Southern, But No Longer Conservative: The Fourth Circuit Sea Change

Long seen as a traditional, conservative chamber, in the last few years the Fourth Circuit Court of Appeals in Richmond, Va. has made a marked shift to the left, which could become evident when the full complement of 15 judges convene to review President Donald Trump’s travel ban. The court this week announced it would forego the traditional three-judge panel and assemble en banc. The Fourth Circuit now has a higher proportion of judges nominated by Democrats than most of the nation’s 13 circuit courts, and the court has made liberal-leaning rulings in recent cases concerning racially-targeted redistricting efforts, transgender rights, and whether the Second Amendment covers military-style semiautomatic weapons. “There’s a persistent impression that’s long been out of date that this is a very conservative court,” Steven Goldblatt, who directs the appellate litigation program at Georgetown University’s law school and regularly appears before the court, told the Washington Post. “It’s a different court with many new judges who cannot be measured by decisions reached many years ago.” Now, groups like the National Immigration Law Center and the American Civil Liberties Union pick the Fourth Circuit, when they could find other venues.