(Photo
by
Win
McNamee/Getty
Images)
Donald
Trump’s
victory
in
the
2024
presidential
election
threatens
to
turn
our
legal
system
into
a
Federalist
Society
Chick-Fil-A
hoedown.
But
at
least
two
federal
judges
are
doing
their
best
to
hold
the
line.
According
to
reporting
by
Reuters,
both
Max
O.
Cogburn
Jr.,
district
judge
for
the
Western
District
of
North
Carolina,
and
Algenon
L.
Marbley,
district
judge
for
the
Southern
District
of
Ohio,
have
withdrawn
their
plans
to
take
senior
status.
Senior
status
is
a
sort
of
a
federal
judiciary
retirement
light,
which
allows
the
president
to
appoint
a
successor.
Senior
status
is
available
to
judges
over
the
age
of
65
who
have
completed
at
least
15
years
on
the
federal
bench.
Senior
judges
typically
have
reduced
caseloads
but
continue
to
hear
cases,
including
new
ones,
without
formally
retiring.
Presidents
may
name
new
full-time
judges
to
fill
those
judges’
seats.
Both
judges
were
appointed
by
Democrats
—
Cogburn
by
Barack
Obama
and
Marbley
by
Bill
Clinton
—
but
President
Joe
Biden
was
unable
to
fill
those
seats.
That’s
because
of
the
“blue
slip”
tradition,
requiring
approval
for
judicial
nominees
from
home
state
senators.
However,
during
Trump’s
first
term
in
office,
the
GOP
abandoned
the
custom
in
order
to
stack
the
judiciary
with
far-right
acolytes.
Since
then,
Dems
have,
more
or
less,
stuck
with
the
system.
The
Democrats’
unwillingness
to
fight
fire
with
fire
severely
limited Biden’s
ability
to
counter
the
tremendous
influence
Trump
was
able
to
exert
in
his
first
term
as
president.
Though
the
number
of
judicial
appointees
Biden
shepherded
through
the
process
may
ultimately
wind
up
higher
than
Trump
I,
Biden
abandoned
valuable
appellate
court
seats
in
the
process.
So,
we’re
left
with
74-
and
70-year-olds
unable
to
semi-retire
lest
they
see
their
seats
in
the
hands
of
judges
who
would
undo
their
years
of
work.
Helluva
system.
Kathryn
Rubino
is
a
Senior
Editor
at
Above
the
Law,
host
of
The
Jabot
podcast,
and
co-host
of
Thinking
Like
A
Lawyer.
AtL
tipsters
are
the
best,
so
please
connect
with
her.
Feel
free
to
email
her
with
any
tips,
questions,
or
comments
and
follow
her
on
Twitter
@Kathryn1 or
Mastodon
@[email protected].