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Trump, GOP Senate could remake liberal 9th Circuit court: Fox News

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President Donald Trump, shown here speaking to the Conservative Political Action Conference, has a chance to remake the 9th Circuit Court of Appeals by filling seven vacancies with conservative judges. (Screen snip, YouTube, ABC)

California could suffer a major earthquake soon, of the political variety, if the runaway liberal philosophy that has dominated the U.S. 9th Circuit Court of Appeals is changed by President Donald Trump and the Republican Senate majority,  by filling seven open seats with conservative judges, Fox News is reporting.

An eighth vacancy will come in August, the news network said.

Often called the “Ninth Circus” by conservatives – especially gun owners – the 9th Circuit is considered the most liberal of all the federal circuits. Returning balance to that court will have liberals quaking in their sandals.

“The stakes are sky high because of the size, caseload and clout of the court. If Trump is successful in getting young, ideologically conservative nominees through the confirmation process, he could significantly alter the court’s DNA for decades to come.”—Fox News 

Just how far left the court has strayed might be seen in a remark from Erwin Chemerinsky, dean of the UC Berkeley School of Law. He told Fox that, “Adding seven conservatives to the court would very much affect its ideological balance. It would push the court much further to the right.”

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Critics would argue that it would merely push the court back toward the center, since the 9th Circuit currently is so far left it needs some balance.

This is especially true in gun rights cases. A 9th Circuit panel ruled 7-4 almost two years ago that there the Constitution does not protect concealed carry. This was a case challenging California’s requirement to show good cause before someone is issued a concealed carry permit. In their ruling, the majority stated, “The protection of the Second Amendment — whatever the scope of that protection may be — simply does not extend to the carrying of concealed firearms in public by members of the general public,” as reported by NBC News at the time.

Right now, according to Fox, the current political split on the 9th Circuit court is 16-6. This court holds sway over nine western states, many of which are considered to be “gun country.” The circuit includes Alaska, Arizona, California, Hawaii, Idaho, Montana, Nevada, Oregon and Washington, plus Guam and the Northern Mariana Islands.

While Barack Obama was in the White House, he filled seven seats on the 9th Circuit bench.

If Trump and his allies on the Senate Judiciary Committee push, Fox News is predicting a fight because “a wall of Democrats (is) hellbent on protecting the long-standing leftward lean” of the court.

This is a strong signal that a major fight over federal court nominations is brewing, so conservatives interested in making sure the courts remain balanced see the outcome of November’s mid-term elections to be imperative.

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