. Judges Diana Motz, the senior member of the panel, was appointed to the bench by President Bill Clinton in 1994. Andre Davis and James Wynn were appointed by Obama.

The hearing in Richmond is the first appellate review of Obama's signature legislation passed last year, and combines two cases. The first case was brought by Liberty University, and the second case was brought by the government after losing to Virginia Attorney General Ken Cuccinell.

The judges were randomly selected by computer a couple of months ago. They have presumably been reading briefs in the case ever since. The full 14 member Fourth Circuit is evenly split between Republican and Democratic judges, but only three judges hear any given case. . . .