The 5th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals is already known for its conservative decisions, but five new judges appointed by President Donald Trump will have liberal activists thinking twice about bringing a case through New Orleans.
“Since President Trump's appointments the court has, I think, become perhaps a little bit more conservative,” says Josh Blackman, constitutional law professor at South Texas College of Law Houston.
President Trump already has had 26 appointments confirmed to the nation's 13 appeals courts. Compare that to President Barack Obama's 15 during his first term in office.
“One of the aspects of President Trump's nominees is they're fairly young,” says Blackman. “Judges Don Willett and James Ho are both in their 40s or early 50s, Judge Andrew Oldham is in his late 30s, so these young people who will be around for quite some time.”
That's why some believe the 5th Circuit is Trump's greatest triumph so far.
“The Trump nominees provide somewhat of anecdote to some of the Obama nominees that have been put on the bench in the past, so I'm actually fairly pleased as a whole with the how the courts of come along,” says Blackman.