March 18, 2024, 9:25 a.m. ET
March 18, 2024, 9:25 a.m. ETThe U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit in New Orleans hears appeals from federal courts in Louisiana, Mississippi and Texas.Credit…Emily Kask for The New York Times
The appeals court that upheld partial restrictions on the Biden administration’s communications with social media companies has a reputation for making decisions that are too conservative for the Supreme Court, which is itself ruled by a six-member majority of Republican-appointed justices tends to the right.
Of the 17 active appeals court judges, only five were appointed by Democratic presidents. Six members of the court were appointed by President Donald J. Trump.
The court, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit, in New Orleans, hears appeals from federal courts in Louisiana, Mississippi and Texas. In these forums, ambitious lawsuits are often filed by conservative litigants who rightly expect a positive response, and decisions by trial judges in these states are often upheld by the Fifth Circuit.
But when these cases reach the Supreme Court, they sometimes fail. An attack on the constitutionality of the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau supported by three Trump appointees in the Fifth Circuit did not appear to be well received by the justices in October. Another case, in which the Fifth Circuit struck down a federal law banning domestic abusers from carrying guns, was also met with skepticism.
Other Fifth Circuit rulings on issues such as immigration, abortion pills and so-called ghost guns also received at least preliminary rejection from the Supreme Court, suggesting that the appeals court disagrees with the justices.
At a news conference in September, Irv Gornstein, executive director of the Supreme Court Institute at Georgetown, said the Fifth Circuit has taken positions that “at least some of the conservative middle blocs cannot tolerate.”
He added that some of the Fifth Circuit’s rulings “came out of Crazy Town” and that “it would be shocking if at least some of these decisions were not reversed.”
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2024-03-18 15:15:28
www.nytimes.com