Boyden Gray on how Obama is trying to pack the D.C. Circuit court

From the Washington Times:

Last week the SenateJudiciary Committee approved the nomination of Nina Pillard to the U.S. Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit. That party-line vote followed the committee’s hearing earlier this month on District Judge Robert Wilkins‘ nomination to the D.C. Circuit, the committee’s party-line vote in favor of Patty Millett’s nomination in August, and theSenate’s confirmation of the D.C. Circuit’s newest judge, Sri Srinivasan, in May. If this sounds like an unusual flurry of activity for one tiny court, that’s because President Obama has made tilting the court’s political balance a high priority for his second term. 

It’s an unfortunate strategy for several reasons. 

First, the D.C. Circuit doesn’t need more judges. According to one judge on the court, “[I]f any more judges were added now, there wouldn’t be enough work to go around.” That sentiment is confirmed by statistics provided by Chief Judge Merrick Garland, a Clinton appointee to thecourt. Over the past decade, the number of argued cases per active judge has fallen, and the court’s six senior judges do more work than their counterparts on other courts, who tend to be older. . . .